Isn’t that just peachy? In a world filled with consumerism, you can say someone is threatening your sales when their label and name are nothing like yours. That’s what Vampire Brands did with Clown Shoes’ Vampire Slayer brew. It’s happened with Sierra Nevada, Magic Hat, Lift Bridge and others.  What do you think about brands suing over name use?

In the Minnesota area? The Minnesota Historical Society has an installment right now that chronicles prohibition. Might be a fun date night if you have a penchant for history along with your taste for beer!

There is a discussion I have been participating in over at Beer Advocate, so seeing this article crop up felt timely. Are female craft beer drinkers really all that rare? There are several articles out there that broach the subject on women and beer… Especially since the craft beer boom. What are your thoughts on women and beer?

After over two years of waiting, Minnesota’s Surly Brewing Co. breaks ground for their new brewery! City Pages reports on the ground breaking for the expanded brewery and taproom site.

CBS out of Minnesota would like you to vote on your favorite Minnesota local beers!

A pretty neat article from Rogue's blog about their bees and tucking them in for the winter sleep. Who doesn't love bees? Mother Nature is kind of a badass.

Boulevard Brewing Company has been purchased by Duvel – the same company that bought Brewery Ommegang. Having heard first hand from Ommegang that they have been very happy with the Duvel merger, here is hoping Boulevard feels the same!  Sounds like the European market is starting to get interested in American craft beer!

And just for fun, a little quiz from Huffington Post.

Schell’s released Star of the North, the first in the Nobel Star collection of their new craft brewing efforts, earlier this summer. Now, I am excited to see the release of the second – Framboise du Nord! Five THOUSAND pounds of raspberry puree was added across the first run of 70 barrels, due to be released in the next few weeks. BeerPulse has all the news on this and other Schell’s releases for the winter season.

Check out all the information for the party at the brewery Saturday on the Surly Blog. BeerPulse has another little write up about Darkness Day, as well. Looking to get your hands on a bottle? Sellers typically get the bottles AFTER the release party, so keep you eye out. They fly off the selves fast! This Russian Imperial Stout is mighty popular.

Released back in July, the Pioneer Press put out an article about craft brewing in Minnesota. It’s a pretty cool article that speaks about what is going on with both the big and little guys in the craft beer world. In the article, they state “Minnesota has a craft brewery for every 112,000 residents”. That’s crazy! We’ve got good taste out here in the Midwest!