Driving up a long winding road with witty, rhyming signs asking you to drive slowly, you're immediately struck by the scenic views of the Chimacum Valley on the northern Olympic Peninsula of Washington, views you may have missed if you hadn't turned off of Highway 19. At the end of this snaking path is a small gravel parking lot next to the anticipated red barn, with signs pointing to a craft cider tasting room.

Jack's Abby has come a long way since it began operations in Framingham, but one thing that hasn't changed over time is the terrible beer puns. If you haven't seen Private Rye or Hurts Like Helles on the shelves, keep an eye out; the brews are even better than the wordplay. I recently spoke to the man behind the puns, and the beer, to get his take on the last two years. Here's what Jack Hendler had to say for himself. 

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!  

It appears that registering for the opportunity to have your beers represented at the Great American Beer Festival has now become as difficult for brewers as it is for fans seeking admission tickets. Hosted by the Brewers Association and held every October in Denver, GABF is without question one of craft beer's biggest events. Last year's tickets sold out in mere minutes, leaving many a disgruntled patron disappointed and frustrated with the online process. And now that frustration with the process seems to be spreading to the industry's side of things...

Hey it's Wednesday and it's Rumor Mill Time...Move over Hanson...Mumford and Sons have a new beer coming out soon and we'll be bringing you everything we know so far. Plus we've got some fast-breaking news from Cigar City and from the boys at Three Floyds! We've also got an awesome new release that you'll want to chase down. So fasten your seat belts everybody...THIS WEEK'S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

My wife and I rolled into the Marriott in downtown Philadelphia early on Thursday and fun was in the air. The lobby was packed with clusters of homebrew clubs decked out in club shirts, luggage carts buckling under the weight of dozens of beer bottles and homebrew equipment, and Sierra Nevada pouring pints in the corner. Yep, we were in the right place, and I was ready for the crowing event so far in my beer-loving life - the 2013 National Homebrewers Conference.

The more I speak with brewers, the more I'm realizing that there are two types of breweries: specialists and generalists. Lowell-based Enlightenment Ales falls firmly in the specialist category, as possibly the only commercial brewery in the United States producing bière de champagne using the traditional méthode champenoise. To explain this mouthful of French and to let me in on what's next for the three-year-old brewery, I contacted founder and one-man army Ben Howe.

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 out enjoying your long holiday weekend.

Hey it's Friday and most of us are enjoying a long 4th of July weekend. Everybody's off and ready to party. That's where we come in! We know what's going on and we've got your back big-time. We've even got a special long holiday beer pick for you too! So welcome to this week's edition of our awesome Post 4^th of July Weekend Picks!

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. And if you thought that today's holiday was going to change things - you thought wrong. So welcome to our special 4^th of July edition of Newbies - your holiday guide to great new craft beer releases!