Pabst to bring back Jax Beer......to New Orleans

[thelakelander]

Cool news, especially since the old Jax Beer brewery has found a new use.

http://www.moderncities.com/article/2016-dec-waretranz-bringing-life-back-to-old-jax-beer-brewery-

Unfortunately, Pabst forgot that Jax stands for Jacksonville.....


a look inside the old Jax Beer brewery on W 16th Street.

Stroh's is coming back to Detroit. Old Style is brewing in La Crosse, Wis., again. And drinkers in New Orleans might soon be sipping on Jax beer, which hasn't been available since the 1970s.

The comebacks are courtesy of Pabst Brewing Co., which is betting that variety-seeking, craft-beer-crazed drinkers will develop an appetite for the classics. The strategy, called "local legends," relies on a two-pronged approach to resurrect old labels that have been dormant for years, as well as breathing life into existing brands via new premium varieties. New line extensions include Old Style Oktoberfest and Stroh's Bohemian-style Pilsner, which are both made in their original hometowns.

Next year, Pabst is looking south, where it tentatively plans to bring back Jax beer in New Orleans and other Gulf Coast regions. The brew was made in New Orleans from 1891 until the mid-1970s. The original brewery was called Jackson Bohemian Brewery in honor of Andrew Jackson, according to the Tulane University library. Today, the former brewery site is home to retail shops in the French Quarter.

http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/pabst-reinventing-stroh-s-style-schlitz/305538/?platform=hootsuite

[JaxJersey-licious]

Wait, i'm confused...there is nothing in the article about bringing back Jax beer where exactly they're going to start production. Is it official that they will be using this old facility to start brewing and distributing this beer?

[Adam White]

I believe the Jackson Brewing Company was using the name "Jax Beer" separately from (and possibly before?) the Jacksonville Brewing Company. And the Jackson Brewing Company was older. So maybe they didn't forget it so much as they chose to honor one tradition or brand name over the other?

According to Wikipedia, Pabst owns the company that bought the Jackson Brewing Company (Pearl Brewing Company), so it makes sense that they Jax Beer they are referring to is the one from NOLA and named after Andrew Jackson and Jackson Square.

[thelakelander]

Sorry for the confusion. Pabst is now a virtual brewer for the most part. They own the rights to several old brewer brands (including Jax Beer). They contract their brewing out to Miller. Pabst is going to bring back Jax Beer, but they'll be bringing it back to the New Orleans area only.

Locally, a separate project has targeted the old Jax Beer brewery for re-use. WareTranz (https://www.waretranz.com/) plans to utilize the long abandoned complex as a mix of industrial uses, with the purpose of creating economic revitalization and job creation in Durkeeville and Moncrief.

The only link between these two stories is Jax Beer. The old Jax Beer brewery is getting used again and the old beer they brewed is coming back.....but to New Orleans instead of Jax.

[thelakelander]

I believe the Jackson Brewing Company was using the name "Jax Beer" separately from (and possibly before?) the Jacksonville Brewing Company. And the Jackson Brewing Company was older. So maybe they didn't forget it so much as they chose to honor one tradition or brand name over the other?

According to Wikipedia, Pabst owns the company that bought the Jackson Brewing Company (Pearl Brewing Company), so it makes sense that they Jax Beer they are referring to is the one from NOLA and named after Andrew Jackson and Jackson Square.

Jacksonville's Jax Brewery filed a suit against New Orleans-based Jackson Brewing Company over the trade name "Jax" in 1935. A compromise was reached that the Jacksonville brewery would have the sole rights to the name in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

When the Jax Brewery decided to stop brewing beer, in favor of going into the cold storage business 100% (cold storage is how they survived Prohibition and it was more profitable), they sold their Jax Beer copyright to Jackson Brewing for $36,000. Jackson was acquired by Pearl in 1974 and Pearl was sold to Pabst in 1985. So Pabst now owns the rights.

[Adam White]

Yeah, exactly. So "Jax" only means Jacksonville in relation to one of the two Jax beers. So maybe the Jax Beer that is being brought back to NOLA is the Jax Beer of the Jackson Brewing Company, not the Jacksonville Brewing Company. And that is the older company, apparently.

[thelakelander]

Perhaps, although I'm not sure if Jackson was brewing Jax Beer before 1914. It seems the issue of trademark rights popped up two years after the end of Prohibition.

[Adam White]

Perhaps, although I'm not sure if Jackson was brewing Jax Beer before 1914. It seems the issue of trademark rights popped up two years after the end of Prohibition.

Not sure. But Jacksonville Jax beer wasn't sold in NOLA - at least not after the lawsuit. So it makes sense that the Jax beer coming to NOLA is not the Jacksonville stuff (or at least the story being sold with the new Jax beer isn't the Jacksonville backstory).

[thelakelander]

I don't know too much about the differences in them. Only that Jackson acquired the Jacksonville beer's rights in 1956. Thus, once acquired, did they brew the Jacksonville version between 56 and 74 or did they kill it in favor of whatever they already had? Anyway, if Pabst is bringing back throwbacks, it would be cool if they considered Jax's version locally.

[Adam White]

Anyway, if Pabst is bringing back throwbacks, it would be cool if they considered Jax's version locally.

Yeah, I agree with that.

[thelakelander]

I stand corrected. I just got a text that Pabst's Jax Beer is currently available on tap at European Street's location in Riverside.

[JaxJersey-licious]

Thanks for the clarification (now my head hurts). I know its early but has this new space have any tenants lined up?

[thelakelander]

During my tour, some names were mentioned, as well as a second cool project with another historic space they're interested in down the street, but it's too early to say anything publicly from my perspective.

[JaxJersey-licious]

I saw the article early about the old brewery being re-purposed and thought your initial post about re-releasing Jax beer was that they would start production. The building seems to be in decent shape and its not far from major highways so it sounds like a really promising project. Best of luck to them.

btw...Wait I'm confused will be the new name for my fantasy football team next year  I thought I had several wins in the bag this year that I barely lost. 2016 can't end soon enough for me.

[Tacachale]

My understanding is that both the Jacksonville and New Orleans companies were using the "Jax" branding prior to Prohibition. I'm not sure if Jackson Brewing was using it before 1914, when the Jacksonville company opened. They both certainly used it extensively after Prohibition. Back then, it wouldn't have mattered much. Both companies were regional breweries, meaning they distributed only to a few states around the breweries. Interestingly, regional brewing was the standard way of making beer in the early 20th century, before the national "macrobreweries" became dominant by the '50s.

Neither trademark would have been enforceable outside their area of distribution. The suit between Jax and Jackson happened because the two were starting to clash in some areas. They settled it by firmly demarcating their distribution areas: Jax Brewing Company sold "Jax" in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, while Jackson Brewing served elsewhere in the Southeast.

When Jax Brewing Company closed in 1956, they sold their rights to the "Jax" brand to Jackson. To my knowledge, Jackson didn't use the recipe or anything, they were just able to serve their own "Jax Beer" in the east. They did this for about 20 years before giving up the ghost, though "Jax Beer" has made occasional appearances since.

And yes, you can get it at European Street, which is possibly the only place in Jacksonville you can get it. I may grab some tonight at dinner. I can't imagine it's any good, if they're really using the old Jackson recipes; beer of the period (and its successors like Pabst and Bud) was famously bland, weak, and uniform.