Signs of Beer: Premium on a cold winter day

 What is this a one post a year blog now?!

No! At this rate it will be a 2 post a year blog.

On to the sign.

Grain Belt Premium was the beer of choice in the upper midwest. These signs were everywhere in small town beer joints across Minnesota and the Dakotas and even into Nebraska (Grain Belt had a brewering in Omaha at one time.) They might even still be there considering how slowly things change out in the boondocks. As a side note, there was a bar in my town called the Boondocks. I think they only served 3:2 beer. They did not have a sign like this. 

I discovered this sign out at Bonanzaville in West Fargo on a cold weekend in December. The pioneer museum has numerous old buildings from the region on the property including a few bonanza farm houses. The Brass Rail was a saloon and hotel in Page, ND. It existed since ND became a state in 1889 but did not serve alcohol until prohibition was repealed in 1933. ND was a dry state until that time. Although, considering the large number of German immigrants I would surmise some brewing occurred at home.

Anyways, we have seen Grain Belt before on this blog. It had a prominent sign in Minneapolis on Nicollet Island. The Grain Belt brewery was nearby in north east Minneapolis- often called Nordeast Minneapolis due to the high number of Norwegians in the area. That is what my Minnesota history teacher told me. I have found nothing verifying that fact yet.

As is the case with most regional beers, Grain Belt saw its peak in the late 60s and early 70s. Then the big national brewers came in and pushed out the regional labels. Grain Belt changed ownership a few times as other brewers maintained the brand presence in the Midwest. Minnesota Brewing got the rights to Grain Belt when they bought the Schmidt Brewery in St. Paul from Heileman in the early 1990s. They kept Grain Belt brewing until their demise in 2002. August Schell then scooped up the brand and revitalized it making it their most popular brew. 

Hard to say when this sign was produced. It looks modern- so maybe late 80s or 90s. But considering The Brass Rail closed sometime before 1968, this sign seems out of place. There are pictures of the building at Bonanzaville without the sign- so I suspect someone donated the sign to make it look a bit authentic at least when it came to what brand of beer was common in these types of rural establishments.