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.

More Craft Beer than Ever at Sports Arenas and Stadiums (Everywhere, USA) – With the nation’s attention once again focused on the NFL playoffs and upcoming Super Bowl, more Americans than ever are enjoying craft beers at premium stadiums. Sports Business Daily is reporting that for Ovation Food Services (a leading venue provider), “craft beer now represents 25 percent of total beer sales at its facilities,” and that the company is now considering developing microbreweries at arenas and stadiums.

The Number of US Breweries Climbs Over 2,700 (Boulder, CO) – Our friends at the Brewers Association just tipped us to the fact that “at the end of 2013, the number of breweries in the United States reached the highest level seen in the country since the early 1870s.” They also go on to report that “there were an additional 1,744 breweries in planning at the end of December, the highest year-end number in the BA database.”

Philadelphia Region Rides the Crest of the Brewery Boom (Philadelphia, PA) – As we mentioned in our Craft Beer Predictions last week, the growth of new American craft breweries is showing little signs of slowing down and in fact things are really accelerating around Philly. With more than a dozen craft breweries scheduled to open or expand by this summer, the Philadelphia region is proving to be one center of the nation’s record-breaking brewery boom.

We Suggest Clydesdale Horse Drinking Games! (St. Louis, MO) – Super Bowl commercials are sometimes more popular than the game itself, and Anheuser-Busch will debut five new ads during the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII. Bud Light and Budweiser will be prominently featured in this multi-million dollar commercial exercise that in its own way has become a Super Bowl tradition.

Sierra Nevada’s New Brewery Could Open in August (Mills River, NC) – Construction on Sierra Nevada’s new $100 million North Carolina-based brewery is making progress and BlueRidgeNow.com is reporting that it might open as early as this August. Plans include child and healthcare centers on the property as well as cabins for the brewery’s “beer camp” visitors and “music and entertainment facilities.”

Sweet Virginia (Atlanta, GA) – Our favorite SweetWater media maiden, Francesca Zeifman, dropped us a line at the end of last week to let us know that SweetWater Brewing is making the big move north into DC and Virginia in the last week of January. Virginia marks the ninth state to be included in the brewery’s footprint and they’ll be working with Virginia Eagle in the Northern Virginia and Charlottesville markets, Loveland in the Richmond, Capital Eagle in Washington DC, and Hoffman in Southeastern Virginia.

Beer is Love (Eugene, OR) -The Ninkasi Brewing Company is proving yet again that “Beer is Love.” Established in 2012, Beer is Love is the name of the special charitable program that has enabled the brewery to offer donations and support to nonprofits and community organizations throughout all the states it distributes. In its first year, the program worked with more than 600 organizations throughout these six states. In 2013, the program donated a total of 790 barrels of beer to 700 organizations spanning from the brewery’s home state of Oregon, up to Vancouver, B.C. and down to San Diego.