It’s been a whirlwind tour these past few days at the Craft Brewers Conference, and lots to report. Stay tuned for more beer news, but in the meantime here’s some cool tidbits from the last 12 hours.

New Odell beer on the way
I met up with Doug Odell last night at the CBC Gala, and he had some great news about an upcoming beer. Watch for New American Wild Ale on the shelves in either May or June. This special beer is the brewery’s newest sour project, utilizing Fester strain, a proprietary wild yeast strain. New American is a blend of barrels from the brewery, including its IPA and slightly sour porter, among others. Like the brewery’s other sours, New American Wild Ale’s slated for 750mL bottles.

Brewers Association awards
Just a few minutes ago, the BA announced its annual awards. John McDonald, owner of Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewing, was awarded the Brewers Association Recognition Award, while Jennifer Talley, of Salt Lake City’s Squatter’s Pub & Brewery, won the Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing. Talley is the first female ever to win that honor.

The Government weighs in
About an hour ago, Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) spoke on various topics regarding craft beer on Capitol Hill. Most casual beer drinkers might not know this, but a collection of congressmen, known as the House Small Brewers Caucus, have commited to representing craft brewers on the federal level. Click here to see DeFazio’s illuminating speech.

Fun fact
Call it a trend or a fad, but did you know cans now make up 3-percent of the craft beer market?

I’m off to a few rare beer tastings, so stay tuned for photos, tastings notes and more news from the CBC.