Dakota Malting and Brewing Company Records

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: OGLMC-400

Scope and Contents

The Dakota Malting and Brewing Company Records, 1959-1976, consist of thirteen individual documents. Included are legal documents, correspondence of the company’s board of directors, correspondence from persons involved with the company, and one magazine article. The documents have been arranged in chronological order, with the undated magazine article placed last. Items in the collection were gathered by R. Scott Stewart for his research paper “The Dakota Malting and Brewing Company.” The paper was written for Dr. J.F. Vivian’s History 440 Course, Fall 1976.

Dates

created: 1959-1976
Other: Date acquired: 00/00/1977

Creator

Dakota Malting and Brewing Company (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Biographical or Historical Information

The Dakota Malting and Brewing Company incorporated in November 1959 to “build, equip, maintain, manage, and operate a brewery and malting plant.” The company was managed by eleven directors. The plant was constructed in Bismarck and began brewing in April 1961. A problem with water quality from the Missouri River caused the company’s first 10,000 barrels of beer to spoil only days after being bottled. A special filter was then installed, and the resulting beer was termed excellent. Sales rose, but not fast enough to offset the company’s debts. In July 1965, an advertising agency from Missouri was granted a court order halting any sales until it was paid for work it had done four years previous. Fifty thousand cases of beer were seized and sold for one dollar below market level in September 1965. The Company managed to sell another 2,000 barrels later that month before the brewery permanently terminated production.

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