Last week marked the 8th annual American Craft Beer Week in towns all across the US, with local breweries offering new beers and special events to highlight the craft beer scene for the celebration.

In Denver, it felt like any other week.

Hey it’s Wednesday and it’s Rumor Mill Time…There’s huge news coming out of “The River City” and we’ll be bringing you everything we know so far. Plus we’ve got some fast-breaking news from The Alchemist and Boston is not going to be happy about it! We’ve also got a fresh new release that you’ll want to chase down. So fasten your seatbelts everybody…THIS WEEK’S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

When you’re the new kid on a block that is already filled with other fine craft breweries, you need to be unique and different. Even more importantly, you need to brew really great beer. Newburyport Brewing’s co-owners Chris Webb and Bill Fisher (along with their award-winning brewmaster Mike Robinson) are doing just that and so much more! Not only are they helming Massachusetts' only "keg and can" brewery and crafting their three flagship beers, they are also finding time to play in an 8-piece funk band.

Jester King Craft Brewery out of Austin, Texas, knows that labels can do more than function as branding beacons enticing customers to take a second look – they can also tell a story about the beer itself.

Growing up in the 90s, there were a few things that made you really cool. Shoes that lit up, the newest Megazord action figure from Power Rangers, footballs that whistled when you threw them – all of these things were, like, totally cool. But if you wanted to show everyone just how cool you were, you would wear every last tube of Lip Smackers you owned around your neck.

A recent article on Slate.com entitled Against Hoppy Beer made the case that over-hopped beers are causing people to be turned off by craft beer and advocated deemphasizing hops and bitterness in polite craft beer conversation. The post caused a firestorm of online reactions that continued well into the weekend. And even though the article is full of glaring oversimplifications, displays discomforting prejudices, and gets several things downright wrong, it did get craft beer fans riled up (and we always enjoy that!) and generated a lot of worthy discussion…

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.

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!

Gin barrel-aged beer not part of your repertoire? I can take a good guess as to why. I can also provide a few good reasons why it should be. Gin isn’t traditionally aged in barrels. Lack of gin barrels = lack of gin barrel-aged beer. But recently, a few select brewers have found a way to make it happen, and hell am I happy that they did.

The second round of the NHL playoffs is underway with four of the “Original six” still in it. Hard hitting and high scoring, this round is going to be a knock-down drag-out. What does this have to do with beer, you ask? Have you ever watched hockey?