Erhardt Lenhardt was born in Häselrieth, Hildburghausen, Thuringia, Germany. In 1873 he and his wife Charlotta (pregnant with Daughter Mina) fled the unrest in Germany for a new life in America.

The young family settled in Litchfield, Minnesota. Their daughter Mina was born in December 1873 and soon afterward 29 year old Erhardt joined with George Roetger to form a brewery on the north shore of Lake Ripley. Lenhardt would become sole owner in 1882, then passed the brewery into the hands of his son (Edmond) and son-in-law (William Shoultz) in 1910. The brewery was shut down by local dry laws in 1914. Erhardt Lenhardt died on February 14,1929.