William Jones (brewer)
William Jones , called "Stoney", (* 1874 in Wales ; † 1936 ) was a Welsh brewer and founder of the Eureka Brewery , which after his death became known as the Jones Brewing Company .
biography
Jones emigrated to the USA in 1885. He initially worked as a miner in a coal mine southeast of Pittsburgh . He later bought a hotel and restaurant in Sutersville . In 1900 he bought the Smithton Hotel in Smithton . In 1907 Jones went into the brewing business. There are two versions of the exact circumstances in which the brewery was founded:
- He won the brewery in Sutersville by playing cards and moved to Smithton in 1907.
- He terminated the contract with his beer supplier in 1905 and then opened his own brewery.
There are also two explanations for the name of the brewery, Eureka Brewery : Either it was named after the mining town of Eureka or after Jones' lucky exclamation about the purchase of three artesian wells . The brewery produced "Eureka Gold Brown Beer", which customers soon called simply "Stoney's".
By the beginning of Prohibition , the brewery had an annual output of 25,000 barrels . In order to stay afloat, it was decided to produce ice and low-alcohol light beer ("near beer"). The brewery was renamed the Puraqua Products and Ice Company . After the end of Prohibition, regular brewing operations were resumed under the new name of Jones Brewing Company . The product flagship was "Stoney's Pilsener Beer".
Jones died in 1936 - his sons William Jr., Paul, Hugh and David took over the management of the brewery.
At its peak of production, the Jones Brewing Company reached an annual output of 130,000 barrels in 1982. Various factors eventually led to the Jones Brewing Company being closed in 2002.
family
Little is known about Jones' family. He had four sons:
- William Jr.
- Paul, father of actress Shirley Jones
- Hugh
- David
literature
- David G. Moyer (2009), American Breweries of the Past , Bloomington (Indiana): AuthorHouse, pp. 52–53 (English)
Web links
- Popular Pittsburgh: Tapping into Pittsburgh's Beer Scene , accessed September 13, 2015.
- Stoney's Beer: A brief history of Stoney’s , accessed on September 13, 2015.
- SWPARE: A Visit To The Former Stoney's Brewery , accessed September 13, 2015.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jones, William |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jones, William B .; Stoney (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Founder of the Jones Brewing Company |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1874 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wales |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1936 |