Hey it’s Wednesday and that means it’s Rumor Mill Time….Green Flash Brewing just released their own state of the union report and we’ll be bringing you everything we know so far. Plus, Founders CEO Mike Stevens makes a stunning admission. But that’s not all… we’ve also got a special Rumor Mill winter release you’ll want to chase down before the holidays. So fasten your seat belts everybody because….THIS WEEK’S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

Mexico Adds Another Buzz-Worthy Import (Los Angeles, CA) -You can now add Mexican craft beer to an already long list of popular imported enjoyments – and this one’s legal. Drinks Americas Holdings, a U.S. broker for authentic Mexican beer, has announced that they shipped 17,000 cases of Day of the Dead Craft Beer into the states and happily, none of it moved via cartel-controlled tunnels. All the beers are brewed in Mexico’s third largest brewery, Cerveceria Mexicana, which is Mexican-owned and uses state of the art processes, fermentation, and aging systems.

Rahr & Sons Plan to Get Canned! (Fort Worth, Texas) – Okay that doesn’t sound quite right – let’s try this again. Starting in early 2014, North Texas’ oldest brewery, Rahr & Sons Brewing Company will launch a selection of canned beers to the Dallas-Fort Worth market for the first time. This rollout will also include a new American pale ale that will be exclusively available in cans. The launch is expected to spread to additional Texas markets later in the spring.

No Accurate Gauge for Beer Tourism Yet (Grand Rapids, MI) – Mike Stevens, the CEO of Founders Brewing Company, made a stunning admission on Monday according to MLive.com. While participating in an economic panel discussion with Michigan-based beer, wine, and food experts, he explained that in spite of all the industry’s talk about the growth of craft beer tourism, nobody has figured out how to measure it with any degree of accuracy or specificity as yet.

Laid-Off MillerCoors Workers Look to the CraftBeer Industry (Grand Rapids, MI) – Another interesting, if unsurprising, highlight of that beer, wine, and food panel discussion was about the increasing amount of laid-off MillerCoors workers now looking to craft beer for possible employment. MLive.com quotes Founder’s Mike Stevens as explaining that the brewery’s now “getting a lot of those folks reaching out to us,” and that those inquiries are mostly for “upper-level management positions.”

Green Flash Releases Its Own State of the Union (San Diego, CA) – After entering North and South Dakota as well as Wyoming in November, Green Flash Brewing beers are currently available in 48 US states. The San Diego brewery is now operating at 70% of their ultimate capacity with a roster of nearly 80 employees and their Virginia Beach-based brewery is still on course to open in 2015.

A Rumor Mill Release You Want to Look Out For

It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of Eugene Oregon’s Ninkasi Brewing and enjoy just about everything they do. And now they’ve a special “high gravity” seasonal release that you absolutely need to know about. Ninkasi’s Imperiale is an enormous yet surprisingly smooth 9.2% ABV Imperial Stout brewed for winter’s coming and it’s out there now!