Yikes, May already (how did that happen?), and clearly nothing is slowing down anytime soon. But no worries, Rumor Mill is always on the case, keeping you plugged in into all the beer news and lifestyle that matters. Plus we’ve an all-important update on what we’ve been drinking lately and you don’t want to miss that!

Stone’s Hot, Hot, Hot (Escondido, CA) – Stone Brewing, is off to a strong start in 2017, and they’re reporting an 18% bump in their growth over the same period, last year. 

Additionally, Stone’s performance is far outpacing both the year-to-date, IRI-stated grocery craft category growth of 4.4% and the category’s 52-week growth rate of 6.4%.

Stone’s Explosive Growth is fueled on a portfolio both familiar and new. Their recently refreshed classic, Stone IPA is up 8.2% and their relative “newbie’ Stone Delicious IPA, which the brewery introduced nationally in 2015, is up a massive 142%, so there’s gotta be parades planned over in Escondido.

Words To Drink By (Escondido, CA) – “Stone is a continually growing, developing entity… I will never sell out.”             Greg Koch – Executive Chairman Stone Brewing

Boston Beer Struggles (Boston, MA) – It was a different coast and a different story altogether for Boston Beer who like Stone just reported their first quarter earnings – and unfortunately there wasn’t a lot of good news.

The Bad News is that Boston Beer’s shipments were down 15% from the same period last year, a number that they report was at least partially offset by making your beer more expensive at retail.

The Good News Is that advertising, promotional and selling expenditures in the first quarter decreased $5.5 million or 9% which is not insignificant.

What We’ve Been Drinking Lately (St Louis MO) – Last night we tapped something welcome from Schlafly Beer that they recently released as part of their super-cool Frugi-Four Sampler Pack. Schlafly Raspberry Hefeweizen, is a 4.1% ABV Wheat Ale that’s neat, sweet and tart

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