WareTranz bringing life back to old Jax Beer brewery

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A look inside the last brewery built in the country before Prohibition and one local entrepreneur's plans to create jobs and economic activity in the inner city by bringing it back online.

  1. The brewery peaked, producing 100,348 barrels by brewing twice a day in 1943.

  2. During the 1940s, the brewery also bottled Old Union Beer for New Orleans Brewing Company, causing sales to increase as much as 50 percent.

14. Jax Beer’s demise came as via the aluminum can. According to Ostner, “the boys got back from somewhere they hadn’t been before (World War II), and that’s when the nationals began to take over. Then cans came in and the national companies could absorb the costs of the cans - the cans cost more than the procut - by charging them off to freight.”

  1. Despite sales increasing in 1955, ownership decided to sell the Jax Beer copyright for $36,000 to New Orleans-based Jackson Brewing Company in 1956. They then repositioned the business into the Jax Ice and Cold Storage Company.

  2. In 1986, the complex was sold to ICS Logistics. According to Jeff Spence, Mr. Ostner left the building after closing, leaving everything behind almost as is. “His desk looked like he had simply left to go to lunch.”

  3. A former rail loading area that has been bricked in over the years to keep unwanted guests out of the brewery.

  4. The brewery complex is made up of 10 to 12 buildings built between 1914 and 1982, with ceiling heights between 15 and 30 feet. Overall, the brewery is a maze like place, built like Fort Know.

19. During the early 21st century, a large portion of the brewery was filled with debri collected by E-Scrap Computer Recycling. Phase 1 of WareTranz involves cleaning the landfill-like remains of E-Scrap.

  1. Tony Gardner (left) lets in a little natural light, while Ennis Davis (center) and Deatri IKner (right) inspect a cold storage truck loading dock area.