2012 Atlanta Beer Week kicked off with the Decatur Beer Festival and this year was a festival to beat all. Not only did ACB get to attend some pre-beer week events, such as the Brewers' Ball at Sweetwater Brewing and the Brewers' Brunch at The Square Pub, but we got our fill of great beer and some newcomers to the Atlanta Market and Decatur Festival that we really enjoyed.

Larry Sidor is a big name in the Bend, Oregon brewing Community. He's been in the industry for years, done all kinds of things, and is a mentor to many of the region's finest brewers.....He recently left an 8 year stint as Brewmaster for the formidable Deschutes Brewery, to open his own operation. He's named the new brewery, the Crux Fermentation Project, and was kind enough to have us in for a personal tour.

Today is a sad day for craft beer but specifically Louisiana Craft Beer. On Thursday November 1^st, Abita Brewing Founder Partner Jim Patton passed away due to unknown causes in Miami. He was 59 years young. While he was working on starting a new brewery in Miami, he will be remembered mainly for his pioneering spirit that launched the 13^th craft brewery in the country and the first in the South. In 1986 Abita Brewing Company released its first beer at 2 locations in South Louisiana. In the first year Abita brewed more than 1500 barrels of beer. Now the company produces more than 125,000 barrels and is available across most of the United States.