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 enjoying yourselves.

Seasonality or Insanity? (Bend, OR) – The craft beer community has been grousing about this trend for years – about seasonal beers coming out earlier and earlier. We’ve long since grown immune to how strange it seemed to see pumpkin beers at retail in mid-July, only to be greeted with Winter Ales in August. Our friends at beerpulse compiled a list of early entrants into the Winter Beers market and it was ridiculous. Deschutes Brewery just rolled out their Jubelale on September 1. But they were actually beat by Kern River Brewing, who released their Winter Ale on August 1. We can argue the reasons why this is happening (and we will – just not now or here) but this trend is clearly accelerating. Which begs an obvious question – how come we can’t find a decent 2014 spring beer anywhere?

If The Food’s Half as Good as Their Beer…We’re Never Leaving! (Chicago, IL) – Things just keep getting better for our buds at Half Acre Beer who according to Chicago Grid will soon be adding a restaurant to their growing compound. No opening date has been set for Gabriel Magliaro’s new restaurant, but our Chicago rep’s already holding vigil.

Craft Beer On-Premise Sales Dip (Leesburg, VA) – According to research firm GuestMetrics, which monitors bar and restaurant trends, year-to-year on-premise craft beer sales growth has dipped to low single digits for the latest 4-week period. According to GuestMetrics, “while spirits and wine both saw volume trends improve slightly through mid-August, beer trends deteriorated, with growth slowing across all segments of beer.”

But Are You Sure That You Want to Sue Monks? (Albuquerque, NM) – Can a suit that involves Benedictine Monks potentially lead to bad karma? Evidently the former manager of Abbey Beverage Company doesn’t think so, because according to the Albuquerque Journal, he’s just filed suit “seeking $266,537 that he says he’s owed for work as an independent contractor from July 2009 through July of this year.” ACB’s calls to the Vatican for some kind of “Papal clarification” on this litigious matter have thus far gone unreturned.

Ballast Points North (St. Louis Park, MN) – San Diego’s Ballast Point Brewing Company is finally making that trek north and landing in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” According to craft beer-retailer Four Firkins’ newsletter, this is the first “well-established” out-of-towner to have touched down in the region in a while.

The Brooklyn Defender Returns to New York Comic Con (Norwalk, CT) – ReedPOP, a popular purveyor of pop culture events, and The Brooklyn Brewery have announced the launch of ‘Brooklyn Defender’ – an exclusive American Black Ale specifically created for this year’s New York Comic Con. The superhero-themed Black Ale will be introduced at a special release party September 21^st and then make its way around the city soon after that. New York Comic Con will take place October 10-13 at NYC’s Javits Center.