Jay R. Brooks

Jay R. Brooks (March 3, 1959- ) was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, and moved to Northern California in 1985. Brooks has been writing about beer for over 20 years, and is the former GM of the Celebrator Beer News and was the chain beer buyer for Beverages & more. He is currently a syndicated newspaper columnist for the Bay Area News Group with his bi-weekly column, "Brooks On Beer." He contributes to most major beer periodicals. Brooks studied brewing at U.C. Davis and has judged at the Great American Beer Festival, the Great British Beer Festival, the World Beer Cup and many other competitions, both local and international. His first book on beer was published in 1992, "The Bars of Santa Clara County: A Beer Drinker's Guide to Silicon Valley." He's also contributed entries to the "Oxford Companion to Beer," "1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die," and also "The Pocket Beer Guide: The Essential Handbook to the Very Best Beers in the World." He co-founded SF Beer Week, the North American Guild of Beer Writers and started the Bay Area Beer Bloggers. He also writes about beer online for a variety of websites, including his own Brookston Beer Bulletin (BrookstonBeerBulletin.com).