Based on recent sales data, one might deduce that on-premise consumption of craft beer is growing at the expense of premium light options. Taking a closer look at third quarter numbers, however, it appears that beer sales in restaurants and bars are experiencing a lull across the category. On-premise volume sales of premium light beer dipped by 1.9 percent through the first 10 months of 2014, as compared to the same time period in the previous year.

Cigar City’s search for a second production facility took the company to the Carolinas this week. As reported this morning by the Citizen Times, Joey Redner, founder of the Florida-based craft brewery, has been scouting locations in Western North Carolina as well as in Upstate South Carolina, in hopes of finding a place to build a new brewery comparable in size to its flagship facility in Tampa.

Continuing to build out a footprint on the eastern half of the country, Deschutes Brewery has announced plans to expand distribution throughout Washington D.C. and northern Virginia early next month. The brewery, headquartered out of Bend, Ore., has signed agreements with Premium Distributors — part of the Reyes Beverage Group — in both markets.

Craft brewers from all over the country are putting their weight behind an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal that would extend the federal government’s power to enforce the Clean Water Act. In total, 40 craft brewers have teamed up with the Natural Resources Defense Council to push for the proposed rule, which aims to clarify the EPA’s regulation parameters relating to small bodies of water.

The city of Richmond, VA is throwing in more than $30 million in grants and bonds to help Stone Brewing build out an east coast facility that could be operational as early as late next year. As reported by Richmond Bizsense, the Richmond mayor’s office will issue $23 million in bonds to fund development of the project and kick in another $8 million in bonds for the brewery’s restaurant and beer garden.

San Diego’s Green Flash Brewing today announced it will begin construction on its second location, a 58,000 sq. ft. brewing facility in Virginia Beach that will eventually be capable of producing 100,000 barrels of beer per year. Officially scheduled to open in 2016, the $20 million brewery will be built on a 9-acre lot in the area’s Corporate Landing Business Park.

After months of waiting, Stone Brewing finally broke its silenced yesterday, announcing that it would build a second U.S. brewing facility in Richmond, Va. While the announcement was a big win for the city, it was a loss for another in the state. Norfolk, just two hours north of Richmond, was among the three remaining cities with a shot at landing the country’s tenth largest craft brewery.

The suspense is over. After months of speculation, Stone Brewing Co. has formally announced its intent to build a new brewery in Richmond, Va. Pending local approvals, the country’s tenth largest craft brewer said it will build an east coast brewing facility in Richmond’s Greater Fulton Community. The San Diego brewery has signed a formal letter of intent with the city and plans to invest $74 million to construct a production brewery, packaging hall, restaurant and retail store.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law a bill that legalizes the sale of packaged beer at certified farmers’ markets, a right previously afforded only to winemakers in the state. The bill, AB 2004, enables craft brewers not only to exhibit and sell products at farmers markets, but also gives brewers the ability to sell beer and wine during private events on their own premises. The new law takes effect on January 1.

Exactly how hard is it to medal at the Great American Beer Festival? According to Brewers Association economist Bart Watson, you’ve got a better shot at getting into any university in the country. While that statistical comparison certainly highlights the competitive nature of the craft landscape, it’s not the crux of the Watson’s latest analysis.

With a multiple expansion initiatives already underway, Bell’s Brewery said it plans to hire more than 100 people in an effort to fill both full- and part-time positions at its brewery and retail locations.

A new report from Bart Watson, the BA’s staff economist, found that an influx of female drinkers, greater engagement in the Hispanic market, and geographic diversity of brewery locations have played pivotal roles in shaping a more well-rounded craft consumer base.

Having finalized agreements with seven wholesalers in the state, Boulevard Brewing will expand its distribution throughout South Carolina by the end of the month, the company announced today. The brewery, which was acquired by Belgium-based Duvel Moortgat in 2013, has inked deals with Lee Distributing, Comer Distributing, Greenco Beverage Co., Beverage South, H&S Wholesalers, Better Brands, and Crown Beverages, per company statement.

The most popular hop of tomorrow won’t go under trellis today. That is to say, to innovate in the hops market is to play long odds. The Simcoe hop, for instance, was nearly torn completely out of the ground and discarded as a failed experiment. Perrault Farms just couldn’t sell the aromatic hop during the early aughts.