We recently ran a poll asking how you all felt about the cease and desist letter filed by Sam Adams against SanTan Brewing Company for patent infringement on their glass design. For those not familiar with the case, Sam Adams spent a lot of money designing a glass specifically made for their Boston Lager, which they actually own a patent on the design of. After the release of the glass, SanTan started selling glasses that looked very similar to the Sam Adams’ glass and as a result Sam Adams has asked that SanTan stop using the design. SanTan has refused and neither side is willing to settle. We expected some people to be on SanTan’s side but we were shocked that 60% of you sided with them, and that’s where things got interesting.

We started digging in a little bit more, looking at both the comments you left on Twitter and on our article and there was a very consistent trend. People thought Sam Adams was in the wrong because they were a big business picking on the little guy. That’s when we decided we had to say something about this. For the record, we think Sam Adams is right. In our view the SanTan glass is far too similar to be a coincidence and the idea that Sam Adams doesn’t have rights because they got too successful is indicative of a negative trend we’ve been seeing for a while now.

For some time there’s been a growing resentment of Sam Adams not being craft brewery. Let’s be clear, Sam Adams helped pioneer what is now the craft beer industry and their Boston Lager recipe hasn’t changed. So if it used to be craft beer and the recipe stayed the same then why isn’t it craft beer now? This feels a lot like people who stop liking a band because they get too famous. Are we actually punishing breweries for being successful now? Because if that’s the case we want no part of it. One commenter noted that Sam Adams isn’t craft beer because it’s sold at Applebee’s. We take a different look at that, Sam Adams in Applebee’s means millions of people are being exposed to something outside of the standard light beer and that’s a great thing. The more people that drink better beer the bigger the market gets and that’s good for everyone. One of the main reasons we started DrinkCraftBeer was because we wanted to be able to get a pint of good craft beer at any restaurant or bar we go to, and Sam Adams is one of the few that make that goal attainable.

We’d like to leave you with one last thought for those of you that think Sam Adams is in the wrong. If the tables were turned and SanTan had a patent on the glass that Sam Adams copied, would you defend Sam Adams? If you say no, then you’re punishing the company based on size and success, not what’s right. If the size of the business is clouding your decision at all we’d challenge you to think it over just a bit more. Let’s celebrate the success of those working hard to bring great beer to the masses, not punish it.

One of the great things about craft beer is how different areas of the country have seemingly distinct styles of beer and distinct craft beer scenes. You can get an IPA from anywhere, but there's a reason people will refer to a super hoppy, dry IPA as a "west coast IPA." Also, a lot of craft breweries only distribute in a small to medium sized area. If you don't live in that region, you don't get their beer (without some kind of extra effort on your part). Many breweries will do brewery-only releases as well. These are definitely meant mainly for the local supporters.

So, clearly, craft beer has a regional bent to it...and that's part of what makes it so appealing. Taking all of that into account, which is your favorite region for craft beer? Make up your mind, then vote below. Afterwards, let us know why you voted that way on Twitter, Facebook or in the comments section below! Cheers!

In 2007 Samuel Adams launched their custom designed beer glass, made specifically to highlight the flavors and aromas of their flagship Boston Lager. In 2007 SanTan Brewing Company in Arizona also launched a beer glass hand blown by a local artisan. The two glasses look remarkably alike, with the main difference being that SanTan's is larger. Samuel Adams has sent a cease and desist letter to SanTan, saying they own the rights to the glass design. SanTan has stated that similarities are coincidental and will not cease the sale of these glasses. Who do you side with?

For more information, read the full article.

There are few fests, if any, that we look forward to as much as BeerAdvocate's Extreme Beer Fest. This year is actually exceptionally interesting as the Alström brothers have requested that each brewer bring a session ale. We love the idea that Extreme Beer doesn't just mean insane amounts of booze but rather innovative flavors and combinations. For that reason this year's fest is really something special. But how does one navigate the huge selection of beers being offered? In our younger days we attempted to try them all; let's just say that while we may or may not have done that, no one in their right mind would call that endeavor a "success." We've created a list of our top 20 beers that we HAVE to try this weekend. If you're coming to the fest (or just want to see how it's going), be sure to check us out on twitter @drinkcraftbeer where we'll be tweeting from Session 1 on Saturday. Also if you see us feel free to swing by and say hi, we'll have DrinkCraftBeer stickers on hand so don't be shy asking for one. (That's us in the picture to the right by the way (L to R: Devon, Jeff, Brian).

Allagash - Big Little Beer : Hoppy Session Beer - 5.5%

Why do we need to try this? Because it's a hoppy session beer; although this one is pushing the limits of "session" for us the idea of a lower abv hoppy beer from Allagash can't be a bad thing

Avery - Meph Addict : Belgian Imperial Stout/Coffee Toddy - 16%

Who needs Four Loko? This sounds waaaaay better.

CBC - Banryu Ichi : Beer/Sake hybrid/Barley/Rice/Koji + Sake yeast - 15%

The idea of a beer/sake hybrid is intriguing in itself. When you add the fact that it's been brewed by Cambridge Brewing Company, a brewery with a strong track record for successful experiments, then you've got something that we can't pass up.

Dark Horse - Uber-Boober Cream Ale: Barleywine 2nd runnings/Baby formula - 4.2%

Honestly this one is pure morbid curiosity. The idea of drinking baby formula weirds us out but at the same time we feel like we have to try. We'll try and snag this one early so follow us on twitter to get our take on it. Jeff is a little wary of trying it, even out of morbid curiosity.

Berkshire - ESDK: Extremely Session-able Dark Kolsch/Dry-hopped w/ Saaz - 4.3%

This one is super simple: it's a hoppy session ale from a long-time local brewery. Nothing more than what it appears, but sometimes simple is awesome...especially at a fest featuring beers made with jelly beans, baby formula and marshmallows.

Dogfish Head - Kombucha Brew : BA+DFH love/Tea leaves/Lemon peel/Kombucha culture - 4%

Devon has recently been on a bit of a Kombucha kick so this one was particularly interesting. With warm weather on the way this sounds amazingly refreshing and sessionable.

Captain Lawrence - Saturday's Sour Blend 2011 : Sour Ale w/ berries - 8%

Captain Lawrence wooed us with their sours at the last EBF they were at. We're just stoked to see some more of these, since they're one of the breweries we don't get up here in Massachusetts. We love sour beer!

Dark Horse - Ginger in the Rye : Imperial Red/Ginger/Rye whiskey bbl - 9.5%

We discovered Dark Horse back on a road trip out to the great lakes. Our first beer from them was Crooked Tree IPA and since then we've been fans. This is the first time we've heard of adding ginger to a beer that's been aged in whiskey barrels. Honestly we're having a hard time trying to imagine exactly what it will taste like, guess we'll have to find out.

Firestone Walker - Lil' Opal (oak-aged): Farmhouse Saison - 3.8%

Saisons are one of the best style of beer out there in our opinions, being refreshing and delicious in any season. Additionally, this one is super sessiony at 3.8% abv. We've been on a session beer kick lately, so this sounds perfect! If it's good, we might have to have several samples!

Founders - All Day IPA: Session IPA - 4.7%

Founders isn't known to disappoint us... which is saying a lot since we spent 2 days in their Michigan tap room drinking everything they had. The only problem is they make a lot of big beers, so it's great to see something a little more drinkable from them. File this under Session Beers we hope to see bottled!

Shorts - Almond Joy, Pineapple Upsidedown and Carrot Cake

Shorts is crazy. That is all. We'll try these and get back to you. Crazy bastards...

Harpoon - Jimbo & the Technicolor Hop Sack: Czech Mild/Aggressively hopped - 3.5%

Mostly the name...and the fact that they're combining Czech with a British Mild...and aggressively hopping it. We're curious and, given the alcohol on it, we can afford to be.

Hill Farmstead - Flora: Saison/Bretty/Bbl-age - 5%

We love Saisons. We love brett. We love barrels. We love session beer. This hits them all.

Sierra Nevada - Saison de Haricot : Saison/Jelly Belly jelly beans - 4.5%

Again, morbid curiosity. Jelly Beans? Why? At least they used Jelly Belly jelly beans! But we're kind of angry they may have messed up a perfectly good saison. We'll report back!

Sixpoint - Purple Reign: Listed as experimental, but we love love them so we have to try it Experimental - 8.7%

We have no idea what this is but Sixpoint has been a favorite of ours ever since we had our first sip of Righteous Rye. It's rare that these guys put out a bad beer so for that reason alone this gets our vote.

Stone - Stone Supremely Self Conscious Ale: Black Mild Ale/Dry-hopped - 3.5%

Stone's Sublimely Self Righteous Ale is a delicious black IPA. So of course we have to try it's shy baby brother! Again, we're loving this session beer tip that EBF is on, because it makes it easier for us to try a lot of stuff!

Wormtown - MassWhole: Special Bitter/100% MA grown - 3.9%

We've always been fans of local, be that beer or food so we have to give these guys props for doing a 100% MA grown beer. We've also been on a session beer kick so at 3.9% this is definitely on our must try list. We're loving the addition of session beers in general to this years fest. Big props to the Alstrom brothers for making this change.

Wormtown - Egg Nog Ale: Cream Ale/BBL-aged/Vanilla/Nutmeg/Lactose

Wormtown seems to be pulling some Shorts Brewery-type craziness! OK, we'll check it out and see what the crazy is all about...plus they make a lot of tasty beer, so we have high expectations for this one.

To see the complete list of beer for Saturday's fest, check out BeerAdvocate.com.