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!

The Fourth of July is the one day every year when America stops what it's doing to commemorate our Independence from Great Britain. It's also a time for friends, family and food, fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, political speeches and ceremonies...and, oh yeah, beer.

And since we've no doubt that all of American Craft Beer's Regional Correspondents are going to be out and about celebrating, we thought we'd hit them up to see what they'll be eating and drinking on their Independence Day.

Hey it's Wednesday and it's Rumor Mill Time...GWAR is cranking up the boil on what may well be the summer's sickest beer and they're doing it with the help of Cigar City! We'll be bringing you everything we know so far. Plus we've got some unfortunate news on New Hampshire's tragic fall from grace and an awesome new release that you'll want to chase down. So fasten your seat belts everybody...THIS WEEK'S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

Any craft beer taproom and bottle shop can say they are great (that's just good marketing), but it takes a special place to actually be great. Sitting about a dozen yards off of Port Townsend Bay in Port Townsend, Washington, Pourhouse reaches that second tier. We sat down with owners Virginia Marston and Ned Herbert to discuss the bar, the bay, and of course, the beer.

Yesterday, legislation legalizing homebrewing in the state of Mississippi became law, and marked the first time since before Prohibition that homebrewing is legal in all 50 states. This effectively puts an end to the "long national nightmare" and was the result of concerted efforts of homebrewing groups, dedicated politicians around the country, and organizations like the American Homebrewers Association.

One famous amphibian once mused that "it ain't easy being green." It's harder still to create organic craft beer offerings that are both delectable to the palate and reasonably priced. The 39 breweries and cideries that made up Portland's 9^th Annual North American Organic Brewers Festival will tell you otherwise, proven by their display last weekend of some of the finest varieties of craft beer you'll find anywhere, organic or not, all at affordable prices.

Anyone who goes by the name "the Beervangelist" is clearly a man with a mission - and New Holland Brewing's Fred Bueltmann is all that and more. And yes, Fred is passionate about his beer, but he's also a nationally recognized expert on pairing craft beer and food and he's recently released a book about just that...