As “boutique wineries” and craft breweries have become an established part of the alcoholic beverage business in North America, another revolution has been in the works.

Charlie Papazian couldn’t have imagined that 29,000 people would annually attend the Great American Beer Festival when he conceived the idea for the event in 1981.

Craft brewers know that simply buying hops for the name’s sake or alpha content will not guarantee a good finished product. We owe it to ourselves to become experts on hops.

The 2006 hop crops in the United States and Germany survived what looked to be an uncertain season, while the China crop was foiled by extreme weather conditions.

More than 41,000 people—up from 29,000 in 2005—converged on the Colorado Convention Center in Denver for the 25th Great American Beer Festival.

Large breweries such as Anheuser-Busch have been looking to align themselves with craft brewers. But when opportunity knocks on your door, should you answer?