After Tomball City Council voted March 16 to approve an ordinance amendment, Fire Ant Brewing Company plans to set up shop in Old Town Tomball in late 2015 or early 2016. The ordinance amendment defines microbreweries and brewpubs as an official type of land use within the city limits. In 2013, the Texas Legislators passed Senate Bill 515 stating that brewpubs—microbreweries that serve food and alcoholic drinks on site—are authorized to produce up to 10,000 barrels of beer per year. The bill also grants brewpub owners the authority to sell their products for off-site consumption. For Fire Ant Brewing Company, the Legislation will allow the brewpub to sell growlers, which are more commonly known as resealable containers designed for beer. However, in the Old Town Tomball mixed-use area, the production cap for Fire Ant Brewing Company and any future brewpubs or microbreweries will be 5,000 barrels a year. This amendment was made to the ordinance after City Councilman Field Hudgens discussed a concern during the meeting about what kind of effect the brewpub will have on Old Town Tomball. "If you're doing 10,000 barrels a year, that's a major undertaking," Hudgens said. "That's a lot of infrastructure, a lot of trucks coming down the road [and] a lot of people coming in and out. I just have an idea that the productions levels in certain areas need to be less [than] that in other areas. For instance in Old Town, it might need to be less because of the scope of the area that we have. And then [there's] the idea that we don't really want a brewery downtown." However, Kurt Hohnholt, Fire Ant Brewing Company co-owner, said even with the amended production cap, business will likely not be limited because the company never planned to produce 10,000 barrels per year. "A brewpub license gets you 10,000 barrels a year, but we won't get close to that," Hohnholt said. Hohnholt said any beer production for off-site consumption or local distribution to Tomball-area bars would likely be limited. "This is really a brewpub—not a large brewery," Hohnholt said. "It's really to sell the beer at our location in our facility. There's no way we'd come close to that [10,000 barrel limit]." The brewpub is expected to occupy a 3,000-square-foot space at 304 and 306 Market Street in Old Town Tomball. The business plans to serve five styles of beer year-round and offer a rotation of special seasonal beer.