In the last Six-Pack earlier this month, I reported that ABI's October acquisition of a minority stake in RateBeer finally came to light. In the period since, some independent craft breweries have asked to have their beers removed from RateBeer. Good Beer Hunting recently hosted a roundtable discussing this backlash.

The American Homebrewers Association and Zymurgy magazine released the 2017 list of the best beers in America, as voted on by Zymurgy readers. This year, Bell's Brewery's Two-Hearted Ale took top honors, dethroning Russian River's Pliny the Elder for the first time in 8 years. SFGATE has more, including some reasons for the new top beer, as well as comments from Bell's.

Beerpulse.com (likely among others) reported the Press Release from Boulevard Brewing Company announcing a $10 million expansion of their brewery in Kansas City, Missouri.

The number of breweries in America now numbers over 5000, and Virginia is doing its fair share by recently passing the 200 licensed brewery milestone, according to Brewbound. Virginia's 206 breweries make it 13th-ranked state in the U.S. for number of breweries. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe points to the passing of a 2012 law that allowed breweries to sell beer for on-site consumption, not just purchasing for off-site. In addition to Virginia's 200+ breweries, Governor McAuliffe has worked hard to push several high-profile craft brewers to open up East Coast operations in the state of Virginia.

Finally, with green power efforts ever increasing worldwide, craftbeer.com reports on two domestic craft breweries that are now able to provide up to 100% of their electricity via solar power.