Frank Jones, now a tasty cold beer

I did not know there is a beer called me. There wasn't, for a long time, because that Frank Jones was dead and stuff. But then someone said, Hey, what about that Frank Jones beer and whatnot, shouldn't we make some more of that? So now there is, once again, a beer called me.

From the Portsmouth Herald, in Portsmouth, NH:

Frank Jones lives again

By James Buchanan, Portsmouth Herald Staff Writer

The happy little city that grew with the "King of Alemakers" has its beer back.

Thursday at bars around the Portsmouth, kegs of Frank Jones beer were ceremoniously tapped by Frank Jones descendant Don Jones and Jim Killeen, owner of Nutfield Brewery in Derry. This means that the distinctive English-style ale recipe of the man who made Portsmouth the "ale capital of the world" from the 19th century to Prohibition is back in production.

The short history of Frank Jones is that he was a man of many passions. Born Sept. 15, 1832, he served two terms as mayor of Portsmouth, was a U.S. Congressman, was nearly elected governor of New Hampshire, and was owner of the Portland & Maine Railroad and the Wentworth-by-the-Sea Hotel. The hotel, ironically enough, is also scheduled to be brought back; but that's a different story.

In 1859 Frank Jones was a tin peddler without many prospects. But after working with English-style ale brewer John Swindell he developed an adeptness for the craft. A year later Frank took on the business by himself.

The reconverted brick mills along Islington Street in Portsmouth are testament to the success he had in building the business into what many considered to be the largest ale brewery in the world. According to Don Jones, the brewery on Islington Street employed approximately 250 people in its heyday.

Dying in 1902, Frank's brewery lingered on without him until Prohibition struck in 1920, which took the wind out of the entire industry, sort of.

Defunct since Prohibition, Frank Jones beer eructated back into existence briefly in the late 1980s, but then disappeared again to age a bit longer, waiting for the right time to re-emerge.

"In 1986 I thought it was about time to bring back the family business," said Don Jones. "We paired up that time with Catamount brewers and started Don Jones Limited, the first beer distributor in New Hampshire since Prohibition."

The rest of the story goes that Jones with his partner built a brewery and began brewing and selling beer here in Portsmouth. In 1993 things weren't working out for Don, so he sold the facility to its current owners, Smutty Nose Brewing Company.

Meeting with Killeen approximately three years ago, the two of them discussed the possibility of bringing Frank Jones back to life, so to speak. Biding his time for the right moment, Killeen began brewing the beer earlier this year, and released the finished result Thursday night. The bottle form of the beer will be available later this month, but the draft form is available now at bars across the city.

Nutfield Brewery is a perfect match for the aged English recipe, as Killeen produces other English-style brews and imports up to 20 tons of grain every six weeks from England.

"Frank Jones Ale is hand-brewed with imported English grains and top fermenting yeast just like the original recipe," said Scott Watson, head brewer at Nutfield.

Killeen adds, "The color is a deep ruby with a wonderful hop fragrance. In essence we are bringing back a rich piece of Portsmouth, New Hampshire's history. It's something we're very proud of."