Grain Belt still golden
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Grain Belt beer grew from humble beginnings in a Minneapolis brewery in 1893 to become one of the most successful brewers in the upper Midwest. Then it fell back to earth. Now it is soaring again.
Such is the nature of the brewery business. In 2002, August Schell Brewing Company bought Grain Belt from the bankrupt St. Paul investors most recently in charge of the brand. Operations shifted to Schell’s headquarters in New Ulm, Minn., and the renaissance began.
The Minneapolis Brewing Company started making Golden Grain Belt beer in 1893. The Grain Belt name was derived from the location of the brewery, America’s grain belt.
Minneapolis Brewing Company faced stiff competition and hard times early on, none worse than Prohibition, of course. During Prohibition, the company had to shift focus to other beverages to remain in business. The company stayed afloat making juices and no-alcohol near beer as the Golden Grain Juice Company. The company even got into the rubbing alcohol game under the name Kunz Preparations Company.
When Prohibition was repealed in 1935, Golden Grain Belt continued to be a local favorite. But the hardships facing the company continued when the country entered World War II. Rations on malt and hops caused temporary shortages. Can production shifted to the military. For a time Golden Grain Belt could not be bottled in its traditional amber bottle because of shortages. Instead, it came in a green bottle with a label that read: “This is your regular Grain Belt Beer in a temporary bottle due to bottle shortage.”
After the war, the American beer market began to change. Beer drinkers were looking for a lighter, smoother beer and Golden Grain Belt did not fit the bill. In 1947 Grain Belt Premium was introduced and was an instant success. The Premium label caused Grain Belt to thrive in a slumping U.S. beer market in the 1950’s. By 1970, the renamed Grain Belt Breweries had become the 18th largest in the country.
Sales slumped again and by 1975, ownership had disbanded and sold the brewery to a St. Paul businessman. In 1976 the Grain Belt name was sold to Heileman’s of La Crosse, Wis. The name changed hands again in 1991 to the newly formed Minnesota Brewing Company of St. Paul. Grain Belt experienced its highest sales ever in 1996 but only two years later those numbers were cut in half. In 2001, Minnesota Brewing Company filed for bankruptcy. The For Sale sign went up again.
“All along I had thought if it became available we’d make a pretty nice match for what we were doing down here,” said Ted Marti, President of August Schell Brewing Company. “It really boiled down to putting in the highest bid for it and I think it meant more to us than probably some of the other bidders.” Schell’s Brewery bought the recipes and names to Grain Belt Premium and Grain Belt Premium Light and began brewing in 2002. According to the Brewers Association, the Schell’s brewery is the 27th largest in the country.
An offbeat marketing campaign behind Grain Belt has been successful. In 1933 it had introduced its first real slogan, “Friendly beer with the friendly flavor.” (This replaced “Properly sterilized- does not cause biliousness.”) In the early 1940s, Grain Belt constructed the 40-foot-by-40-foot sign featuring the Grain Belt diamond that can still be seen along the banks of the Mississippi in Minneapolis.
Today’s marketing is done a little differently. According to Marti, directly competing against Miller and Anheuser-Busch is too difficult for a beer of a similar style. So Grain Belt has gone off the beaten path and targeted independent beer drinkers who ask "why drink Miller or Bud?" Marti used the phrase “retro-hip” to describe the category of Grain Belt and its drinkers.
“[Schell’s] Grain Belt label has [craft beer] market's quality,” said Lee Egerstrom, a long-time food and agribusiness writer for the St. Paul Pioneer Press who is now a research fellow for the think tank MN2020, “but Schell has revived it as a popular regional beer much the same way that Miller Brewing Co. has expanded the Leinenkugel brand since buying the Leinie's brewery at Chippewa Falls, Wis.”
Grain Belt’s proud history and strong Minnesota connections leaves Marti confident in the brand. “There was a generation lost by former owners,” he said. “Grandpa kind of drank the beer and then the son didn’t and now the grandson who is coming of drinking age is now coming back full force to Grain Belt.”
Egerstrom is also optimistic that Grain Belt can remain successful in its market as long as it remains at the Schell’s Brewery. “For Minnesotans who like to see historic brand names and products survive industry change, Grain Belt's link with August Schell has been great,” Egerstrom said. “The new owners have survived everything from Indian wars at New Ulm to Prohibition and give Grain Belt a fighting chance to quench Upper Midwest thirsts for another century.”