Beginning Monday, a new California law will allow manufacturers and distributors to give free beer samples to patrons at restaurants and bars, a marketing practice previously banned in the state.

Anheuser-Busch lobbied hard for the new law, but insists that it only plans to conduct small educational tastings about new beers, such as its latest winter sampling.

”It’s an opportunity for us to get consumers to sample some of our new products,” said Andrew Baldonado, Western region vice president of government affairs for Anheuser-Busch. ”The Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale is a seasonal beer that we’re doing. The best way to introduce those new products to consumers is to be able to have them sample them.”

Brewers, particularly small ones, already offer tastings at their own facilities in much the same way wineries do. Even Anheuser-Busch offers free tastings at its plant in Fairfield. But state law did not allow for beer samples beyond a brewer’s own tasting room.

The new law specifies that a beer tasting at a bar or restaurant cannot exceed eight ounces per person per day and that it must be served in a glass.

Fred Jones of the California Council on Alcohol Problems certainly doesn’t give beer much respect in knocking the law.

”It was jokingly referred to as the ‘free Happy Hour’ bill (in the Capitol), so I think that gives you an image of what could happen,” Jones said. ”What is the reason behind giving someone eight ounces of beer free? One could argue that with wineries, each winery is different and every bottle is different depending on age or season. But we’re talking about beer here.”

And this guy lives in California? Apparently with blinders on.

Scottish and Newcastle has informed wholesalers in the UK that the cost of beer will go up 3.5% next year.

Chances are we’ll be seeing more of the same from brewers, small and large, everywhere.

A spokesman for Scottish & Newcastle said the entire industry faced cost inflation of between 7% and 9%, pointing to the rising of energy, aluminium, diesel and water.

“We’re trying to make our increases reasonable but have to acknowledge there’s been some huge inflationary costs on our business,” he said.

Fifty Fifty Brewing in Truckee, Calif., took another step toward reality last week when equipment was delivered. We offer you the pictures because we we can never get enough of brewery pictures and because we thought we should update you. When we last reported on this brewery it was called Truckee Craft Brewery.

Don’t expect beer before February (and that might be optimistic) but the beer menu is already available.

A Reuters interview with Brooklyn Brewery co-founder Steve Hindy reveals that Brooklyn has expanded distribution into new states and headed to more.

Brooklyn – previously focused on the states closest to New York – has moved into Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Alabama, and plans to soon add Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

In chronicling craft beer growth, the story does offer a cautionary note from Benj Steinman of Beer Marketer’s Insights.

“Some people might be getting ahead of themselves. There are a number of companies that are spending many, many millions of dollars to greatly expand capacity,” Steinman said, questioning whether there is enough demand to justify the added production. He did not include Brooklyn Brewery in that group.

Boston.com spend the day with Maria Poulinas, head brewer at John Harvard’s Restaurant and Brewery in Framingham, Mass., documenting it in photos.

Poulinas previously worked as a civil designer.

She also feels her work is “much more appreciated here. No one cares about your design for a new office park,” she says. “But the customers are enthusiastic about the beer.”