Wiki Brewery, an

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

brewing facility was founded by Andrew Wales in 1770.

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

frequently purchased beer from Wales Brewery.

History

Background

Andrew Wales was born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

around 1737. He arrived in the Colonies before 1765 and held a position in John Mercer's Stafford County, Virginia brewery from 1765 to 1769. He rose to the position of brewmaster after a previous brewmaster failed to produce quality

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

Establishment

Andrew Wales rented space in Alexandria's Town Warehouse on Duke Street and began brewing there commercially in 1770. Within two years, Wales purchased a building to house his brewery, but did not fully relocate brewery operations until 1773.

first purchased a cask of Wales' beer from the Mercer Brewery in 1768 and would remain a customer of Wales Brewery for thirty years.

Sale and renaming

Cornelius Coningham, the first brewer in the city of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, took control of the brewery in 1798 renaming it Alexandria Brewery. Coningham held the brewery for Wales until a new owner was found. The brewery complex was purchased by John Fitzgerald in 1798, but was sold to settle Fitzgerald's debts after his death in 1802.

Legacy

The brewery complex no longer exists. Remnants of the Town Warehouse, where Wales first rented space for his brewery, were found in November 2015 during construction of a new hotel.

Footnotes

{{Reflist Food and drink companies established in 1770 Beer brewing companies based in Virginia Companies based in Alexandria, Virginia