The Brewers Association has released a list of the Top 50 Fastest-Growing craft breweries in 2017. Breweries had to have opened before 12/31/2015 in order to qualify, and the median growth rate for the breweries was 216 percent from 2016 to 2017.

California, unsurprisingly, led the charge with 7 breweries on the list, including the second-fastest brewery in terms of growth, GoatHouse Brewing Co. in Lincoln, California.

Florida was second with 4 fastest-growing breweries, including the 4th (Idyll Hounds Brewing Co.) and 7th (Mastry's Brewing Co.) overall.

Virginia, Oregon and Minnesota all tied with 3 breweries apiece after that, while Millford, Massachusetts-based CraftRoots Brewing took the top spot as the fastest-growing brewery of 2017.

The full release from the Brewers Association is below, along with a nifty graphic detailing where each brewery is located.

Einstök Brewing Co. out of Akureyri, Iceland has announced a partnership with Johnson Brothers of Nevada in order to expand the brewery' American distribution to include the silver state.

Nevada marks the 16th state that Einstök distributes to, and its year-round and seasonal releases will be available in the state starting this week.

The full release from the brewery is below.

(AKUREYRI, Iceland)  – Einstök Ölgerð, Iceland’s #1 craft beer,  announced this week its partnership with Johnson Brothers of Nevada to start selling its award-winning Icelandic craft beers in Clark County, Nevada, expanding its distribution in the United States to 16 states. Along with the US and its home country Iceland, Einstök is now available in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, Europe, the Nordics, China and Korea.

“We’ve long thought our award-winning, deliciously refreshing craft beers brewed with pure Icelandic glacier water would be perfect in the Las Vegas desert,” said David Altshuler, Einstök Founder and Chief Executive Officer, “and with our new partnership with Johnson Brothers of Nevada we are making sure all of our fans have access to their favorite Einstök style.”

Expansion into the Las Vegas market continues a strategic approach that has seen Einstök sales defy conventional industry metrics since its first production in 2011.

Charlotte, North Carolina's Birdsong Brewing Co. has announced the release of a new Gose beer called Sunshine Gose, which will release at an Earth Day party at the brewery on April 21.

The seasonal release comes just in time for spring, and according to a release from Birdsong "the beer is crisp, clean and tart and reminiscent of a healthy dose of sunshine. Made with local lemon oil, Sunshine Gose is bright and refreshing with a note of salinity, lemon zest and a very sessionable 4.7% ABV and 20 IBUs."

The beer will be available through June 16 in 4-packs of 16-ounce cans wherever Birdsong's beers are available. The full release from the brewery is below.

CHARLOTTE, NC — Birdsong Brewing’s love of sustainable practices is no secret. The brewery installed solar panels on the roof earlier this year, and their longtime environmental stewardship also takes the form of cleaning up creeks and working with local farmers. 

So it makes perfect sense that the brewery would launch their newest seasonal offering — Sunshine Gose — at an Earth Day party in the taproom on April 21.

Idle Hands Craft Ales out of Malden, Massachusetts has announced the release of two New England-Style IPAs.

Six Seam is a hazy and silky smooth Double IPA and Change Up #12 is a 7.0 percent ABV Oat IPA brewed with Centennial hops. The oats provide a pillowy mouthfeel upon which the lovely hop bill can lounge.

The full release from Idle Hands is below.

Six Seam is still going strong on draft and in 4 packs. The 1 case limit remains in place, so come in and get some before it is gone. Thanks to Caleb Howcroft for this great picture of Six Seam in the wild. If you have any pictures of our beers in the wild, we would love to see them. Tag us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, or email them to [email protected]

New beer alert! This week we will see Change Up #12 hit the draft lines. You want to know more about it? Skip to the Brewer's Spotlight at the end of the email.

New Belgium Brewing Co. in Fort Collins, Colorado has rolled out numerous new brews just in time for the spring season. One of them, the Hemperor, is an "HPA" or Hemp Pale Ale brewed with actual hemp.

Another is Mural, a collaboration with Mexico City’s Cerveceria Primus, which is an agua fresca ale brewed with the delightfully spring-y flavors of hibiscus, agave, watermelon and lime.

Tartastic Strawberry Lemon Ale is another very fitting brew as the weather warms in many parts of the U.S., and this sweet and sour delight will keep lips smacking and tongues tickled throughout the entire bottle.

Lastly, Voodoo Ranger Guava Spruce DIPA is the newest member of the brewery's popular Voodoo Ranger line of experimental IPAs and is brewed with, fittingly, guava and spruce tips.

The full details on all these beers from New Belgium are below.

TASTING NOTES of TARTASTIC

VISUAL: Pale gold.

AROMA: Moderate strawberry and lemon. Slight grassy and cake batter, with very slight ginger.