It's hard to keep covering beer festivals that sell out so fast that even their most plugged-in fans have a difficult time getting tickets. It's hard to highlight hot craft beer events where demand far outpaces availability. People get pissed at us when we bring up these seemingly unattainable hot ticket events...And that's probably why we shouldn't mention the Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival, which took place in Grand Rapids over the weekend.

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.

What could possibly lure away the chiefs of Russian River Brewing Company in the midst of the annual spectacle that is their Pliny the Younger release?

Hey it's Friday and work's been brutal and the weather not much better -so you're ready for some fun. Well good, because we're all about it and we've got all kinds of ideas. 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 serious Weekend Beer Pick that you'll want to get your hands on.

Being an ACB correspondent definitely has its benefits: entry into festivals, abundant free samples, occasional brewery swag, a guilt-free excuse for (polite) public drunkenness. Yet when you're tasked with imbibing as many samples as possible within a defined time limit, things can get a little challenging... like social skills and such. Having survived my first summer of Oregon beer festivals, I now feel like a veteran and it was once again time to mercilessly punish my liver the best way I know how to: Zwickelmania 2014.

So many beers, So little time...Newbies is your essential map to the "best of the best" and the hottest new craft beers rolling out each week. From Saint Arnold Bishop's Barrel No. 6 to the latest from Victory and Funky Buddha - we've got all kinds of new releases you're going to want to chase down.

So welcome to another edition of Newbies -Your ultimate guide to great new craft beers! 

Hey it's Wednesday and that means it's Rumor Mill Time....Beer floods may come and Beer floods may go - but we should never forget The Great London Beer Flood of 1814. Plus we've some updates from Mission Brewery and a Rumor Mill Beer Pick that you'll want to chase down.

So fasten your seat belts everybody because....THIS WEEK'S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

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.

(Paso Robles, CA) - Not only is Firestone Walker one of our favorite breweries - but they also throw an awesome annual event which has fast become one of the hottest tickets in the world of craft beer - the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest. This year's event which will take place on May 31st sold out in a mind-blowing 22 minutes leaving many a beer geek discouraged and thwarted.

But what no one has known until now is that the geekiest tickets of them all remain unclaimed...

The biggest holiday and cash crop for flower shops may be none other than Valentine's Day. This commercial-crazed, love-fest celebration seems to benefit companies such as Russell Stover, See's Candies, and The Crappy-Stuffed-Bear-with-Heart Emporium more than horny guys hoping to get some action. This year, try indulging in a gift for your honey-schmookins-booboo-pie (or for yourself) that will actually benefit your true love in life: craft beer. ACB has some great love/beer advice that will help out every craft drinker's situation this Valentine's Day.