Although not nearly as overtly offensive as last year's "Brewed The Hard Way" Super Bowl commercial, Budweiser clearly felt a need to be vaguely belligerent to the craft beer community that roasted them so brutally after last year's atrocious marketing disaster. And to reaffirm their manly manliness of their beer, at the same time.

Yikes it's February 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.

So many beers- So little time... Winter is not going anywhere, anytime soon, and with that comes the beers of the season. And we've a number of interesting offerings that you'll want to chase down...We've also some new releases from Flying Dog and Stone Brewing  that sounds serious as well.

As we cruise into 2016, ACB looks back at the most significant events of "the year that was" and reflects upon where the industry might be heading.

So welcome to Part II of our 2015 Review and if you haven't read Part I already...we're pissed at you.

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 off enjoying yourself.

Nobody likes to see a beer that they brewed, slighted by the press. But that's what happened last August, when Garland, Texas-based Lakewood Brewing saw their beloved session IPA, panned online in a D Magazine's Side/Dish blog.

Hey, all breweries necessarily develop thick skin - craft beer fans (and critics) after all, have opinions. 

Imperial Stouts are one of the most beloved styles in craft beer. And with so many worthy Imperial Stouts out there (and so many variations), even attempting to come up with a definitive list might be dismissed as sheer recklessness on our part. But that's never stopped us in the past.

You'd barely know that craft beer existed by watching the ongoing calvalcade of Super Bowl commercials over the years. It's long been the domain of big beer companies - the Anheuser-Buschs' of the world. Global titans still have a stranglehold on this game.

And as far as we're concerned - they're welcome to it. 

Hey it's Friday and unless you've living under a rock (or drinking too much) you know that it's Super Bowl weekend. But the game is not until Sunday night and you've got the rest of the weekend to play your own games. And that's where we come in. From the nation's coolest beer festivals to movies, music and cutting edge TV - we've got your back big-time.

I've been struggling with how to address this, ever since that notorious Anheuser- Busch commercial debuted during the third quarter of last season's Super Bowl. Of course you remember the one that promoted their Macro Beer over products like a Pumpkin Peach Ale and portrayed craft beer fans as bearded academics fussing prissily over their beer.