I worked with Bowie on and off, when I was with RCA (and later again with Virgin Records) - and watched as he rose to superstar status on the heels of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust. And even back then, with all the fame he'd acquired (and the brutal toll that that kind of celebrity can exact) he remained a kind and gentle man.

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.

It was a great year for craft beer and a terrific year for cutting-edge television and we binged severely on both.  2015 a year that delivered some of the most artistic and adventuresome television dramas and comedies ever. 

So here (in no particular order) are some of our favorite television shows from 2015 along with a suggested beer pairing...

I recently spent three fantastic days and nights exploring London's beer scene along with our UK correspondent, Sophie Atherton - and meeting with many of the remarkable people doing it. One of my most-anticipated stops was to Logan Plant's Beavertown Brewery in the North London neighborhood of Tottenham Hale.

They're doing some amazing things at Beavertown - so fasten your seat belts.

Hey it's Friday... and you're ready for some fun. Well good, because we're all about it and we've got all kinds of ideas for you. From the nation's coolest beer festivals to movies, music and cutting edge TV - we've got your back big-time.  Plus we've a weekend beer pick for you too, because we know you'll be drinking!

So welcome to our awesome Weekend Picks...

If you've been reading us this week, you may have already checked out our fearless Craft Beer Predictions for 2016. And now if an effort to totally hedge our bets (and hopefully have a couple of our predictions come true) we thought we should maybe get a little more adventuresome with what we think might happen in the craft beer world, this year.

Hey, we get that all these predictions are long shots - but if any of them do happen...we're going to look like f**king geniuses!

So many beers- So little time... Winter is undeniably here and with it comes the beers of the season. And we've a number of interesting new releases that you'll want to chase down...We've also some awesome offerings from Sun King and New Belgium that sound pretty serious as well.

I was recently in London, exploring the beer scene along with our UK correspondent, Sophie Atherton. On my first night in town, I ended up at the Holborn Whippet, a packed craft beer pub in the Bloomsbury section of town. It was overflowing with locals and expats enjoying serious London craft beer, inside and outside its door. And that's where I met Auguri Kutveltukas, a striking Lithuanian beauty with bright orange "rockstar" hair, who was ably managing the beer-swilling masses that night.

Welcome to 2016...It's a brand new year but 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.

I recently spent three fantastic days and nights exploring London's beer scene along with our UK correspondent, Sophie Atherton. She'd set up a full plate of visits for us that she hoped would give me an overview of everything going on, both new and old. And as exciting as breweries like Beavertown and The Kernel are, they both owe no small debt to Fuller's - London's largest and oldest brewery.