MG Industries Creates New Joint Venture with Minnesota Brewing Company to Produce and Distribute Liquid CO2.

MALVERN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 17, 1999--

Fully-automated, state-of-the-art plant to be constructed in St.

Paul, Minnesota on Minnesota Brewing Company site

A new liquid CO2 production and distribution company, to be jointly owned by MG Industries and Minnesota Brewing Company, will be formed to supply industrial customers in Minnesota, the Dakotas and Wisconsin from a fully-automated, state-of-the-art plant located in St. Paul, Minnesota, it was announced today.

The new company, MG CO2-St. Paul, will serve customers in the food freezing, beverage, pulp and paper, pharmaceutical and medical industries. Technical support for customers will be provided by a local applications engineer based in Wisconsin in such areas as food freezing and pH-control, with additional technical support from the MG Industries' Merchant Products Technical Center in St. Louis, MO and the international center in Kreyfeld, Germany.

"The current peak seasonal demand for CO2 in this market substantially exceeds the production capacity," Jim Freeman, Vice President of MG Industries' CO2 Group, said. "Consequently, customers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North and South Dakota rely on product delivered by railcar from other distant facilities. Once our new plant is on-line, we will be positioned to meet the regional demand for CO2 at stable prices, and provide for our customers growth. This new plant will reduce the need to rail in product, and, combined with our 250 ton per day facility at Koch's refinery in Pine Bend, Minnesota, will provide a more reliable source of supply to our customers."

The new CO2 plant represents a multi-million dollar investment and will be closely integrated with Gopher State Ethanol Company, an ethanol plant being built on the site of the Minnesota Brewing Company. Start-up of the new 150 ton per day plant is slated for April 2000. The construction of this ethanol-producing facility takes advantage of the existing beer fermenters, grain silos, conveyance systems and the general infrastructure remaining idle in the huge brewery, which was previously owned by Heilman Brewing and, before that, Schmidt Brewing.

Jack Lee, President/CEO of Minnesota Brewing, stated, "MG Industries has been supplying our CO2 requirements for the past 12 months, and with their quality control and dedication to service, we are thrilled to be forming a joint venture with them. We are looking forward to a long and successful relationship."

CO2 produced by the new plant is expected to meet stringent FDA standards for pharmaceutical and medical applications, as well as the International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT) standards for beverage applications.

"We plan for the CO2 plant to be an emissions free facility," Paul Daus, MG Industries' CO2 Product Manager, commented. "We're recovering and purifying a naturally produced by-product of corn fermentation and using it for the food and beverage market." The CO2 plant is expected to create approximately eight new positions.

MG Industries, a leading industrial gas company operating in the United States and Canada, supplies industrial and process gases and the technology to use these gases effectively, serving customers through a network of strategically placed production and distribution sites. In addition to bulk gas liquid sales, MG Industries also builds pipelines and on-site plants for our customers and sells specialized gases in cylinders and dewars. With 1998 sales in excess of $360 million, MG Industries employs over 1,400 people in the United States and Canada and operates over 70 production plants and facilities.

MG Industries is a member of the Messer Group, one of the largest industrial gas companies worldwide, with more than $1.8 billion in sales. With over 200 companies and over 14,700 employees, the Messer Group operates in 60 countries. Messer provides an extensive resource base from which MG Industries can draw at any time.

Minnesota Brewing Company operates a full-scale brewery in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Company's revenues are derived from the production of its proprietary labels which include Grain Belt Golden, Grain Belt Premium, Grain Belt Premium Light, Pig's Eye, Brewer's Cave and Yellow Belly malt beverages. In addition, the Company produces beverages for a number of companies under a variety of labels.

The Company's common Stock is traded on the Nasdaq Small Cap Market under the symbol "MBRW". For further information contact Jack Lee, President, at [phone].