Hey it’s Wednesday and that means it’s Rumor Mill Time….SAVOR returns to the Capital City and tickets are going on sale soon-we’ll be bringing you absolutely everything we know so far! Stone Brewing honors a friend and MillerCoors hires a Breaking Bad enforcer to give its new Hard Cider line some cojones. Plus we’ve yet another Russian River update for you.

So fasten your seat belts everybody because….THIS WEEK’S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

SAVOR Returns to the Nation’s Capital (Washington, DC) – As much as we enjoyed covering SAVOR last summer up in Manhattan, we’re happy to have this year’s “American Craft Beer & Food Experience” back in DC. As we wrote earlier this week, tickets will go on sale for American Homebrewers Association and Brewers Association members only on March 25 and will be available for purchase to the public the following day, March 26. Ticket sales begin at 12:00 noon Eastern/11:00 am Central/10:00 am Mountain/9:00 am Pacific both days via Ticketmaster. And be forewarned – SAVOR is a HOT ticket. This event will sell out quickly – so be ready.

Sproose No Longer Joosed(Pembine, WI) – Black Husky Brewing has announced that it’ll be changing the name of Sproose Joose II IPA to just Sproose II IPA due to a trademark dispute with the makers of Joose, a cocktail company.

Stone Honors Lost Brewer and Friend (Escondido, CA) – In 2013, Stone Brewing Co. suffered the loss of a close friend, team member, and exceptional brewer, Matt Courtright. After exploring ways to honor his memory, Stone decided to brew one of his most recent beer recipes and release it nationally for all to enjoy. Matt’s Burning Rosids Imperial Cherrywood-Smoked Saison is that beer. And now, thanks to the proceeds from the sale of that beer, Stone is donating $100,000 to two nonprofit organizations close to Matt’s heart – and contributing to The Matt Courtright Memorial Brewing Scholarship.

Russian River Deluged With Pliny The Younger Pilgrims (Santa Rosa, CA) – Russian River Brewing is reporting a record numbers of visitors who came through their brewpub in the first two weeks of the 2014 Pliny the Younger release. As many as 15,000 visitors weathered much needed rain and 12-hour waits in line to enjoy the legendary brew.

Drink MillerCoors or Else! (Chicago, IL) – In an effort to up the testosterone level on its new Smith & Forge Hard Cider brand, MillerCoors has hired actor Jonathon Banks, who played the underworld meth lab enforcerMike Ehrmantraut on “Breaking Bad.” According to Crain’s Chicago Business, “He will serve as a “media spokesman,” giving interviews about the brand to men-targeted publications.”

More Litigation Woes (Chicago, IL) – Strange Pelican, a soon-to-open Chicagoland brewery, will be changing its name to Aquanaut after legal action was threatened by the Pelican Pub & Brewery, an Oregon-based company that had “recently expressed concern over the similarity of the two names,” according to DNAinfo.com Chicago.

Got something we should know? News or events coming up that you want us to Hype? How about industry tips you want us to leak anonymously?

THEN E-MAIL US NOW AT:   info@americancraftbeer.com and let us do your dirty work for you!