It's Their Party & They'll Cry If They Want To: Devil's Backbone Not Allowed to Participate in Its Own Festival

Each year since 2012, Devil's Backbone Brewing has hosted the Virginia Craft Brewers Fest at the Basecamp Brewpub in Roseland, Virginia. The differences this year? The Virginia Craft Beer Cup competition for Virginia craft brewers won't be announced there, Devil's Backbone (who won best of show in the first competition) is not eligible to participate in the competition, and this will be the last year Devil's Backbone will host the festival.

Why? In April of this year, Devil's Backbone announced they were being acquired by Anheuser-Busch. Because they are going to be part of the Anheuser-Busch portfolio, they will no longer be considered a craft brewery by the Brewers Association, which defines craft breweries as being small, independent, and traditional. Other effects of the acquisition include Devil's Backbone founder, Steve Crandall, resigning from the Board of Directors of the Brewers Association as well as Devil's Backbone being removed from the Savor craft beer festival.

Read more about the story here.