You've spent the day soaking up useful facts and figures about the craft beer industry, meeting influential craft brewers, and networking with industry professionals - now it's time to have a little fun! Our Nation's Capital is awash with a fantastic array of craft beer, and almost as many after-hours events as there are limited-release beers, so check out our top picks on where to head to celebrate the nightlife, CBC style.

The Craft Brewers Conference kicks off in earnest today and New Belgium Brewing co-founder and CEO Kim Jordan has been tapped as this year's keynote speaker. Jordan presented the keynote at CBC in New Orleans in 2003, where she famously called for craft brewers to aspire to reach 10 percent of all U.S. beers sales. A decade later, she will reprise her role to present an overview of the industry, how far small and independent craft brewers have come, her vision for the future of the craft brewing community, and how her forecast fared.

Those lucky enough to be attending this week's 2013 Craft Brewers Conference will be treated to more than just world-class seminars and brewer meet-and-greets. Visitors and attendees alike will have the opportunity to sample limited-edition and special release brews crafted solely for the conference week at area bars and restaurants. Here's a taste of what you can expect from the creative minds of craft brewers from across country as they assemble at the Nation's Capital.

Since the dawn of time, humans have felt the need to travel to places with unique spiritual significance in hopes of experiencing enlightenment. So it is only fitting to keep the spirit of the pilgrimage in mind when releasing a beer named after gods - as is the case with Hunahpu's Day at Cigar City Brewing.

As many of you already know, the Craft Brewers Conference is taking place this week (March 26^th-29^th), in Washington, DC and American Craft Beer is working overtime to keep you up to speed on everything going on each day at the conference and all over the city ....So welcome to our CBC Update -Day II

As many of you already know, the Craft Brewers Conference is taking place this week (March 26^th-29^th), in Washington, DC. For those of you who will be attending, you know what an exciting week this promises to be. But in addition to the conference itself, there will be tons of craft beer events taking place all over the city, many of them opportunities to hang out with some of craft beer's biggest names and most of them open to the public!

American Craft Beer will be working overtime to keep you updated daily on all the craft beer events that will be happening throughout the city ....So fasten your seatbelts everybody because this year's CBC 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 enjoying your weekend.

What do you get when you cross a mechanical engineer and craft brewing? a) A robot with beer taps? b) A Dr. Seuss-like beer-making machine called a Brewhoomaloo? c) An introvert with a Mr. Beer kit? Trick question. It's actually none of the above. What you get is the head brewer and owner of Valiant Brewing Company, Brian Schroepfer.

Hey, it's Friday and if you're like us, you've had it with winter and spring can't come quick enough. Bottom line - you're in desperate need of fun this weekend. That's where we come in! We've got all kinds of suggestions and we've got your back big-time. Plus, we've got a special "March Madness" beer pick that you're going to want to chase down...So welcome to this week's edition of our awesome Weekend Picks!

This is one for the geeking-out books. As a huge fan of Backlash Brewery's beer, aesthetic, and blog, I was thrilled to sit down with founder Helder Pimentel at one of his favorite haunts, Eastern Standard, and get his take on new brews, epic fails, and lessons learned.