Jay Dingman – President/Brewer

Jay’s passion for great food and drink started over 20 years ago. At 13, he took his first job in a restaurant and knew right away that he had found his niche. From busser to bartender to manager, the industry has provided him with more than just an income. It was the fuel to his cross-country adventures, always meeting new people and trying new food and drink. It wasn’t uncommon for Jay to show up at a keg party with an 18 year old bottle of Glenfiddich.  After graduating from a small college, just north of the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York, Jay headed out to Boulder, Colorado. It was there that his love for craft beer began to flourish. Jay quickly developed a palate for great beers, seeking out new breweries and styles wherever he went. Left Hand, New Belgium, and Boulder Beer Company were frequent haunts and Jay soon equated good living with good beer. Eventually, Jay landed in Portland, Oregon, where the sheer volume and diversity of the brewing community was overwhelming. Boundaries were pushed and extreme brews were turning up everywhere. It was here that Jay really began to disect the culture of the craft brew scene and the beers that he loved. Beer wasn’t just beer anymore, it was keeping pace with fine wines and spirits.

When Jay arrived in Florida, he decided to start brewing his own. In their first 18 months of brewing, Colleen and Jay produced nearly 500 gallons of beer in the kitchen of their two bedroom apartment. As the beer got better and started winning awards, hobby turned to passion and that passion is the driving force behind the Barley Mow Brewing Company.

Colleen Dingman – Brewer

As an Ohio native, Colleen grew up thinking that beer was served in a shiny blue can with the word “light” plastered all over it.It was always served just a tad warmer than the icy air outside of the Browns stadium.As unpleasant as that may sound, she quickly developed a taste for it and by the time she was a student at The Ohio State University, she had discovered Great Lakes Brewing Company and was hooked on craft beer.She worked through college at a local beer bar that carried over 100 craft beers.At that bar, during a chance encounter with the brew master at Sierra Nevada, she realized how developed her palate had become and decided right then that she would have to be working in a brewery someday.

The year after graduating with a degree in Art and Art History, was spent traveling.She went to Hawaii, California, Illinois, Austria, France, and pretty much everywhere in between.Eventually, after spending time in Clearwater, Florida, she left Columbus, moved to Dunedin, and met Jay.She purchased her first homebrew kit and a week after making it, bought a second.Didn’t take long to discover where their real passion was.Combining their love of beer and hospitality experience, they decided to open the brewery.

Now, as a part owner and brewer at The Barley Mow Brewing Company, she’s still learning about different processes and styles and finding new ways to be creative with beer.In an industry that’s become dominated by men, she’s determined to prove that chicks know good beer too!