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 […]

I love milk stouts. Seriously, I have a milk stout recipe for just about every occasion. Mint Chocolate, Chai, S’mores, I’ve got one for each season. The smooth, soft mouthfeel coupled with an assortment of roasted flavors, it’s this stout lover’s dream. You should see the look of horror when I offer a milk stout […]

A few months ago, we challenged the loyal customers of Jay’s Brewing to an experiment. We wanted you to come into the shop, pick up some Best Malz Red X malt and make something unique. We went out of the gates with two recipes, a fairly complex Rye IPA and a very straight forward Munich […]

Before getting too deep into the waters, let’s first discuss what makes a specialty grain, well, special. Any brewer would probably admit that all malts are pretty special, given they are usually beer by the time we finish with them. However, when you want to branch out into certain styles, you need something a little […]

Alternate Title: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year I’m sure by now you’ve figured out where this is headed. We have entered Autumn and with that comes a new array of beers. I’m sure we all noticed that pumpkin beers no longer seem to be coming out in September and October and are instead […]

Like many beer styles, saisons originated out of purpose. Saison, meaning season in French, was originally brewed during the cooler months of the farming season in Wallonia, Belgium. They were often created from ingredients grown on the farm and brewed by many of the same people who worked the fields, looking to keep busy during the […]