It’s National Beer Day! Cheers!

ISHPEMING–Today is a holiday that many of us can raise a glass to, National Beer Day.

We’re looking for the best Upper Peninsula brewed beer. Make a comment for a suggested poll answer on this post. We’ll use your submissions for a poll next week to find the best brewed Upper Peninsula beer. Got a favorite? Let us know.

In honor of such a day, we spoke to a local brewer about the process and reward of brewing. According to the Head Brewer of Jasper Ridge Brewery, it’s very satisfying to brew your own beer.

Beer is made by combining water and grain into a slurry and creating sugary water from the blend. Then you add hops into the water while it is boiling and finally add yeast. For the head brewer, the best part of brewing is experiencing and sharing your work with others.

“Being able to taste it at the end, it’s a lot of fun and seeing people enjoy it as well,” said Matt Burling, head brewer at Jasper Ridge Brewery. “It’s definitely an art form to me and I enjoy being able to present something that’s a little bit of me to the community.”

Burling said he would advise anyone who is interested in brewing to just jump right in. He also said there were kits and guides available as well as groups that include brewers of all experience levels.