In October 1995, James Page sold the brewery to a group of investors with a background in food marketing.

They created a fictional character to personify "James Page", who bore little resemblance to the founder of the company; he was a rugged American frontiersman.

As a result, Page management made the acquisition of a bottling line a top priority during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

[2] But the money was never used to fund expansion; instead it was used to lower the company's debt burdens, and the bottling line was never built.

James Page's most popular beers in the early period included Private Stock (an amber lager), Boundary Waters Lager (possibly the first commercially-produced beer made with wild rice), Boundary Waters Bock, Burly Brown Ale, and Mill City Wheat.

James Page Private Stock and Boundary Waters Lager were available in six-packs year-round.