Joseph Theodore Eppig was born in Großwallstadt, Bavaria, Germany, to a family of brewers. He emigrated to America at age 11, with his parents and 31-year-old brother Leonhard. They settled in New York City.

In 1856 his father took ill and went back to Germany. He died there the next year, leaving his widow and two boys to fend for themselves in the new world. Joseph was just 13, but under the guidance of his brother and mother, he turned out all right. The younger Eppig likely worked in a brewery with his brother during the early 1860s, then helped his brother out when Leonhardt opened his own brewery in 1864.

In 1888 Joseph Eppig partnered with Frank Ibert to start a brewery at 176 Grove Street. A year later, Ibert left the firm, and Joseph took full control. He ran the brewery until his death on the 29th of September, 1907. The brewery kept business under the ownership of his estate, but the pressures of competition and impending Prohibition were just too much, and Joseph Eppig's brewery closed for good in 1915.