Grain Belt Bottle Cap Sign

The Grain Belt Beer bottle cap sign on Nicollet Island is one of Minneapolis's most recognisable landmarks — a large illuminated bottle cap from the vintage Grain Belt Premium brand that glows above the river and has been a fixture of the Minneapolis skyline since 1956. The sign is best viewed from the Stone Arch Bridge or from the east bank of the river near Main Street SE.

Grain Belt Brewing was acquired by Minnesota Brewing Company, which was itself acquired, and the brand is now owned by Schell's Brewery of New Ulm. The original Grain Belt brewery building on Quincy Street NE in the Northeast neighbourhood has been converted to apartments and commercial use; the brewery's tap room operates in a restored portion of the building.

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A story
Grain Belt Brewing, founded in 1891, was the dominant Minneapolis beer brand for nearly a century. The Nicollet Island bottle cap sign — a 1,400-square-foot illuminated Grain Belt Premium bottle cap — was installed in 1956 and became so beloved that when the brewery closed in 1975, preserving the sign became a civic cause. It was restored in 1989 and again in 2013 and is now considered one of the iconic images of Minneapolis.