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 established by William Ostner, a German immigrant to the United States who worked in the St. Louis, Missouri, brewing industry. After visiting Jacksonville, Florida, in 1909, he determined the city would be a good location for a new brewery. He founded the enterprise with assistance from his in-laws, the Schorr family of the Schorr-Kolkschneider Brewing Company, and his good friend Jacob Bongner. The partners broke ground on the brewery building on West 16th Street on June 9, 1913. It was the second brewery ever opened in the state, after Tampa's Florida Brewing Company.

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, which spiked it.

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