Wales Brewery

Wiki Brewery, an Alexandria, Virginia brewing facility was founded by Andrew Wales in 1770. George Washington frequently purchased beer from Wales Brewery.

History[edit]

Background[edit]

Andrew Wales was born in Scotland 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.[1]

Establishment[edit]

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. George Washington first purchased a cask of Wales' beer from the Mercer Brewery in 1768 and would remain a customer of Wales Brewery for thirty years.[1]

Sale and renaming[edit]

Cornelius Coningham, the first brewer in the city of Washington, 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.[1]

Legacy[edit]

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.[2]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Peck, Garrett (Spring 2015). "Andrew Wales: Alexandria's First Brewer" (PDF). No. Spring 2015 No. 2. Alexandria Historical Society. Alexandria Historical Society. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Archaeology at the Hotel Indigo Site". November 2015.