When you think of the top beer-consuming nations, countries renowned for their breweries and pubs — like Germany or Ireland — likely come to mind.

Within the past decade, the shift in consumer demand for variety and “local” beverages has resulted in a craft beer revolution in the United States.

As the year draws to a close, the Brewers Association, Boulder, Colo., released its review of the 2014 craft beer market.

Fort Collins, Colo.-based craft brewer New Belgium Brewing Co. joined the Minds + Machines Pioneer Program for .beer URLs. New Belgium will be one of the first breweries to use and promote the .beer domains, which include newbelgium.beer, nbb.beer, sour.beer, find.beer and more.

Although a number of brand owners have been reaching out to consumers to highlight ideal food and beverage pairings with their signature beverage offerings, research suggests that the time of year also can have an impact on what consumers want to drink.

Mike’s Hard Lemonade Co., Chicago, is reinventing the White Elephant holiday tradition with its new “Tw’elf Re-Gift-O-Rama,” promotion.

This holiday season, White Plains, N.Y.-based Heineken USA is offering consumers of legal drinking age the ability to enhance their parties and get-togethers with the Heineken beer brand. The brand’s #SparkMyParty holiday delivery service will bring holiday plus-ups right to consumers’ doorsteps, the company says.

On Friday, Nov. 28, Chicago-based Goose Island Beer Co. will release its Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS) line of barrel-aged beers through special beer-centric Black Friday events in nine cities including Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Philadelphia; Phoenix; San Francisco; Los Angeles; and Jacksonville, Fla. Black Friday has become a beer drinker’s holiday and a true reminder that good things come to those that wait, according to the brand of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), Leuven, Belgium.

The night before Thanksgiving tends to be one of the busiest nights for bars and restaurants. This year Chicago-based Technomic Inc. foresees big sales on-premise for some of the fastest-growing beer, wine and spirits brands.

Guinness & Co., a part of Diageo plc, introduced the first offering in the new Guinness Signature Series: Guinness The 1759.