BREWER, Maine — When asked what they thought of having their faces plastered on the side of a 28-foot box truck, the Geaghan brothers responded with self-deprecating humor.

“I’m not convinced this is going to help sales at all,” joked Peter Geaghan.

His brother Larry Geaghan said he’d like to see the expression on the face of one of his high school teachers the first time they pass the truck on the street.

Jokes aside, the new truck signals a major change for the Geaghan Bros. Brewing Co., which sprouted in 2011 from Geaghan’s Pub, a Bangor institution since 1975.

Maine Distributors unveiled a brand new addition to its fleet of 20 vehicles during an event Wednesday morning at a Brewer garage that the Geaghans are converting into a brewery expansion. Wednesday also was the brewery’s third anniversary.

The truck features the Geaghan Bros. logo and a larger-than-life image of the Geaghan brothers — Larry, Peter and Pat — joined by Larry Geaghan’s son and head brewer, Andrew Geaghan. The group is depicted smiling and holding up pint glasses of their product, and the phrase “Proudly brewed in Bangor & Brewer, ME,” is right next to the image.

It’s essentially a rolling billboard that will carry the product of Geaghan Bros., along with other national and local beverages, to markets across the region, according to Scott Solman, president of Maine Distributors.

Maine Distributors transports beer and wine to bars and stores across Penobscot, Aroostook, Hancock, Washington and Piscataquis counties.

“We’ve been keeping an eye on Geaghan’s for many years,” Solman said, adding that his company jumped at the opportunity to help spread the reach of Geaghan Bros. after hearing about its expansion plans.

Distribution volume has been limited by Geaghan’s production capacity at the brewhouse inside its Bangor headquarters.

In a given year, Geaghan’s brew team has enough space and equipment to produce about 600 barrels of beer — which works out to about 18,600 gallons, or 1,200 kegs. Almost all of that is sold from the taps at Geaghan’s Bangor location, but a limited amount goes to bars in Caribou, Lincoln, Newport, Lubec, Bar Harbor, Orono and Old Town.

In the Brewer garage, Andrew Geaghan expects to have capacity to brew up to 3,000 barrels per year — 93,000 gallons, or 6,000 kegs. Geaghan Bros. will continue using its Bangor brewery as well.

When beer starts pumping out of Brewer, Maine Distributors will have more beer to ship across its five counties to a much wider customer base.

Geaghan expects the brewery expansion at 34 Abbott St. in Brewer to go live sometime in mid-January. He also hopes to start a bottling operation at the garage in the first quarter of 2015, meaning Maine Distributors won’t just be taking Geaghan brews to bars, but also to store shelves across Central, Eastern and Northern Maine.

By Nick McCrea, Bangor Daily News Staff