A ST ANDREWS-based microbrewery is poised to spend £300,000 to double its production capacity so it can keep pace with demand for its wood-matured beers – less than a year after it started brewing.

Eden Brewery, developed by former Molson Coors sales chief Paul Miller and an unnamed backer, is on track to lift turnover from £500,000 in its first full year to around £2 million in 2014.

Demand for the brewer's Oak Wood Series, a portfolio of ales aged in rum, bourbon and whisky barrels, is currently outstripping supply, leading Eden to temporarily outsource production to Traditional Scottish Ales in Stirling while it makes plans to increase its own capacity.

Eden makes its beer on a 38-acre site owned by the University of St Andrews, which has earmarked the land to host a range of sustainable businesses.

Although it had been home to a paper mill for around 120 years, brewing and distilling took place at the site before then, leading the university to conclude that a microbrewery would fit in well.

Now, with demand for Eden's beers having exceeded the point at which it can meet supply, talks have been taking place with the institution to expand its presence on the site.

Mr Miller said the business is aiming to double capacity in the short term by installing more fermenters, increasing its stock of whisky, bourbon and rum barrels, and boosting its working capital.

By the time this latest investment is factored in, a total of £1 million of private funds will have been spent on the project.

The business employs 10 staff, but there are hopes to extend that to 16 by the end of the year.

Mr Miller said: "We went into it with a slightly smaller capacity than we thought we might need and we are expecting to gain approval to occupy virtually triple the space we started with.

"They [the university] will allow us to utilise more space, which we urgently need to expand because we can sell three times what we are making at least, and we are getting a lot of encouraging interest in the brand.

"St Andrews is something that connects with people around the world, which is what we hoped for."

Eden began brewing in July last year, initially focusing on building distribution around Fife. Early stockists included the Fairmont Hotel, which uses the beer in its steak and ale pie, and the Luvians speciality off-sales chain.

Word quickly spread, however, and Eden's beers now have a foothold in leading ale bars in Glasgow and Edinburgh, from the Bon Accord and Lios Mor in the west to the Cumberland Bar and the Guildford Arms in the east.

Eden is participating in the latest Scottish ale festival run by Aldi in its store with its Blonde variant, a "hoppy" beer that is 3.8% alcohol by volume in strength, while opportunities are also being pursued down south and overseas.

A summer marketing strategy will give consumers the chance to sample the beers on the Foodies Festival circuit.

The beer has already appeared at the Foodies event at Hampton Court Palace in London, and was due to move on to Clapham this weekend, before calling at Battersea and Edinburgh in August.

It will also be sold at the bar at the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston later this month and at the Game Fair in Scone in July.

The business, which is spending £100,000 on the marketing activity, has been aided by a £5000 grant from Fife Enterprise and a £10,000 contribution from Tennent Caledonian Breweries under its seed fund initiative. The latter was granted thanks to Eden's commitment to use local barley to meet 80% of its requirements.

Eden also hopes build bridgeheads overseas, with Mr Miller looking to build in interest in Scandinavia, the US and Canada by visiting those markets this summer.

He said: "We are getting great enthusiasm for what we are doing at these [Foodies] events and getting a lot of traction and interest there. Similarly, some of the London retailers have picked up on that and there is interest.

"The problem we have at the moment is that we simply don't have enough beer to get around.

"This opportunity to be able to expand will enable us to do that a little bit, but already we are having to contract out brewing."

The rise of Eden Brewery comes as a wood-matured beer category begins to emerge in the Scottish drinks market.

Innis & Gunn is perhaps the best-known exponent, but Mr Miller emphasised Eden's products were very different to those of the Edinburgh beer firms.

The wood used to give the beers their flavours range include barrels that previously held the ultra-smoky Ardbeg Islay malt, Jack Daniel's American whiskey and Appleton golden rum.

Their alcoholic strength ranges from 6.7% to 7.5% ABV, with the beers ranging in price from £2.50 to £3 per bottle.

Mr Miller said: "They're quite different to the Innis & Gunn version, in that our bourbon is a dark one, our golden rum is very much a golden rum and the beer we brew we brew to complement the barrel.

"In the case of the rum one, the beer is almost tropical fruit [in flavour].

"You can almost taste the coconut, it is that kind of style. It is very different to what the Innis & Gunn beers are like."