Did you know that we grow hops here in Nebraska? Don't worry - less than a year ago, I had no idea, either. Over the past year or so, many special casks of locally brewed beer have been cropping up at breweries in Nebraska that also feature locally grown hops.

In that almost forgotten time, when crappy yellow beers roamed the plains, a label meant little more than knowing which crap we're stuck drinking tonight. Boring us with non-existent aroma and flavorless body, these bastard children of America's pre-prohibition age graced us with artwork reminiscent of that bygone era of local beer.

Hey it's Friday and work's been brutal and the weather not much better - so you're ready for some fun. Well that's good - because we are all about it. From the nation's coolest beer festivals to movies, music and cutting-edge TV, we've got your back big-time. Plus we've a serious Weekend Beer Pick that you'll want to get your hands on.

So welcome to our awesome Weekend Picks...

So many beers, So little time...Newbies is your essential map to the "best of the best" and the hottest new craft beers rolling out each week. From Brewery Ommegang's newest seasonal, Glimmerglass, to the latest from Stone and Oskar Blues - we've got all kinds of new releases you're going to want to chase down.

So welcome to another edition of Newbies -Your ultimate guide to great new craft beers! 

There are a lot of reasons why people drink beer. Clearly, a primary reason is because they find it enjoyable. They appreciate how beer tastes and enjoy its mood-enhancing qualities. One thing's for sure - people don't generally drink beer to get healthier. But with more and more research coming out almost daily to the contrary, we all might want to start rethinking that.

Hey it's Wednesday and that means it's Rumor Mill Time....It's not every day that one of American Craft Beer's own takes home a medal for her brewing skills. We've got the inside on last weekend's big win by our GWAR goddess! Plus we've some updates from our friends at Avery and all kinds of news from Deschutes and Odell Brewing.

So fasten your seat belts everybody because....THIS WEEK'S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

So many beers, So little time...From special collaborations and craft beer one-offs to exciting new fall and winter seasonals, Newbies is your essential map to the "best of the best" and the hottest new craft beers rolling out each week ...

So welcome to another edition of Newbies - your guide to great new craft beer releases!

It's hard to keep covering beer festivals that sell out so fast that even their most plugged-in fans have a difficult time getting tickets. It's hard to highlight hot craft beer events where demand far outpaces availability. People get pissed at us when we bring up these seemingly unattainable hot ticket events...And that's probably why we shouldn't mention the Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival, which took place in Grand Rapids over the weekend.

We blame the industry for this... It used to be that when we wrapped up our Weekend Picks on Friday, we could coast through the weekend. There was little need to check in for updates -things were pretty much done. But clearly all that's changed.

So here's some of what's happened in the world of craft beer while you were off enjoying yourselves.

What could possibly lure away the chiefs of Russian River Brewing Company in the midst of the annual spectacle that is their Pliny the Younger release?

Hey it's Friday and work's been brutal and the weather not much better -so you're ready for some fun. Well good, because we're all about it and we've got all kinds of ideas. From the nation's coolest beer festivals to movies, music, and cutting-edge TV - we've got your back big-time. Plus we've a serious Weekend Beer Pick that you'll want to get your hands on.

Being an ACB correspondent definitely has its benefits: entry into festivals, abundant free samples, occasional brewery swag, a guilt-free excuse for (polite) public drunkenness. Yet when you're tasked with imbibing as many samples as possible within a defined time limit, things can get a little challenging... like social skills and such. Having survived my first summer of Oregon beer festivals, I now feel like a veteran and it was once again time to mercilessly punish my liver the best way I know how to: Zwickelmania 2014.

So many beers, So little time...Newbies is your essential map to the "best of the best" and the hottest new craft beers rolling out each week. From Saint Arnold Bishop's Barrel No. 6 to the latest from Victory and Funky Buddha - we've got all kinds of new releases you're going to want to chase down.

So welcome to another edition of Newbies -Your ultimate guide to great new craft beers! 

Hey it's Wednesday and that means it's Rumor Mill Time....Beer floods may come and Beer floods may go - but we should never forget The Great London Beer Flood of 1814. Plus we've some updates from Mission Brewery and a Rumor Mill Beer Pick that you'll want to chase down.

So fasten your seat belts everybody because....THIS WEEK'S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

We blame the industry for this... It used to be that when we wrapped up our Weekend Picks on Friday, we could coast through the weekend. There was little need to check in for updates - things were pretty much done. But clearly all that's changed.

So here's some of what's happened in the world of craft beer while you were off enjoying yourselves.

(Paso Robles, CA) - Not only is Firestone Walker one of our favorite breweries - but they also throw an awesome annual event which has fast become one of the hottest tickets in the world of craft beer - the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest. This year's event which will take place on May 31st sold out in a mind-blowing 22 minutes leaving many a beer geek discouraged and thwarted.

But what no one has known until now is that the geekiest tickets of them all remain unclaimed...

The biggest holiday and cash crop for flower shops may be none other than Valentine's Day. This commercial-crazed, love-fest celebration seems to benefit companies such as Russell Stover, See's Candies, and The Crappy-Stuffed-Bear-with-Heart Emporium more than horny guys hoping to get some action. This year, try indulging in a gift for your honey-schmookins-booboo-pie (or for yourself) that will actually benefit your true love in life: craft beer. ACB has some great love/beer advice that will help out every craft drinker's situation this Valentine's Day.

Hard as it is to believe, I've been on the Boston beer beat for over a year now. I love thinking about all the milestones -- my first live brewer interview (Backlash), my first tap takeover (Stoddards), and my first craft event, reporting on the music, food and people that made 2013's Brewers Helping Neighbors a success. I was honored to cover the gathering again last week as a guest of the United South End Settlements (USES), coming full circle from where I began as an amateur reporter.

Hey it's Friday and work's been brutal and the weather not much better -so you're ready for some fun. Well good, because we're all about it and we've got all kinds of ideas. From the nation's coolest beer festivals to movies, music, and cutting-edge TV - we've got your back big-time.

So welcome to our awesome Weekend Picks...

Every region across this great land now features a craft beer week or month to showcase and celebrate the best their city or state has to offer. In Oregon, we go one step further, by not only opening up a projected 100 breweries to the general public, but allowing folks to tour each location, most allowing samples directly from fermentation tanks.

So many beers, So little time...Newbies is your essential map to the "best of the best" and the hottest new craft beers rolling out each week. From Sierra Nevada's special 4-Way IPA Variety Pack to the latest releases from Stone and Deschutes - we've got all kinds of new releases you're going to want to chase down.

So welcome to another edition of Newbies -Your ultimate guide to great new craft beers!  

Hey it's Wednesday and that means it's Rumor Mill Time....World leaders were beer-binging in Sochi last week. We'll be bringing you everything we know so far on this international throwdown. Plus we've some updates from Ninkasi and Sierra Nevada Brewing. So fasten your seat belts everybody because....THIS WEEK'S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

Seems northern Arizona's got more going on than the red rocks of Sedona or the Grand Canyon. High desert towns long known for their sprawling scenic grandeur have started brewing beer--and some are getting very good at it.

Welcome to Flagstaff--craft beer's newest Kathmandu.

I was at one of my favorite beer stores recently and came across a beer called Imperial Destroyer IPA. It was from the Do Can Brewery and the label made me think of a Star Wars movie I watched endlessly growing up. So I picked up the beer and I have to say, it was much more than a cool label and catchy name ... and that led me to Pat Slattery, the owner of the Do Can Brewery.

We blame the industry for this... It used to be that when we wrapped up our Weekend Picks on Friday, we could coast through the weekend. There was little need to check in for updates -things were pretty much done. But clearly all that's changed.

California craft beer lovers rejoice! No longer are we susceptible to growler fatigue. No longer do we have to store large quantities of ceramic and glass jugs in dusty closets like old Magic card collections of yesteryear.

If you've been reading us regularly, you may already be following our Craft Beer - Good, Bad, and Ugly series - where our regional correspondents look back at 2013 and weigh in on craft beer's highs and lows in their parts of the country. What started as a simple idea quickly turned into a three-part regional manifesto and we're wrapping things up in a big way today.

Hey it's Friday and 2014 is definitely on. You're ready to play this weekend and you want to keep things fun. Well good, because we're all about it and we've got all kinds of ideas. From the nation's coolest beer festivals to movies, music, and cutting-edge TV, we've got your back big-time. Plus we've a serious Weekend Beer Pick that you'll want to get your hands on.

So welcome to our awesome Weekend Picks...

The dizzying array of events planned for craft suds showcase SF Beer Week threatens to turn any red-blooded beer hound into a puppy in a hydrant factory.

It's been called the best beer in the world. It inspires pilgrimages from foreign lands and turns beer writers into poets as they pen odes to its hoppiness and balance. And - for the 10^th year running - it returns Friday to the Bay Area and, soon after, to select bars in California and three other states.

Of course I'm talking Russian River's Pliny the Younger here, folks.