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Anchor Brewing Company, one of the most venerable and celebrated craft breweries in American, has just announced its newest beer: Go West! IPA. With a recipe by new brewmaster Scott Ungermann, Go West follows the current trend of floral and tropical hop flavors and aromas, while also calling back to Anchor's lineage of making well-hopped yet supremely balanced IPAs.

Here is a release from Anchor:

San Francisco, CA (February 23, 2016) – Anchor Brewing Company announces the debut of Go West! IPA™, an adventurous new IPA inspired by the California Gold Rush and all those who Go West! 

The 2016 Katy Wild West Brewfest will be held at the Katy Mills mall in Katy, TX – a suburb of Houston. This will be the fifth annual occurrence of this non-profit event, and the first held at Katy Mills mall. According to event organizer David Loesch, the reason for the move was simple: “We outgrew our old space; it simply could not handle our capacity anymore.”

All net proceeds of the event go to both local charities in the Houston-Katy area as well as other charities around the world. A few of the charities represented are: The Rainbow Room, Future Farmers of America, The Shaw Center, along with various disaster relief efforts and fine arts programs locally. The event is fully staffed by volunteers, which means that no one works the event to turn a profit, and 100 percent of the net gross goes back to the community. Not many events can say that.

While showcasing the philanthropic expertise of the WWBF is certainly important, it is still a beer event first and foremost. Over 6,300 people traveled from as far as the Netherlands to enjoy the raucous atmosphere and wide beer selection at the WWBF in 2015, and event organizers are hoping for an even better turnout this year.

In the world of culinary arts, there are some flawless combinations. Peanut butter and jelly? Yummy. Strawberries and bananas? Yes please. Tortilla chips and salsa? Can’t get enough. However, there is one pairing that inspires extreme devotion and has also birthed an entire genre of festivals nationwide. I’m speaking, of course, of the almighty duo of bacon and craft beer.

In fact, this combination is so revered that one of our Editor’s Choice events this issue focuses solely on that pairing. We’re proud to announce that the Bacon and Beer Classic is an Editor’s Choice for our spring 2016 issue!

The event will be held at Citi Field from April 22-23 and will feature over 50 bacon-infused delights, over 100 craft beer samples, contests, games and more. Organized by Cannonball Productions, “a New York City-based event production company dedicated to creating big, bold, one-of-a-kind experiences,” this will mark the third year they have helmed the Bacon and Beer Classic.

General Admission tickets start at $69 and VIP access will cost you $129, but prices will increase in the weeks leading up to the event. All tickets include a complimentary Bacon and Beer Classic tasting glass.

While beer may not be the cure for all your ailments, an ale a day can go a long way towards improving aspects of your health. The chart below outlines some ways in which moderate brew consumption can contribute to a healthy lifestyle. In keeping with the connoisseur's mentality, quality over quantity is key – this applies to moderate drinking only. Cheers!

Source: Fix.com

For some, it's an interest; for others, it's a preference – but for beer aficionados, the genuine passion and enduring appreciation for the craft brew is more of a love affair than anything else. I consider those of us who involve ourselves in this sort of romance to be a lucky bunch – on top of all the different ways beer is awesome, it's also widely celebrated, and therefore always accessible. Whether it's your favorite local bar, your friend's brewery or your town's major beer festival, you’ll never have to travel too far to find your beloved craft brews.

If you're a beer enthusiast, you're keenly aware of the Oktoberfests and Beer Weeks of the world – the thousands of festivals dedicated to the  brewing, tasting and culture that surrounds craft beer. While an event like this may be the Belle of the ball, it's important to take note of the slew of non-beer festivals which still celebrate beerdom on a smaller scale. With a side-show focus on local breweries, these festival gems remind us that sometimes we find the beer we love in places we'd least expect. Here are five unconventional non-beer festivals for beer lovers that bring something different to the table.

On a crisp, chilly January day with a light dusting of snow still glinting on the ground, Brewtopia LLC hosted the 12^th Annual Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting. Cask Ale (also known as “real ale” to our compatriots in the U.K.’s CAMRA organization) is housed exclusively in wooden barrels. These barrels create a unique, creamy drinking experience that cannot be fully recreated in kegged beers.

Sprawled across 3 areas in 5 Seasons Brewpub and Taco Mac Roswell were 47 beers from around the country (and a few special brews from Britain’s cask ale movement as well). Most of them were obscure and off-the-wall variations on breweries’ year-round or seasonal releases, which is exactly what all festgoers had been expecting.