The Grain Belt Brew House was constructed in1891 and formed part of the Grain Belt complex of building that included the brew house, boiler house, warehouse and bottling house.
The Grain Belt Brew House was constructed in1891 and formed part of the Grain Belt complex of building that included the brew house, boiler house, warehouse and bottling house. It is an impressive building featuring a range of styles including Neo-Romanesque and Late Gothic. During Prohibition the brewery became known as the Golden Grain Juice Company and produced soft drinks. In 1975 the Storz Brewing Company of Omaha, that owned the complex, ceased trading and the Grain Belt closed.
It lay empty and derelict for over 20 years while the city council sought interest from developed. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the recent re-development has been awarded the National Preservation Award.
The multi-million dollar re-development aimed to preserve the integrity of the building while providing light airy offices The project presented the challenge of converting premises built for brewing beer to modern office space. The warehouse area had few windows and as a result over 200 windows, sympathetic to the original style were added or replaced. Raised floors and a mezzanine were added to avoid the sloping brick floor originally designed to allow leaks from the kegs to flow away. A fine iron staircase was also incorporated into the new office interior.
The brewery tavern has also been renovated and now houses the Pierre Bottineau Community Library. The Grain Belt beer is still brewed in New Ulm, and the original recipe was ceremonially moved in a sealed keg to its new premises in 2002.
