2016 is ON… and clearly nothing is slowing down anytime soon. But no worries, Rumor Mill is always on the case, keeping you plugged in to all the craft beer news that matters. Plus we’ve an all-important update on what we’ve been drinking lately and you absolutely don’t want to miss that.

There’s No Place Like Home (Kailua-Kona, Hawaii) – Kona Brewing has announced that after an extensive search, they’ve decided to build their new 30,000-square-foot brewery and canning operation, right down the street from the original Kona Brewery & Pub. The new high-efficiency brewery will boost the brewery’s annual capacity to 100,000 barrels per year, while supporting the company’s long-running commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability.

Boulevardia Tickets Go On Sale Soon (Kansas City) – Boulevard Brewing’s media goddess, Julie Weeks, just tipped us to the fact that Boulevardia, the brewery’s hugely popular three-day “urban street festival” will make its return to KC this summer (June 17^th-19^th). Tickets to this beer-fueled funfest will go on sale on Feb 24^th at 10am CST. And since this thing usually sells out immediately – so you know what to do.

Words To Drink By (Los Angeles, CA) – “if you’re not willing to fail in art, you’re probably never going to deliver anything great…Failure is a badge of honor.”  

                                                                                                 Bob Lefsetz – Music Analyst & Writer  

World Tank-Diving Federation Announces Plans For North American Competitions (Brussels) – Noting the unprecedented growth of craft beer in America, the World Tank-Diving Federation (WTF) has announced that it’s planning to bring its competitive tank diving franchise to the states. Extreme brew-tank diving, which originated in the less-regulated regions of Eastern Europe, has grown wildly in popularity over the last decade, and is now a major sporting event all over Europe. Belgium’s Trappist Tank-Diving Competitions are now sold-out events with a ravenous following, and the popularity of this extreme endurance sport in Europe, is second only to the World Soccer League! The WTF is currently in talks with interested US cities and will be visiting several major brewing regions this year. And although San Diego, Denver, and Chicago have all expressed serious interest in hosting the North American competitions, the Federation remains uncommitted at this time.

What We’ve Been Drinking Lately (Washington, DC) – We’d like to thank all of the American craft breweries who shipped us beer from time to time. It’s always great to sample the brews that we write about and it helps us have a better feel for what’s happening out there. Last night we hit up something special from our friends at Airways Brewing Company and it was awesome! The 2015 Final Departure Imperial Stout is an enormous 9.1% stout that was partially aged in Dry Fly Triticale Whiskey barrels for eight months, then blended into a fresh batch of Final Departure just to rock your world,

Got Something You Think We Need To Know About? Send Your Press Releases to: pr@AmericanCraftBeer.com