Schell's

gets Grain

Belt bid

By CHANCE PRIGGE

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- August Schell Brewing Co. got the bid for Grain Belt Premium beer Monday.

The announcement came after Grain Belt Premium was said to be homeless, with its brewer, Minnesota Brewing Co., bankrupt.

"The deadline was today and they announced it at about 4 p.m.," Schell's President Ted Marti said Monday evening.

The Schell's brewery in New Ulm was already bottling the beer after it was brewed in St. Paul.

With the beer's addition, Marti said the brewery may expand a shift instead of adding another one.

"We should pretty close to double our production," Marti said. "We haven't quite finalized that."

In addition, the brewery will be hiring more employees, though Marti isn't sure how many.

With the successful bid, Marti said it was a matter of planning and organization to see where the next step would be with the newly acquired beer.

"We need to talk to our production people and our sales people and set a strategy for the brand," he said.

A part of that new strategy will be acquiring new distributors for the beer, Marti said.

He said he was thrilled with Monday's announcement.

"We think it's a good brand," he said. "It sits really well with our current product line. And there's obviously some pride and heritage we want to preserve."

The brewery put the bid in about a week ago.

Marti said he didn't know what became of Minnesota Brewing's other brands, including Pig's Eye Lager and Yellow Belly malt beverage. Schell limited its bid to the grouping of Grain Belt Premium, Premium Light and Golden, and the Grain Belt ''Archive Series'' of beers.

The commercial jewel in that family of beers is Grain Belt Premium, which Marti said is the state's largest-selling homegrown beer.

Distributors of the brand were hoping it would continue to be made in Minnesota. More than one bidder for Grain Belt would have moved production outside state borders.

Marti declined to say how much Schell paid for the Grain Belt name, and a spokesman for Bremer Bank, the largest creditor of Minnesota Brewing, would not comment on the results of the auction. Minnesota Brewing is in the middle of Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation proceedings and will not reopen as a beer-making plant.

Schell's brewery makes 14 original beers and produces others for various companies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.