Our Story Began in 1895
The Lehrkind family has been in the beverage business in Montana since 1895 when its founder, Julius Lehrkind, a German immigrant, moved his family and brewery crew out west and built a brewery on the north side of Bozeman. Julius built a bottling room along with cold storage rooms in the brewery, allowing him to produce and distribute popular soft drinks such as sarsaparilla and lemon soda to local bars and restaurants alongside his lager. Then, in 1914, Julius was awarded a Coca-Cola franchise. Soda bottling and distribution became the focus of the family business when Prohibition hit Montana in 1919 forcing the closure of the brewery.
Julius’ son, Carl, took over the family business with his son, Carl Jr., and since that time, the Lehrkind family has run the business, with Carl IV now at the helm. Today, Lehrkinds Inc. still owns its Coca-Cola franchise and distributes soft drinks, water, energy drinks, isotonics, beer and wine across much of Montana through its distribution company, Mountain Country Distributing, with distribution centers in Bozeman, Helena, Great Falls, Billings, and Lewistown. Lehrkinds Inc. most recently added bottled water and home/office water delivery to its services through its spring water company, Big Spring Water based in Lewistown, Montana. The Lehrkinds family is proud to continue its Montana beverage legacy that Julius began over a hundred years.
Celebrating Our 100 Year Anniversary
