HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – One of Alabama's best-known craft beer breweries in Huntsville is making the jump into the Atlanta market this month after doubling its fermentation capacity last year.

Straight to Ale, which joined Alabama's brewery scene in 2009, purchased four 120-barrel fermenters from Atlanta-based Sweetwater Brewing Company when it went through a big expansion last year.

Dan Perry, owner of Straight to Ale, said they began expanding production slowly with the new tanks to give the 10,000-square-foot brewery on Leeman Ferry Road enough capacity to enter Atlanta.

"It's a really big deal to us because it's so much volume," he said. "Even a very small piece of the Atlanta market is a huge amount of beer for a small craft beer brewery like us."

The Huntsville brewery currently supplies beer throughout the state, Florida, Nashville and parts of Mississippi. Perry said Straight to Ale will launch with 50 to 60 accounts in Atlanta and offer draft beer to start.

The Alabama Brewers Guild said statewide beer production grew 47 percent last year. The number of taxable removal barrels (the amount of beer sold and taxed) was 28,373 in 2013, up 47 percent from 2012, while the number of existing breweries nearly doubled from seven in 2012 to 13 in 2013.

In 2012, Alabama brewers sold 88 percent of its beer in Alabama and the remaining 12 percent out of state. In 2013, 86 percent of sales were in-state with 14 percent going out of the state.

"I think we're still catching up to the pent-up demand," said Alabama Brewers Guild Executive Director Dan Roberts to AL.com last month. "For the most part, these guys can't brew beer fast enough."

Straight to Ale will offer Monkeynaut IPA, Lily Flagg Milk Stout, Brother Joseph's Belgian Dubbel and Sand Island Light House in Atlanta.

The brewery currently employs about 18 workers, but Perry said as new markets are added, they usually hire a few part-time salespeople. As the markets grow, they try to bring their part-time workers on full-time.

"We want to make sure we get all of our ducks in a row," he said. "Atlanta is a great craft beer market, has a lot of great breweries and carries a lot of great brands. We feel like we're a natural fit in the craft mix over there."

Perry said Straight to Ale has "big plans" to make the jump to a bigger brewhouse and building at Huntsville at some point in the future.

Send Lucy Berry an email at lberry@al.com.