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 yourself.

Atlas Brew Works Unveils Its New Taproom (Washington, DC) – We’d like to thank Justin Cox and the whole Atlas Brew Works crew for having us down to a special unveiling of their sleek and modern 2,600 sq. foot Tap Room which now fronts their 100% solar powered brewery. The new taproom has room to accommodate up to 16 draft lines and Atlas plans to soon install a 3.5bbl pilot brewing system to compliment the new space. The space was designed by Justin Feit of FEIT Design of Charleston, S.C. Feit and Cox have been friends since middle school.

SAVOR Rules! (Washington, DC) -The ninth annual SAVOR returned to the nation’s capital last weekend and it was a terrific couple of nights! Presented annually by the Brewers Association, this year’s outing provided 4,000 attendees the opportunity to enjoy brilliant craft beers from 76 amazing independent breweries – and to sample specially curated foods designed to pair perfectly with them. Of the craft breweries pouring this year, 70 percent were not at the event in 2015 and half had never participated in SAVOR before. It was a spectacular pair of evenings and we’d like to thank the BA for putting up with us again this year.

Words To Drink By (Scottsdale, AZ) – “The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”

Muhammad Ali – Professional Boxer & American icon

Two Jester Kings Move On (Austin, TX) – On Friday Jester King announced the departure of Ron Extract and Amber Watts who are leaving to pursue their career goal of opening their own brewery in rural Washington State in the near future,

Good Beer and Free Speech Prevail (Washington, DC) – In 2015 Flying Dog won a landmark freedom of speech case, when the US Court of Appeals ruled that the Michigan Liquor Control Commission’s ban of Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA violated the brewery’s First Amendment right. And now the brewery is putting the settlement funds they received in that legal victory, to good use. Last Monday we joined Flying Dog’s Jim Caruso, and constitutional lawyer Alan Gura, at the National Press Club, for the launch of “1st Amendment Society,” a non-profit dedicated to awareness-raising and advocacy around free-speech issues and events that promote “the arts, journalism and civil liberties.”

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