U.S. Rep Steve Womack (R-Ark.) yesterday introduced the latest version of a Beer Institute-backed bill that would lower excise taxes on all brewers and beer importers. The bipartisan Fair Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act (Fair BEER Act), which was introduced into the House of Representatives this morning, is co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and differs from previous bills by creating a new scaled tax structure that would lower the per barrel tax rate for all brewers and importers of all sizes.

Talk about timing. Less than two weeks after Seattle’s Elysian Brewing sold to Anheuser-Busch InBev, fellow Washington-based craft brewery No-Li Brewhouse today announced the release of its first six-pack offering, “Poser.” Here’s the dilemma: Elysian makes a popular beer, Loser, with the tagline “corporate beer still sucks.” When the deal with A-B was announced, a few slighted Elysian fans (and amateur graphic designers) immediately got to work, “trolling” the brewery’s Facebook page with photoshopped versions of the label that had replaced the “L” with a “P.”

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s “Brewed the Hard Way” Super Bowl ad is still being given a hard time. Yesterday, Brewbound highlighted a few of the mixed reactions the ad received from brewers across the country. Since that article was published, however, a number of companies — including the country’s second largest beer maker, MillerCoors — have chimed with their own responses.

Golden Road is expanding its presence in Southern California. The Los Angeles-based craft brewery today announced plans to build a second brewery and restaurant in Anaheim, about 40 miles south of its current production facility.

Last year, Gatza urged Craft Brewers Conference attendees to pay closer attention to the quality of their finished products, pleading with them by saying, “don’t f*ck it up!” Following his rallying cry, the discussion of “quality beer” was had at various industry events and atop thousands of bartstools. Now the BA, via its “Quality Subcommittee,” has introduced an official definition:

Left Hand Brewing today announced it has expanded its presence in New England with the L. Knife & Son Companies group of “Craft Beer Guild” distributors, entering five new states. Building upon a pre-existing relationship with an L. Knife group that currently sells the brand via its “Craft Brewers Guild of Boston” outfit in Massachusetts,offerings from the Colorado-based craft brewery will roll out Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire in the coming days.

The United States Department of Agriculture has issued a special report detailing differences between craft and non-craft beer products and their impact on malt barley production. After analyzing average barley usage rates of U.S. craft breweries and examining growth trends across a range of industries, the USDA said it believes traditional forecasting methods have not provided the most precise estimates of domestic barley needs.

Last Friday’s announcement that Anheuser-Busch InBev would acquire Seattle’s beloved Elysian Brewing caught many in the industry by surprise. How could a company that celebrated its independence with a beer carrying the tagline “corporate beer still sucks” — a name derived from as anti-as-they-come-band Nirvana — sell to the one company so many of its consumers refuse to support? That’s something that even its founder and brewer, Dick Cantwell, a stalwart member of the Brewers Association, is wondering.

In an effort to continue carving out coveted shelf space in an overcrowded craft beer segment, MillerCoors, via its Tenth and Blake craft and import division, will introduce a new year-round product: Blue Moon White IPA. It’s the first year-round product that Blue Moon Brewing Company has rolled out since 2012, when it introduced Farmhouse Red, a brand featured in the company’s “Expressionist Collection.”

Anheuser-Busch InBev today announced it will purchase Elysian Brewing Company, in a deal that will include the Seattle-based company’s four brewpub locations. Official terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close this quarter

When you stick a few hundred beer executives in a room with each other, you can usually count on two things happening: a debate about franchise law reform will undoubtedly break out and some suave corporate marketer will tell you how he unlocked the secrets of the internet and is finally getting through to all those unloyal millennial beer consumers. That was the case last week in Palm Beach, Fla., where upscale oceanfront resort The Breakers played host to Beer Business Daily’s 12th annual Beer Summit.

Reyes Holdings has completed its purchase of Florida’s Gold Coast Beverage Distributors, according to the company. Official terms of the transaction were not disclosed, though when news first broke in November, multiple industry sources valued the deal at $1 billion.

Colorado’s Oskar Blues plans to keep its foot firmly pressed on the gas pedal in 2015, aiming for another year of double-digit growth, company officials told Brewbound. Fresh off a year in which the craft brewery grew overall depletions by 28 percent, Oskar Blues – which also operates a manufacturing facility in North Carolina – will look to brew more than 190,000 barrels and grow shipments by more than 35 percent this year.