As lovers of both beer and the internet, we tend to look at the r/beer subreddit just about every day. It’s got news, discussions, blog posts, some beerporn—anything and everything related to beer. We thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the top ten beer news articles for this year, in case you missed some of them. If nothing else, you might find some good talking points for this New Year’s Eve.

A struggling brewpub in Minnesota’s Twin Cities did something even Gordon Ramsay wouldn't suggest on Kitchen Nightmares to save its business—it offered patrons to make a one-time payment of $1,000 in exchange for free beer for life, or as long as the place stays open. The brewpub hit its goal of $220,000 pretty quickly. Read more.

Portland has been a leader in the craft beer market for years, and it’s no surprise to see this news coming from the Northwest. Craft beer sales rose in Q1 of 2014, taking over 45.8% of the retail market, while Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors dropped to a 40.6% share. Keep in mind these are just retail numbers—if draft numbers were included, the spread would likely be even greater. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in other places around the country in 2015. Read more.

People have complained about beer tasting watered down at sporting events before, but not many have gone so far as to test the actual ABV. KOMO news put the Seahawks on the spot, revealing the following:

Shock Top:

5.2% advertised ABV

4.7% tested

Bud Light:

4.2% advertised

3.9% tested

Redhook Brewery "No Equal":

5.2% advertised

4.8% tested

Craft beer lovers are well-aware of what growlers are—jugs used for transporting fresh beer ranging in size from 32 ounces to a gallon—with the most typical size being 64 ounces. In Florida, it’s legal to fill a 32 ounce growler and a one gallon growler, but filling the 64 ounce growler is illegal. Consequently, bars have to tell growler fillers they can fill up two 32 ounce jugs, but not one 64 ounce jug, which makes people think they’re getting taken advantage of. One bar owner in Florida is suing the state, saying the ban is unconstitutional.

More info here:

Craft beer being served on a plane isn’t all that shocking now, especially with the recent news of Delta expanding its in-flight offering. But Southwest topped the headlines earlier this year, as it became one of the first to take craft beer into the skies. Its massive presence at 30,000 feet coupled with its new partnership with New Belgium Brewing may have changed the commercial airline industry forever. We hope so, anyway. Read more.

First introduced in 1844, Pabst Brewing Company was one of the oldest-running American-owned breweries—that was until Russian brewer Oasis Brewers and a private-equity firm announced intentions to acquire it back in September. This shrinks the already small number of large American-owned breweries left (Yuengling, Boston Brewing Company, and a few more). Read more.

Florida made the news again in 2014, as a bill advanced in the Sunshine State’s senate that would require craft brewers to sell their beer to distributors, and then buy it back to sell at their own breweries. According to the Florida Senate's website the bill seems to have died in May, after a social media uproar by both beer enthusiasts and craft brewers alike. Read more.

As part of a promotion, a pub in Galway decided to reduce the price of a pint by 50 cents for each German goal scored against Brazil in the 2014 World Cup semi-final. Germany got out to a strong start, scoring five goals in the first half, and went on to win seven to one. For the last 11 minutes of the game, customers could purchase a pint for just 50 cents. Apparently customers flocked from nearby bars to get the deal. Read more.

Pizza eaters have been talking about how great it would be to have beer delivered with their pie since the dawn of pizza delivery. Fortunately, it was recently decided that pipedream will soon become a reality in Pennsylvania. Some local restaurants are already projecting to double the volume of their sales. Read more.

The topic of multi-tier distribution for microbrewers was a hot one in many states in 2014, especially because it tends to act as a barrier for smaller brewers trying to make their mark. Michigan took steps to alleviate those pressures, allowing microbreweries making less than 1,000 barrels per year to circumvent wholesalers and sell directly to restaurants, bars, and other retailers. Read more.

Happy New Year from Box Brew Kits!