Jax Brewing Company
Regional Florida brewery that pioneered the six-pack.
Jax Brewing Company, which began as the Jacksonville Brewing Company, operated as a regional brewery in Jacksonville, Florida, from 1913 until 1956. It was the second brewery to open in the state and holds the distinction of being the last brewery in the United States to start up before Prohibition. The company is also credited with being an early seller of beer in six-packs.
German immigrant William Ostner, who had worked in St. Louis’s brewing industry, decided to establish a brewery in Jacksonville after a 1909 visit. With backing from his in-laws, the Schorr family of the Schorr-Kolkschneider Brewing Company, and his friend Jacob Bongner, construction began on West 16th Street on June 9, 1913. The brewery distributed its first beers in May 1914, with its flagship Jax Beer being a German-style pilsner. By 1917, the company was profitable and debt-free.
Jacksonville voted to adopt prohibition on May 14, 1918, followed by nationwide Prohibition in 1920. The brewery shifted to producing ice cream, root beer, ginger ale, and near beer through its Jax Ice and Cold Storage Company. The near beer was made by brewing regular beer and then boiling off the alcohol, which meant illegally strong beer remained on site for locals to visit clandestinely. A significant portion of the legal near beer was sold to speakeasies, which would spike it.
After Bongner’s death in 1924, Ostner became president. In anticipation of Prohibition’s repeal via the Twenty-first Amendment, he ordered equipment and began brewing months early, making Jacksonville Brewing the first Florida brewery ready to resume operations. Beers were distributed just a week after the Amendment passed on December 5, 1933. A 1935 trademark dispute with New Orleans’ Jackson Brewing Company over Jax Beer was settled, giving Jacksonville Brewing exclusive rights to sell Jax Beer in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Ostner officially renamed the company Jax Brewing Company in 1940. In 1941, production expanded significantly by bottling Old Union Beer for New Orleans–based Union Brewing, boosting sales by about 50%.
To compete with breweries using disposable cans after World War II, the Ostners bought 100,000 durable sacks, branded them with “Jax Beer,” and sold six beers per sack—a move credited as an early six-pack, around 1945 or 1946.
Quick Facts
- Hq Location
- Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
- Industry
- Alcoholic beverage
- Products
- Beer
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Jacksonville Brewing Company was established by William Ostner, a German immigrant who worked in the St. Louis brewing industry. After visiting Jacksonville in 1909, he decided the city was suitable for a brewery. With help from his in-laws, the Schorr family, and his friend Jacob Bongner, ground was broken on June 9, 1913. The brewery distributed its first beers in May 1914, with its flagship Jax Beer being a German-style pilsner. By 1917 the company was profitable, but Jacksonville voted for prohibition in May 1918, followed by nationwide prohibition in 1920, making it the last brewery to open in the U.S. before Prohibition. During Prohibition, the brewery pivoted to ice and cold storage, also producing ice cream, root beer, ginger ale, and near beer. The near beer was made by brewing normal beer and then boiling off the alcohol, meaning illegally strong beer existed on site for clandestine visits. A significant portion of the near beer was sold to speakeasies, which spiked it. In 1933, anticipating repeal, Ostner ordered equipment and began brewing months early, making the company the first brewery in Florida ready for business; it distributed beer just a week after the Twenty-first Amendment passed on December 5. In 1935, a trademark dispute with Jackson Brewing Company of New Orleans was resolved, giving Jacksonville exclusive rights to sell Jax Beer in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Ostner changed the company's name to Jax Brewing Company in 1940. In 1941, the brewery expanded by bottling Old Union Beer for Union Brewing, increasing sales by about 50%.
Reader's Guide
Jax Brewing Company is significant for its role as the last brewery to open in the United States before Prohibition and for its survival through that era by producing near beer and other products. Its most lasting legacy is the introduction of the six-pack, developed around 1945 or 1946 as a response to the cost advantage of canned beer. Unable to afford canning equipment, the Ostners bought 100,000 durable sacks branded with 'Jax Beer' and sold six beers per sack, a packaging innovation that became an industry standard. The brewery also demonstrated resilience by being the first in Florida to resume full brewing after Prohibition's repeal. Ultimately, pressure to modernize led to its sale in 1956 to the Jackson Brewing Company of New Orleans, and the Jacksonville brewery closed. Jax Beer was then brewed by Jackson Brewing Company until 1974, when national competition made regional brewing difficult. The original brewery building still stands in Jacksonville's Durkeeville neighborhood as of 2014.
Did You Know?
- During Prohibition, the brewery produced near beer by boiling normal beer to remove alcohol, leaving illegally strong beer on site.
- Jax Brewing Company is credited with being the first to sell beer in a six-pack, using branded durable sacks.
- The company was the first brewery in Florida to be ready for business after Prohibition's repeal.
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