September's out the door and October arrives tomorrow (say goodbye to pumpkin beers and hello to winter warmers)...Clearly nothing's 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.

The Vegan Oktoberfest returns for its second year to Los Angeles this Saturday and Sunday for an event that will be larger than Helga the 27 stein holding beer wench. This Oktoberfest will still be as authentic to the German festival as an event can get, but of course without meat and animal products. I had a blast at last year's fest and I'm as excited as a German teenager drinking his first Löwenbräu to go this year.

So many beers- So little time...  It's Oktoberfest season, so grab some pretzels, set your Pandora to Polka and dust off the Lederhosen. And, oh yeah, you'll need beer, lots and lots of beer - and we can help you with that. 

So here are 5 Oktoberfest beers that you absolutely need to chase down, before you kick it...Prost!

A win at the GABF competition is a big deal. Winning a gold, silver or bronze medal in one of this year's 92 categories can put a new brewery or brewpub on the map - jumpstart interest both locally and nationally - and reaffirm the industry's leaders.

A win in Denver is as big as it can get...

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 yourselves.

Hey the work week is over... And it's time to start thinking 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, movies and music to cutting edge TV - we've got your back big-time.  Plus we've a special weekend beer pick for you too, because we know you'll be drinking!

So welcome to our awesome Weekend Picks...

Hey we get it.  You're busy and you can't possibly hang with us 24/7. But still, we don't want you to be missing all the good stuff. So as part of our ongoing commitment to bringing you the best craft beer and lifestyle coverage on the face of the planet - and to keep you plugged into our ongoing recklessness - we do a weekly compilation of our recent good, bad and ugly.

So welcome to another Friday Wrap-Up

Hey, we admit that none of these things are actually going to happen. But after a week of legitimately hyping the Great American Beer Festival, even we were getting a little bored, so we thought we'd expound on some things that we wish would have taken place.

So many beers- So little time... Fall has arrived and with it the beers of the Season - and we've a number of interesting new seasonals that you'll want to chase down....Plus we've some new offerings from Cigar City and Bissell Brothers that sound serious as well.

Anheuser-Busch today announced it will acquire Los Angeles-based Golden Road Brewing. Another day another craft beer acquisition - we'd like to say we're surprised this but unfortunately - nothing surprises us anymore.

Here's their official statement and we'll have some more of our thoughts on all this tomorrow...