A lot of banker types really want to cash in on the craft beer movement, and have a lot of demands for the people who create the beers. Sometimes it's not a good mix. There was a time when people like Ken Grossman, who founded Sierra Nevada, could cobble together some old dairy equipment in a basement and start a company that grew very slowly. That era is over, and now the creative types have to make a deal with the devil.

The Hopleaf's Michael Roper explains how American cider is hitting the craft boom (from an increased awareness of locality and craftmanship, to the inevitable big brands jumping in on the trend) and explores two big financial stories in the beer world - investors removing craft brew founders from their companies, and the SAB/Miller/Coors/AB/Inbev consolidation that will soon cover 71% of the US beer market.

Michael's Libation of the Week is La Fin du Monde, and the Hopleaf is donating 100% of its profits from sales to fund the neighborhood's Peirce school.