ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

DAKOTA MALTING AND BREWING COMPANY RECORDS

COLLECTION: OGL#400

DATES: 1959-1976

SIZE: One folder

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: The Dakota Malting and Brewing Company Records were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by R. Scott Stewart (Acc.#77-406).

ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

RELATED COLLECTION:

OGL#263, Research Papers in North Dakota History. “The Dakota Malting and Brewing Company”
written by R. Scott Stewart, 1976. (Box 3, Folder 49)

HISTORICAL SKETCH

The Dakota Malting and Brewing Company was incorporated in November 1959 to “build, equip, maintain, manage, and operate a brewery and malting plant.” The company was run by eleven directors. The plant was constructed in Bismarck, and began brewing in April 1961.

A problem with the quality of water 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 resultant beer was termed excellent. Sales rose, but not fast enough to off-set 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 terminated production permanently.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Dakota Malting and Brewing Company Records date from 1959-1976, and 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. Please see the Box and Folder Inventory for a listing of each document.

The material in the collection was gathered by R. Scott Stewart in the course of research for his paper “The Dakota Malting and Brewing Company.” The paper was written for Dr. J.F. Vivian’s History 440 Course, Fall 1976.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder 1
Item Number:

1. Legal Document: Articles of Incorporation, November 16, 1959
2. Legal Document: Statement of Change of Registered Office, August 13, 1960
3. Legal Document: Statement of Change of Registered Office, November 8, 1963
4. Legal Document: Annual Report for Domestic Corporation, July 30, 1965
5. Correspondence: Board of Directors, Dakota Malting and Brewing Company, to Stockholders, undated (probably 1965)
6. Correspondence: Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, Dakota Malting and Brewing Company to “Gentlemen,” undated (probably 1965; regarding the company’s banking accounts)
7. Legal Document: Summary of Stock Offerings and Directors, August 1, 1976 (possibly from the North Dakota Office of Attorney General)
8. Correspondence: Patrick A. Conmy to Stewart, October 8, 1976
9. Correspondence: Edwin P. Lund to Stewart, October 26, 1976
10. Correspondence: Cletus J. Schmidt, Clerk, United States District Court, to Stewart, November 9, 1976
11. Correspondence: Patrick A. Conmy to Stewart, November 23, 1976
12. Correspondence: Clyde A. Johnson to Stewart, November 29, 1976
13. Magazine Article: “The Dakota Malting and Brewing Company,” by Marlowe L. Schlegel for an unknown magazine for can collectors

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