Jay’s Brewing

Needed to pick up some supplies tonight to make a small batch. Came in and Jill (I am very bad with names so if I am wrong, sorry) helped me out quite a bit by showing me how to self serve if need be in the future and was incredibly friendly. This place gets my business going forward!

Friendly, young family running the store. Great selection of speciality grains and base malts. Decent yeast selection. Jay was friendly and helpful in my search for a hop bag. Suggested useful alternative Muslim bag for my typical nylon mesh option.

I’ve been to Jay’s a few times over the past couple of years when the old owner (Derek) was there. It was AWFUL. They never had anything I needed — from base malts to DME to yeast. And I never really needed anything too crazy, just simple things. The store was always disgusting, and the owner was less than helpful. I had written the place off for good.
I heard that it was under new ownership now, and I really didn’t want to run all the way up to Kettles and Grains, so I stopped in this afternoon.
It was night and day! The store was clean and tidy, and they had every single item I needed! Jill and I chatted for a little while, and she is super friendly and helpful. I’m very glad to see that this business was taken over by a couple that really cares about its success. She also mentioned that if they ever didn’t have something in, that I could just tell her and she’d get it ordered for me.
I had a great experience, and would definitely encourage anyone who hasn’t been in a while to give this place a 2^nd chance.

Needed just a few things and they had it. Very knowledgeable. There’s a ton of options to brew your own. Wish I lived closer. I would be there all of the time.

I’ve been back twice since new under new management and the shop is in much better shape. Jill is very easy to talk to, friendly and helpful. Shop is much cleaner. New glass door refrigerator for the yeast and such look great.
Two thumbs to Jill for insisting the grains/​mill are self-​serve and showing me how to use it. I actually look forward to my next visit and am glad to support a local shop rather than the internet retailers.

My husband and I were in here the other day to grab a few items for the beer he was going to be making. Found out from the new owner that they bought the place about 6 months or so ago. Its very clean and very well-​organized. The new owners are awesome! We will definitely be back.

I can’t express how great a place this is. I have stopped in several times over the past few months and have always found them to be VERY helpful. They never try to sell you something you don’t need and I really appreciate that. They have a great selection of just about everything you need. If they don’t have they will order it or tell you where to get it.
Top notch place in my book.

Jay’s recently changed ownership, and the new owners reached out to let me know, so, I decided to stop by and check it out. I’ve been in three times since then and I have to say, it’s such a dramatic change that it’s hard to fathom! The owners are very friendly, personable and passionate about what they’re doing. The shop is clean, well-​organized, and well-​stocked. (and no cats!) I am thrilled to have a place nearby where I can get supplies and generally talk about what I’m brewing, get advice, etc. If you came in at some point prior to the current ownership, you should definitely give it another try.

Well I just visited the new Jay’s and I must say… the new ownership (Jillian & Thomas) has really turned things around. The place is sparkling clean, very well-​organized and the product selection /​freshness is excellent. If you’ve «written off» Jay’s, you absolutely need to stop by and see what they’ve done with the place. Additionally, the new management has been very active in the local homebrew community and been very supportive of local clubs.

I am updating my previous posts. I just visited this store today and was very much surprised in a good way. The store is clean, stocked and the owner actually has a personality. This is a good thing for this area.

If you brew beer or wine then this is the place to go for supplies and know-​how. Tom and Jill keep the store well stocked with everything you need to make some really great adult beverages. They also have some great items that you typically wouldn’t find elsewhere; such as their new one gallon carboys and starter kits, in addition, anything they don’t have in stock they can order for you and have within a week.
Don’t pay any attention to the negative reviews here; they’re nerfherders who couldn’t do the kessel run in under 20 parsecs, let alone 12.

Store is so much cleaner and inviting under the new owners. I recently purchased ingredients to brew a saison here. When I got home, out of curiosity I checked the receipt against a huge well known online brew supplier, and Jay’s was $ 5 cheaper even before the $ 7 shipping. For price alone, I will buy my stuff here. Everything else is just gravy.

Wow!!! Big difference the new owners made. Much cleaner, stuff was in stock and the cats were gone. The lady working was very nice and helpful. Disregard all of the old reviews of Jays Brewing.

I somehow never managed to visit Jay’s when Jay actually ran it, but I can attest to the quality of the new management under Jill and Thomas. Despite being bombarded with all the new challenges of opening up a small business, both of them manage to provide prompt, polite, and expert assistance in the store and over the phone. The store is quite clean and stocked wall to wall with self-​serve grain buckets (and two fridges of yeast and hops), though if you need helping finding something or with weighing or milling, either of them are happy to help.
This is definitely my new go-​to place for brew supplies!

Walked in to just check it out. Really liked it. Well stocked with grain, hops and yeast and plenty of equipment, nothing crazy but standard equipment. The guy there was really rice and helpful. I definitely recommend this place

Giving a new 5 stars in support of a new owner. The previous shop and standard are gone. Give these new motivated owners a try.

After seeing a few threads on Facebook that the old owner sold to a new owner. The previous owner is indeed gone. What a difference!
My only other visit was November 2014 and I wrote a scathing but true expose/​review on Unilocal.
Went in today and met Jill who now owns Jay’s Brewing with her husband. Super nice. She weighed out my grains and some hops for me. She is very helpful. I very much hope these people succeed here. I hope people give these 2 folks another try, and here is why.
1.) The free range cats (yes cats) are history.
2.) The store floor, counters, scales, refrigerators and shelving are immaculate. Clean. Spotless.
3.) The pricing is very competitive with what you’d find in other area homebrew shops and online.
4.) They genuinely want feedback from their customers as to what additional inventory to carry.
Anyway, thanks for a great shopping experience today. I drove all the way out from Burke to see for myself. The people of Prince William County deserve a great homebrew shop and I think given a few growing pains they will have decent path towards rebuilding this business.
Good Luck! And to other Unilocalers, please go see for yourself.

Jay’s has new owners!!! They are really nice and very helpful. Completely the opposite of «that other guy» who used to own it. The store is clean and organized now, you will hardly recognize it. Go to Jay’s, see for yourself.

I want to support local businesses, especially a rare commodity like a home brew store, but when they don’t open on time it’s hard to ignore the ease of ordering on line and the price savings to be found elsewhere. Jay’s has what home brewers need. No frills, but a good selection of bulk ingredients. Cleanliness, not so much and so I question how fresh the ingredients are. As a matter of fact, how fresh can the ingredients be with the bins left open, dust all over the place, and drippings of liquid malt extract oozing out of the barrels? It’s pretty disgusting. At least the yeast is sealed.
As I sat in the parking lot for 30 minutes waiting for signs of life, I did find it in the form of a cat hanging out on a table in the window. Note that this cat clearly spent the night there, in a room full of open grain bins, since the owner had yet to show up to open the place. At least this is not a bad strategy to combat other vermin. Considering the amount of grain on the floor, it is grain mecca for any willing rodent.
This place could be so much better. There’s aren’t many options to pick up local home brew ingredients in the area. If there was a «Restaurant Makeover» for home brew shops, this place would be an excellent candidate. It really would make a difference drawing in serious home brewers. We are out there and the convenience of a local store just can’t be beat when you make a last minute decision to bring out the gear and brew a batch on a Saturday afternoon. I get the sense that the owner doesn’t care much. Not a friendly guy but he’ll get you what you need quickly. But that’s it. Missing big potential IMHO.
If you make your way there and it’s a bust, have no fear, there’s a good small brewery and Virginia Arms in the same strip mall. Both are worth a visit.

It’s sad that so few retail winemaking /​homebrew shops have survived, but after visiting Jay’s Brewing in Manassas I can see why.
I was looking for a cheesemaking kit. They list some on their web site so I drove 30 miles out to Manassas to check it out. What a disappointment! There’s a big, hairy cat laying on the floor (is cat hair good for beer?) and a lone employee who couldn’t be bothered to talk about his cheesemaking kits except to say «we only have this one» and «if you want to make hard cheeses you need a cheese press, we don’t have one». Maybe he’s helpful if you’re interested in making beer but, ask him a question about cheese? Forgetaboutit.
I was also hoping to pick up a wine kit. There were a dozen or so… baking in the intense sun flooding through the front window of the shop. Judging from the faded print on the boxes, they’ve been baking in the intense sun flooding through the front window of the shop for a long, long time.
No winemaking hardware, no cheesemaking supplies, few wine kits, an apathetic staffer with CLEARLY no interest in their product line — just a ton of barrels of every variety of cat hair and hops.
I sure hope that winemaking shop in Annapolis is still there.