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It’s no secret that bottled water is one of the hottest beverage trends in the market. Market research firms have touted its growing market share and campaigns like first lady Michelle Obama’s Drink Up initiative is encouraging consumers to turn to the zero-calorie option.

On a pit-stop at a gas station not too long ago, the Dunkin’ Donuts sign across the street glowed as it sang to me, “Pumpkin is back.” Nothing says fall to me like my large Dunkin’ coffee with pumpkin spice, cream and sugar (whether it needs the cream and sugar, I don’t know, but I’m afraid to try it without).

Fall is here, and that means consumers are enjoying football tailgating parties — both professional and collegiate — onsite at the big game or in bars. Although consumption of adult beverages can be fun, it is imperative that this activity be executed in a responsible manner.

When summer was winding down, my family and I headed up north for a friend’s wedding in Door County, Wis. Aside from my sister getting a kick out of the goats grazing on the roof of Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant & Butik, we also got a chance to try Island Orchard Cider, a French-style hard cider that is produced in Ellison Bay, Wis.

Clearly the readers of Beverage Industry are fans of kombucha as Clearly Kombucha won the August New Product of the Month poll. The organic beverage obtained 21 percent of the votes. Voting took place between Sept. 8 and 18.

SABMiller plc, London, and Leuven, Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) released responses to press speculation regarding a recent approach made by AB InBev to SABMiller about a potential merging of the two companies.

Anyone who knows me well knows my affection for documentary films. Almost every weekend I can be found combing through Netflix to find something new to learn. Just recently a 2011 documentary titled “Ken Burns: Prohibition” caught my eye.

Various robotic concepts and designs have been developed and applied in many industries for almost a century.

I recently returned from a vacation in Southern California, where I mixed in some work between Disneyland, whale watching and playing in the Pacific Ocean. After watching my 19-year-old son and the rest of Chicago Danube Swabians — a German folk-dancing group — participate in a Landerstrachtenfest in Anaheim, we got the chance to explore California and sample a few beverages, too.

As a new mom, I have learned to embrace the phrase multi-tasking. I did not think that I would have perfected the morning ritual of singing “Pop Goes the Weasel,” applying makeup and rocking a baby at the same time, but I have. Although beverage-makers don’t need to include nursery rhymes in their product formulations, they are doing their own type of multi-tasking.