Every large brewery in the world is attempting to adjust to the disruption caused by craft beer. The challenge is moving into new categories without damaging the currency of the flagship brand. Guinness is trying an entirely novel approach in the United States.

On June 21, Oregon will become the first state offering breweries refillable beer bottles. The not-for-profit cooperative that oversees Oregon’s bottle bill will run the project, collecting and redistributing bottles for refilling. If the program succeeds, it could become a model for the nation.

On Monday, the Supreme Court struck down a 1992 law that banned sports betting, opening the door to an estimated $150 billion in legal gambling. The beer industry will almost certainly benefit because 1) gambling increases fan engagement and 2) fans drink when they watch sports.

Members of a bottle club receive a certain number of special-release beers and are guaranteed access to rare beers, plus other perks. But for the most part, the access is secondary. Beer clubs allow breweries to identify their most avid fans and connect more deeply to them.

There are over 6,300 breweries operating in the United States today. Just five years ago, that number was 2,475, and a chart of the growth looks like the dreaded hockey stick. Have we reached peak breweries?

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has totaled the sales figures by Oregon breweries, and the results reflect what we're seeing nationally: middle-sized breweries show the most strength while bigger breweries are struggling to maintain their positions. But there are surprises, too.

In an interesting development, Stone Brewing Company has decided to sue MillerCoors over its use of the word "Stone" in recent Keystone branding. The news was announced with the typical bombast for which Stone and founder Greg Koch are famous--but that doesn't mean the lawsuit isn't serious.

Every time you pick up a six-pack from the store, it has already been sold twice before. That's because we have a system that includes a mostly-hidden middleman who neither makes nor nor sells the beer to customers. Knowing that middleman is essential to understanding the American beer biz.

--Post updated with revised figures-- When the GOP pushed through tax cuts this week, they included a tax cut for breweries. It's a bipartisan proposal that's been kicking around with broad support that will actually benefit the little guy--in this case craft breweries. But is it good policy?

I guess we have to talk about Dilly Dilly. It's the catch phrase in the latest ad campaign launched by Bud Light, one that has achieved rare virality on social media. No matter how you slice it, it's become a national meme. But has it been good for Bud Light?

Five years ago, Adam Milne established Old Town Brewing's leaping stag as a legal trademark. But for the past two years, he's been locked in a legal battle with the City of Portland, which wants to use that logo so it can license products by AB InBev. Here's the whole maddening story.

Yesterday, Boston-based Harpoon announced the purchase of contract brewery Clown Shoes. But this post isn't going to be about the acquisition. Rather, it's about how companies mature and markets sand off rough edges of any company that wants to stay around.

In one of the tinier pockets of the brewing world, a heated debate rages. What should Americans call the beer made in the manner of spontaneously-fermented Belgian lambic? This wasn't remotely an issue until about 2007, when Allagash Brewing started a program that followed the practices quite closely. There may have been some efforts along the way toward traditional lambic-style beer, but Allagash built a dedicated coolship room and committed to an ongoing program making the beer. Last year, one of the small club of Americans making these beers decided to name and codify it, and thus began the debate.

In 1993, Redhook's Paul Shipman made an interesting decision--he decided to reach out to Anheuser-Busch. That phone call would eventually lead to the first investments by big beer into smaller breweries, as the company bought minority stakes in Redhook and later Widmer.