Jay's Brewing Blog

Hmm.. *cough* whew.. it’s dusty in here. Sorry about that. The busy time of year always seems to catch me least prepared. Holidays, school, work. Still, that’s no excuse. The people demand beer content and beer content is what the people should get! So, with that being said, I am back and I’m going to […]

This past weekend I brewed for the umpteen hundredth time. Something that has become so customary in my life, it’s almost like I go into autopilot. I knew my recipe, I knew my process, I knew my numbers. Yet, something was different. I couldn’t put my finger on it, so I went along brewing without […]

You may have had a Kölsch, but do you know where and how it got its start? In the early 1600’s in the Cologne region of Germany, all beer that was produced were top-fermented ales. However, outside beers started making their way into the local market and giving the brewers of Cologne a run for […]

As I write this, the day before Thanksgiving, I realize that while I love the holiday season, I often find it stressful. Managing expectations of extended families, families who live hundreds if not thousands of miles away, and even more intense pressure from the family members who live nearby can be build up to mountainous […]

If there is one thing about beer that fascinates me, it is the history. Like everything, beer styles have waves of popularity, right now we’re going through a phase of hazy IPA’s, Brut IPA’s and pastry stouts. With the market being so strong for these styles, it’s very easy to find information about them. For […]

If you’ve walked through the beer section lately, you’ll notice that just about every brewery already has their pumpkin beer out. Don’t worry, you haven’t missed the boat… it’s not even fall yet! It seems, just like every other holiday favorite, these beers are coming out earlier and earlier. The good news for you is […]

If you’ve been into Jay’s Brewing lately, you’ve probably noticed a grain bin isolated from the others. Don’t worry, it hasn’t been quarantined, it just hasn’t found a permanent home yet.This bin belongs to the newest malt in the store, Best Malz Red X Malt. No, that’s not just a fancy name, it was designed to […]

Every year there is so much pressure to have a beer for Saint Patrick’s day (March 17th 2013) . If you are a homebrewer your friends are most likely looking for you to come up with something great.  If you are doing bottles, well you are flirting with disaster if you are making it now.  You can […]

This is one of my favorite beers. I love this beer when it is hot out, I like it when it is cold out – this beer is simply easy to drink.  It has a white head and an amber body.  For a while it was near impossible for me to ever make this beer […]

A nice pale ale is always appreciated.  What I like about Pale Ale’s is that they are so easy to drink, and most of the time even non-craft beer brewers still like them. This one features some aromatic malt and it really adds a well balanced flavor to the beer.  The crystal malt is of course […]