LEWISTON — Baxter Brewing Co. plans to quadruple beer production and add at least 15 jobs as part of a $2 million expansion, President Luke Livingston said Monday.

The new around-the-clock, beer-making process is expected to be operating by spring 2013, he said.

“By the time the project is complete, we will have added six 240-barrel fermenters, a second canning line (and) an automated six-pack machine,” he said.

The work will include the installation of a steel and concrete bunker adjacent to the existing brewery and the addition of office space.

The reason for the expansion is simple, Livingston told attendees at a Monday morning news conference held in the alley outside his Bates Mill brewery.

Customers want at least three times more beer than he can produce and ship. His small 10-employee operation cannot keep up with demand.

“It sort of got to the point where we had to put up or shut up,” Livingston said. “Everybody’s very quick to say, ‘What a good problem to have.’ And it is. Don’t get me wrong. But it’s a tedious problem.”

He grew tired of turning down orders.

“People are begging for beer,” he said. “From our standpoint, it’s tough leaving all that beer and money on the table.”

The Lewiston-based brewery has been operating for just under two years. The first cases of its debut beer — Stowaway I.P.A. — left the mill in January 2011.

Three months later, Livingston announced plans to double production. By August 2011, he began distributing beer to Boston. He now reaches across Maine and Massachusetts.

As part of the expansion, he hopes to begin distributing to stores in New Hampshire and Vermont.

An exact timeline for expanding will depend on the marketplace.

The company’s growth has come much faster than expected, Livingston said.

“So much of it is changing that we’re going to be very cautious about the growth,” he said. “We don’t want to do too much too quickly. We want to have the infrastructure in place so that we can get to where we need to be, when we need to be there.”

Livingston was praised Monday by Lewiston City Council President Mark Cayer, Auburn Mayor Jonathan LaBonte and Chip Morrison, president of the Androscoggin Chamber of Commerce.

Livingston’s business will be the first stop for students in the chamber’s new young entrepreneurs academy, Morrison said.

Work on the expansion may be complete by late 2013.

It should make the Lewiston company a statewide force among beer makers, Livingston said.

“By the time this is done, we’ll have the third largest capacity in the state of Maine, behind Shipyard (Brewing Co.), first, and Allagash (Brewing Co.), second,” he said.

He hopes to one day leave them behind.

“Someday, I would like to be a regional presence with distribution up and down the East Coast,” he said.

Meanwhile, he plans to make the best beer he can. Currently, Baxter makes three year-round varieties and a seasonal brew. That, too, may expand.

“That’s the fun part, coming up with new beers, so I’m sure we’ll be doing it before too long,” he said.

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