Dakota Point Brewing: Building community one beer at a time

Neal Schlottman, Founder and Owner of Dakota Point Brewing, describes the Brewery’s location. Many might remember the building as the old Landstrom’s building.

However, Schlottman says, “If you want to go further back in history, this actually was a power plant originally, generating power here in Rapid City. There was a diesel generator and our taproom is actually where the substation was. So the building was built in 1928, and served as a power plant for a very long time. And obviously, the building is perfect for a brewery. It’s got a great look for that. But yes, Landstrom’s did buy the building and actually operated in here.”

Schlottman describes the inspiration behind Dakota Point Brewing. “So I’ve always been a beer lover for a very long time. You know, some of the inspiration for the brewery actually came from my younger years. We used to spend time and congregate out at Dakota Point out at Sheridan Lake and obviously enjoyed our beer out there and conversation. friends and having fires and enjoying that. So, that’s kind of part of the inspiration of the name where the company comes from.” Schlottman also decided to start doing a little home brewing which eventually turned into his business. Scholttman says that Dakota Point Brewing opened four years ago on June 1. 

Schlottman describes the types of beers available.

“Every beer that we serve in our taproom is actually brewed right here in the facility. So we brew all kinds of varieties. We do lagers. We do ales, and just about every style that you can imagine. Our focus is high quality beer. We’ve really refined our processes and have gotten very consistent with our flagship beers. So there is a distribution around the Black Hills and you’ll find those out there. But we do specialty beers as well, and we’ve been working on some experimental beers using fresh field frozen hops with Dakota hops out of Spearfish. So that’s where our Cliff Jumper Pale Ale comes from. And the Cliff Jumper obviously from the cliff jumping out at Sheridan Lake at Dakota Point.”

Schlottman recommends one of their really light blond ales if you are a domestic beer drinker but want to cross over into craft beers. We’ve got these depending on time of year. We have Hefeweizen. We’ve got Belgium style beers. We’ve got Mexican lagers. We’ve got stouts. We’ve got IPAs and pale ales. It’s just literally everything.” Dakota Point Brewing has something for everyone. 

In addition to a broad menu of beers, Schlottman says that Dakota Point Brewing also offers you a place to go where folks can sit and talk and actually have a conversation while having a beer. “We’re not a bar. We’re a brewery with a taproom. And, you know, it’s an inviting place to bring your friends, your family, your dog. We’re dog friendly as well. We don’t serve food here, but we do have food trucks come in. We do have a deal with one of the local pizza companies where if you order delivery here, you get 25% off. Or you can bring your own food  and we will throw your trash away.”

Schlottman describes his goal. “We’re just trying to build community here in the craft industry. And that means people and our collaborative partners, including the other breweries here in town and what have you. And we like to say we’re just building community one beer at a time.” 

For more information, visit their website here.