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 enjoying your weekend.

Does the phrase "craft homebrew club" fill your head with preconceived notions of "beer snobs" who spend hours studying and critiquing their concoctions with each swirl and sip, one-upping each other with talks of their latest brewing equipment purchase? Then you've clearly never been to one - or at least, not to one like the Dallas Homebrew Collective.

Hey it's Friday and if you're like us, you're ready to change gears. We get it. You've been killing yourself at work all week and you're in desperate need of fun. That's where we come in! We're all about the fun and we've got you covered. Plus we've got a special weekend beer pick for you too...So welcome to this week's edition of our awesome Weekend Picks!

It's not often you meet a new brewery that will tell you they have forty recipes they're comfortable brewing for mass consumption, and it's even more rare to find a brewery whose first commercial batch was a Roggenbier. Fortunately for this correspondent, Reuben's Brews in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle can claim both, and I had the opportunity to discuss these claims to fame with them and more.

So many craft beers, So little time......With so many craft breweries, releasing so many beers, we thought it might help to provide a weekly update on all the new beers that are hitting the streets .....So welcome to this week's edition of Newbies - Your guide to great new craft beer releases!

San Francisco Beer Week is one beast of an event. It takes its toll on livers, prompts "sick days," encourages craft beer connoisseurs at any level to enjoy beer, and all in all makes for an impressive list of events and people coming together to simply enjoy great beer both day and night.

Hey it's Wednesday and it's Rumor Mill Time.....Anchor Brewing has just unveiled some very big plans for its future. We'll be giving you everything that we know so far, plus we've got some fast-breaking craft beer news from our friends at Founders as well as from the DC Brau boys. We also have a hot new release that you've got to get your hands on! So fasten your seatbelts everybody....THIS WEEK'S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

Having lived in Madison for almost three years now, I'm of the belief that the craft beer industry here is an undiscovered gold mine. Taps at the downtown bars are largely local and they rarely disappoint. These are the beers that inspired me to write for AmericanCraftBeer.com, and that keep me glued to Madison despite temperatures well below zero and snow piling up outside my door. It's about time that I took a closer look at the breweries behind the beer. First up: a rapidly-growing favorite, Ale Asylum.

I had never left a brewery having loved every beer on tap - until I visited Hangar 24 in Redlands, CA. Head Brewer Kevin Wright has a philosophy that all of his beers should be balanced. Unlike the chemicals in Gary Busey's brain, Hangar 24 holds true to this promise.

Just a stone's throw away from Disney World's EPCOT Center lies one of Orlando's best-kept secrets. A literal craft beer oasis in an expansive desert of theme park beer choices, Big River Grille and Brewing Works is nestled along Disney's Boardwalk...and almost no one knows about it.