Grain Belt (beer)
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Minneapolis Brewing Company
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The former brewery building in Northeast, Minneapolis
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| Location | Jct. of Marshall St. and 13th Ave. NE. Minneapolis, Minnesota |
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| Coordinates | 45°0′0″N 93°16′13″W / 45.00000°N 93.27028°WCoordinates: 45°0′0″N 93°16′13″W / 45.00000°N 93.27028°W |
| Architect | William L. Lehle; Frederick W. Wolff |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| NRHP Reference # | 90000988 |
| Added to NRHP | June 21, 1990 |
Grain Belt is a brand of beer brewed in the American state of Minnesota, by the August Schell Brewing Company. The beer has been produced in a number of varieties. Grain Belt Golden was the original style introduced in 1893. The current offerings are: Grain Belt Premium, first introduced in 1947; Grain Belt Premium Light; Grain Belt Nordeast, introduced in April 7, 2010; and the newest offering, Grain Belt Lock & Dam, introduced in 2016. It was originally produced by the Minneapolis Brewing Company which formed with the merger of four smaller brewers in 1891. Soon after introduction, Grain Belt became the company's flagship product. It was brewed at the original Grain Belt brewery in Minneapolis, Minnesota until 1976. A series of other owners followed, and Schell took over the product line in 2002.
The name refers to the "Grain Belt" of the American Midwest where much of the world's supply of barley, corn, soybeans and other grains are produced. The diamond-shaped logo was introduced early on, though it wasn't until the late 1930s that a rendering of a bottlecap was added as background. After prohibition a large billboard was erected on Nicollet Island next to the Hennepin Avenue Bridge around 1940. For years, it flashed the letters in sequence ("G-R-A-I-N B-E-L-T BEER"). This sign still stands today as a local landmark. Grain Belt introduced cap-sealed conetop cans in the 1930s. At the same time, the company offered its beers in longneck bottles and on draft.
Grain Belt Golden, a traditional golden German-style lager, was popular, but Prohibition halted production from 1920 until 1933. The company temporarily changed its name to Golden Grain Juice Company and, like many other brewers, turned to making near beer and soft drinks until repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. Grain Belt Beer returned to taverns in October 1933 with bottled beer reappearing in December 1933.
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