Hey it’s Wednesday and that means it’s Rumor Mill Time…Everyone’s heading out to Denver this week for the GABF and the town will be rocking! We’ll be bringing you what’s shaking so far. Plus we’ve got some updates from the Grateful Dead crew and our friends at Dogfish Head. We’ve also got a very, very special new Rumor Mill release that you’ll want to chase down. So fasten your seat belts…THIS WEEK’S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

High Times in the Mile High City (Denver CO) – One of the industry’s biggest events begins in earnest tomorrow when the 2013 Great American Beer Festival kicks off at the Colorado Convention Center. Sponsored by our friends at the Brewers Association, this long sold-out event is the nation’s premier craft beer festival and competition. This year’s GABF promises to be the biggest and best ever and will feature more than 3,000 beers. The American Craft Beer crew wouldn’t miss this for the world, and we look forward to catching up with everybody this weekend in the “Mile High City.”

Quentin TarantinoCalls Out Drinking Buddies (Los Angeles, CA) – When Magnolia Pictures first approached us to help spread the word about their little “indie” movie, Drinking Buddies, we were excited. But I don’t think any of us were ready for the success it’s gotten… let alone the acclaim it’s received. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive and some of the industry’s biggest directors are singing this film’s praises…Pulp Fiction auteur and director Quentin Tarantino recently picked Drinking Buddies as one of his favorite films of this year – and we couldn’t agree more!

Dogfish Head / Grateful Dead Beer Arrives this Month (Milton, DE) – The counterculture collaboration between Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and the Grateful Dead, American Beauty will be hitting taps and shelves over the next few weeks. The band took the lead on deciding the style of beer, and they opted for a bold pale ale made with 100% American-grown ingredients. The brewery and the band then asked their fans to help decide on one righteous ingredient to add to the recipe that would complement the pale ale base.Thomas Butler, a chemist by day and homebrewer by night, suggested granola as the perfect addition, and the beer was born.

Michigan Lawmakers Address Pint-Shorting (Lansing, MI) – A pint of beer is sometimes much less than that and Michigan lawmakers have introduced a bill to make sure that pubs measure up or pay a price. Detroit Free Press reports “a bill introduced last week would amend the Liquor Control Act to make it an offense to advertise or sell any glass of beer as a pint in this state unless that glass contains at least 16 ounces of beer.” We’ll drink to that!

A Rumor Mill Release You Want to Look Out For

Our friends at Airways Brewing are releasing a long-time taproom favorite and we’re pretty damn excited about it! Named after a friend of the brewery, Maylani, who moved back to Hawaii, Maylani’s Coconut Stout is a dark, rich, and drinkable stout – a perfect fall/winter companion. Look for this subtle cocoa and toasted coconut seasonal to become available this Thursday, October 10 on draft and in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans at both Airways locations – and to roll out into the Puget Sound region on October 15.