These days, nearly every regional brewer is announcing major expansion plans. We’ve seen announcements from Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Victory Brewing, Lagunitas and most recently Oskar Blues. So what does the founder of a 23-year old brand think about it all?

BOULDER, CO - Reinforcing its position as the leader in American craft beer promotion and education, the Brewers Association (BA) and its Export Development Subcommittee have selected Andreas Fält to cover Europe as an American Craft Beer Ambassador within the BA’s Export Development Program (EDP).

It’s not just craft brewers who are expanding. Vermont Hard Cider Company, maker of Woodhcuck Hard Cider, is getting ready to break ground on a reported $22 million build-out which will double its current capacity to 600,000 barrels.

ALEXANDRIA, VA – America’s 3,330 licensed beer distributors are celebrating the excitement that craft beer brings to the beer industry during American Craft Beer Week, May 14-20, 2012, a national celebration highlighting the culture and contributions of craft beer and the nearly 2,000 craft breweries across the United States.

HOOD RIVER, OR – To celebrate American Craft Beer Week (May 14-20th),  Full Sail Brewing will release a new beer in their Brewer’s Share Experimental line up: “Allman’s All Mild” crafted by Lead Lab Technician Joshua Allman. Inspired by traditional English mild style beers he found in London pubs in his early 20s, Joshua wanted to honor his English heritage and those fond memories by brewing his own mild style ale.

LAWRENCE, KS – American Craft Beer Week celebrates the independent spirit, craftsmanship, and community fostered by the American craft brewer. In that spirit the brewers of Free State Beer, Blind Tiger, and 23rd Street offer up the Full Kimono, an Imperial Red Ale released this Friday, May 11th.

FRASERBURGH, UK – BrewDog, Scotland’s largest independent brewery, officially opened BrewDog Manchester at 35 Peter Street last Friday (4th May) – their seventh craft beer bar to open in the past 18 months. To mark the launch, the idiosyncratic brewer introduced a ‘crap beer amnesty’ for Mancunians, which allowed the Manchester public to swap a can of mainstream branded lager for one of their artisanal canned, bottled or draft craft beers for one day only.

From the now ubiquitous Samuel Adams commercials urging viewers to “Take Pride in Your Beer,” to appearances by Dogfish Head Beer founder Sam Calagione on both “The Today Show” and “The Martha Stewart Show,” craft beer has slowly made its way into American households, and is undeniably one of the fastest growing categories within the beverage industry.

Brewbound has released the preliminary agenda for its upcoming business conference for craft brewers. The Brewbound Craft Beer Session will be held on Tuesday, June 5th at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. The outstanding speaker lineup will include a keynote address from Greg Koch, the CEO and co-founder of Stone Brewing Co.

MARIN COUNTY, CA – Marin Brewing Company was the proud recipient of 2 awards at the 2012 World Beer Cup ®, (WBC) a global beer competition presented by the Brewers Association (BA) that evaluates beers from around the world and recognizes the most outstanding brewers and their beers. Star Brew Wheat Wine Ale was awarded the Gold Medal in the Other Strong Beer category and 3 Flowers IPA was awarded the Silver Medal in the Rye Beer category.

COMSTOCK, MI – After breaking ground in April 2011, Bell’s Brewery, Inc. is proud to announce the grand opening of its brand new production facility in Comstock, Mich. A week-long celebration will kick-off on May 14 with a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. and a noon press conference at the production facility, 8938 Krum Ave. The celebration will conclude with a public open house from noon to 5 p.m. on both May 19th and 20th.

PORTLAND, OR - Craft Brew Alliance, Inc. (“CBA”) (Nasdaq: BREW), an independent craft brewing company, reported net sales of $38.5 million and net income of $0.7 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012 as compared with net sales of $32.3 million and break-even net income a year ago. We reported $0.04 earnings per share on a fully diluted basis for the quarter as compared with no earnings or loss per share for the same quarter last year.