Not to beat a dead horse, but did we mention it’s our birthday today? (Or anniversary, whatever you want to call it.) Bruisin’ Ales is officially one year young today! Last year, we recall opening nervously—and quietly—just a few days before Christmas, testing the waters with barely any advertising other than a nice sign out front. We opened with a respectable 365 or so brews. This we remember because someone said “a beer for each day of the year.”

So here we are, one year on, and the humble storefront has 650+ brews and growing! (Now that we think about it, we’re probably closer to 700, but who’s counting?) Thank you, Asheville, and folks coming from near and far to support our little shop. We hope to be here for a long time, bringing beer to the people!

Here’s the weekly round-up and since this will be our last post before Christmas, let’s just say Happy Non-Denominational Holiday to you and yours, no matter what you celebrate! Celebrate with beer!

Wall Street Journal
The WSJ has been all over the beer biz as of late. First they wrote about the monks and beer at Westvleteren (Thanks to Johnny Mike and Palmer); then an overview of the Trappist brews; then Larry Bell and Bell’s Brewery was in the news over his distribution dispute.

SAVOR
The Brewers Association is sponsoring SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience in Washington D.C. on May 16-17 as part of American Craft Beer Week.

Beer waste is now fish food
New Belgium Brewery in Colorado is working with entrepreneurs to convert their beer waste into food for local fish farms. Enjoy that Fat Tire, fishies. (And, no, we cannot get Fat Tire in North Carolina.)