The American Craft Beer Rumor Mill – March 23, 2016

American Craft Beer|March 23rd, 2016|

Yikes, it’s the third week of March already… 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.

Craft Beer Industry Shows Double Digit Growth Again! (Boulder, CO) – The Brewers Association released last year’s growth numbers and they remain impressive. In 2015, craft brewers produced 24.5 million barrels – that’s a 13 percent rise in volume over 2014. Retail dollar value was estimated at $22.3 billion – that’s an amazing 21 percent market share.

More Mind-Blowing Craft Brewery Stats! (Boulder, CO) -2015 the number of operating breweries in the states grew 15 percent – that’s 4,269 breweries–the most at any time in American history. Throughout the year, there were 620 new brewery openings and only 68 closings. One of the fastest growing regions was the South, with four states–Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Texas–all showing a net increase of more than 20 new breweries.

Words To Drink By (Washington, DC) – “The truth is like poetry…And most people fucking hate poetry.”

– Overheard in a bar by Michael Lewis / The Big Short

Something Wicked This Way Comes (Asheville, NC) – Wicked Weed Brewing, is launching their forth expansion in four years – a temperature controlled 57,000 square foot barrel house and brewery dedicated to the production of Sours, Brettanomyces Farmhouse Ales, and Wild Ales.

What We’ve Been Drinking Lately (Washington, DC) – We’d like to thank all of the American craft breweries who’ve shipped us beer from time to time. It’s always great to sample the brews that we write about and it helps to give us a better feel for what’s happening out there. And last night we hit up a new Heavy Rotation Series release from Starr Hill that was awesome. Starr Hill’s Daily Grind is a nuanced 6.2% rustic Peppercorn Farmhouse Ale with a spicy citrus and pepper nose.