The emerald in the crown of Portland's Beer Week is the Portland Fruit Beer Festival. It all goes down this Saturday and Sunday at Burnside Brewing, where you'll find the masses reveling in the levity of fructose and hop fusions. The event, now in its third year, will feature more than 25 brewers serving 40-plus beers. While more Session styles will be featured this year, there will still be plenty of big flavors and varieties on hand, with nearly all the beers featured being small batch, one-time-only offerings.

So many 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! 

Hey it's Wednesday and it's Rumor Mill time... There's big news for craft beer fans in both the real and imaginary Springfields. Brewers in Alabama have a big SNAFU to contend with and Florida is about to feel a little less ignored. We've also got an awesome new release that you'll want to chase down. So fasten your seatbelts everybody... THIS WEEK'S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

The second annual Hyper-Local Craft Brewfest takes place next Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15. I view the upcoming Hyper-Local Craft Brewfest as a celebration of community; a chance for those of us who champion the Boston craft scene to share that support with the farmers and suppliers that make Massachusetts a great place to brew and be.

Summer is here, and for me, this means a few things - stocking up on sunscreen so I don't turn into a lobster, going camping any chance I get, and getting in the car at 8:30 on a Sunday morning to head down to the Pittsburgh Pirate's beautiful PNC Park to get my tailgate on.

When New York City does something, it doesn't half-ass it. We were invited to attend a SAVOR preview event at Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg last Thursday to whet our appetites for the big show and, with guests like Steve Hindy and Sam Calagione, the party lived up to NYC's big reputation.

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 yourselves.

Whether you are a dyed-in-the-wool-sweater-wearing fan, or you just saw a few highlights on Sports Night, you have got to admit that the NHL Conference Semifinals were pretty exciting. Five of the original six teams, long-time rivals, and the last five teams to hoist the Stanley Cup all met on the ice to advance to the Conference Finals. Some did it smoothly (see: Pittsburgh and Boston), and some went the distance, scoring exciting goals when they had to (see: Chicago and Los Angeles). And now the Conference Finals are set.

Maybe you've heard of it, maybe you haven't - but various takes on the classic Bière de Garde style are popping up all over the country. And even though some of you might have come across this term on occasion, we're betting that many of you (like many of us at the American Craft Beer compound) aren't really sure what a Bière de Garde really is. Not to worry - we've done some research and we think we've got it now...so get ready to become an instant expert.

Hey it's Friday and the weekend's almost here. The weather's getting warmer and you're ready for some fun and that's where we come in! We're all about it and we've got your back big-time. Plus we've got a special weekend beer pick that you'll want to track down. So welcome to this week's edition of our awesome Weekend Picks!