It really seems like a lot of the "news" on the various beer news sites right now is nothing more than glorified or enhanced press releases for breweries' various new or returning offerings. I want to stay away from that in these news aggregation posts, as it is an easy out that can lead to ignorance of REAL beer news. Maybe beer release posts could become their own thing in the future. We'll see. Anyway, let's get to the beer news!

In one of the early Six-Packs of News, I noted Stone Brewery's efforts to build a hotel that is set to open in 2018. Well, Scottish brewers BrewDog have expanded their plans to open a brewery Columbus, Ohio to include a crowdfunding campaign to open up a beer hotel with ALL of the beer amenities. Craftbeer.com has all the awesome details, which includes IPA hot tubs and the ultimate shower beer set-up!

Also from craftbeer.com, a major newspaper printing error calls the indy cred of Maui Brewing Company in to question.

The folks at Vinepair sure like their lists, and today is no exception, as they help out the craft beer novices and neophytes of the world with the 7-Step Method to Tasting Beer.

Bryan Roth at Good Beer Hunting recently published an excellent profile on Asheville, North Carolina's Highland Brewing Company.

Intermittently in these Six-Packs, we've discussed financials from various breweries, as well from the craft beer segment of the beer industry AND the beer industry as a whole. Well, A-B InBev reported their 4th quarter and fiscal year 2016 numbers, and reported "mid-single digit" declines in Budweiser and Bud Light sales. Despite this, Budweiser as a core brand did increase global revenue by just under 3%, and other brands like Stella Artois, Michelob Ultra, and the High End beer group reported strong growth. Brewbound has all the details.

Finally, in local news, Columbia's own River Rat Brewery will be celebrating its 3rd birthday THIS SATURDAY! Congratulations, River Rat! I plan on checking out their birthday party and covering it for the website, so stay tuned this weekend and next week! (Free Times)