Jacksonville Brewing Company (Jax Brewing Company)

Jax Brewing Company, originally Jacksonville Brewing Company, was a regional brewery in Jacksonville, Florida operating from 1913 to 1956.

Jacksonville Brewing Company was a regional brewery distributing through Florida and the Southeastern U.S. It distributed its first beers in May 1914. Its flagship product, Jax Beer, was a German-style pilsner. By 1917, the company had paid off its debts and was turning a profit. However, on May 14, 1918, Jacksonville voted to adopt prohibition, followed by nationwide prohibition in 1920. This made Jacksonville Brewing Company the last brewery to open in the U.S. before prohibition. The brewery pivoted to other products and services. The main operation became the Jax Ice and Cold Storage Company, which also produced ice cream, root beer, ginger ale, and near beer. The near beer operation featured an unusual brewing process in which beer was made normally and then boiled to remove alcohol, meaning that illegally strong beer existed at the plant for clandestine visits by locals. A significant percentage of the legal near beer was sold to speakeasys, who spiked it.

Subject ID: 44617

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Jax Brewing Company, originally Jacksonville Brewing Company, was a regional brewery in Jacksonville, Florida operating from 1913 to 1956.

Jacksonville Brewing Company was a regional brewery distributing through Florida and the Southeastern U.S. It distributed its first beers in May 1914. Its flagship product, Jax Beer, was a German-style pilsner. By 1917, the company had paid off its debts and was turning a profit. However, on May 14, 1918, Jacksonville voted to adopt prohibition, followed by nationwide prohibition in 1920. This made Jacksonville Brewing Company the last brewery to open in the U.S. before prohibition. The brewery pivoted to other products and services. The main operation became the Jax Ice and Cold Storage Company, which also produced ice cream, root beer, ginger ale, and near beer. The near beer operation featured an unusual brewing process in which beer was made normally and then boiled to remove alcohol, meaning that illegally strong beer existed at the plant for clandestine visits by locals. A significant percentage of the legal near beer was sold to speakeasys, who spiked it.

The brewery also credited with being the first to sell beer in a six pack in 1945 or 1946, as a result of market pressure from breweries using disposable cans. Breweries were modernizing after World War II, and the advent of canned beer created a huge cost advantage for breweries that could afford the canning equipment. In an effort to compete, the Ostners bought 100,000 durable sacks, branded them with "Jax Beer," and sold six beers to a sack.

Ultimately the pressure to modernize brought the two competing breweries together. In 1956, the Jacksonville Brewing Company sold to the Jackson Brewing Company of New Orleans and the Jax brewery in Jacksonville closed its doors. As of 2014, the old Jacksonville brewery building still stands in the Durkeeville neighborhood at 1429 W. 16th St. Jax was solely brewed by the Jackson Brewing Company from 1956 through 1974, until pressure from national breweries made it difficult for regional breweries to compete.

Subject ID: 44617

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