My picks of beer news from around the web that you need to read and my two cents on the topics.  Most of the time it’s Hawaii beer news topics, but every once in a while you’ll find other general beer related topics.

Star Advertiser – Hawaii goes nano. Stewbum & Stonewall is currently one of the smallest breweries in Hawaii, brewing just 2 barrels at a time. Nano breweries have been popping up across the country and S & S is Hawaii’s first. There will be a few more very small breweries opening up in the next year or so. Nano’s are tough because they require all the same amount of work that a larger brewery does, you just don’t have as much product to sell. They are a great way to get started and hopefully grow into a larger brewery. Hats off to Darren Garvey for pursuing his dream and making things happen, 2 barrels at a time. http://bit.ly/1VbmF6b

Pacific Business News – The Oahu brewery scene is filling up quick. Stoked to see another new brewery getting closer to opening their doors. Beer Lab Hi is coming soon to University Avenue as a beer only venue (bring your own food.) Keep track of the brewers by following them on Instagram http://bit.ly/1LOVF7z

Beervana – It’s hop harvest season which means fresh (wet) hop beers. For many years wet hop beers were pretty hard to find outside of the Pacific Northwest. But, with overnight shipping and very adventurous brewers, people all over the country are starting to get exposed to wet hopped beers. There will be four local Hawaii breweries brewing fresh hop beers this year (more on that in another post.) If you’ve got some time listen in to Jeff Alworth’s podcast about fresh hops . He’s been a very outspoken voice about these types of beers. And you don’t want to miss Breakside Breweries Ben Edmunds dropping some interesting tidbits about brewing with fresh hops.  http://bit.ly/1PuRTnl

The Beer Bible – Since I mentioned Alworth’s blog Beervana, I should also alert you to his excellent new book The Beer Bible. I got a copy about a month ago and have been digging through it section by section ever since. It’s not your typical style by style regurgitation of facts type of book. Alworth spent over four years compiling this large encyclopedia of beer information that is deep with history, culture and personal stories. I absolutely love the sections about historical breweries like Samuel Smith, Orval, Rodenbach and so many more. Alworth actually visited all of these breweries and brings them to life in the book. This is a book any beer lover will enjoy reading through. http://amzn.to/1FvcdVp

Beaumontdrinks.com – I tend not to write much about mergers and buyouts. They normally have nothing to do with Hawaii. But it’s a huge topic that almost everyone who read’s BIH is talking about so I thought I’d direct you to a great writer who has a great point of view. This morning Golden Road Brewing out of Los Angeles announced it was selling to AB-InBev. My reaction….I could care less. I lived in LA when Golden Road launced and was not a huge fan of their beer. A lot of flash and marketing, while the beer lagged far behind other local breweries like Eagle Rock, Smog City, Ladyface, El Segundo, Strand and so many others. I didn’t get sucked into beer or the “craft beer” world because of some David and Goliath battle, so I don’t care who you sell your company to. If you make kick ass beer then I’ll probably drink it.  http://bit.ly/1iN1EDd