When they were students at Bowdoin, they shared a passion for cooking and beer making. A few years later, Michael Oxton ’07 and Rob Burns ’07 teamed up with third partner Mike O’Mara to co-found Night Shift Brewing in Everett, Mass. After a successful first two years of operation, Night Shift is now expanding from a 3,000-square-foot facility to a 16,000-square-foot building. A $700,000 MassDevelopment loan will finance equipment and renovations in the new space, which will house the brewing operations and taproom.

Night Shift’s craft beers, with ingredients that may include lemongrass, green tea, habanero peppers, dark chocolate, or hibiscus flowers, have drawn praise from Boston beer critics and beer drinkers. “The best thing we hear someone say after they’ve had one our beers is, ‘Wow, I’ve never tasted anything like that before,’” Burns told Bowdoin Magazine for a feature story in fall 2012.

“Our once tiny brewery is growing significantly, and we can’t wait to share the new taproom and brewing facility with all of our local supporters in just a few more weeks,” Oxton said in response to the loan announcement. “Our production will increase dramatically with this upgrade, too, so Boston should expect to see a lot more Night Shift on the shelves and on tap in 2014.”