Six things that have consumers buzzing in the world of beer, wine and spirits this week:

1. Craft Beer Drinkers by the Numbers: This week marked American Craft Beer Week, a week long celebration of the craft beer industry, put on the map by the Brewers Association. To mark the occasion, Market Research firm Mintel released some data from several of its recent beer reports that sheds light on the typical craft beer consumer.

Among the findings, seasonal offerings are a big part of purchasing decisions, with 84 percent of craft beer consumers likely to choose their beer depending on the season.

The growth in the craft space also is being driven by the Millennials, 49 percent of which say craft beer appeals to them. That compares with 40 percent of Gen Xers, 29 percent of Baby Boomers and 22 percent of the Swing Generation/World War II generation.

The morning after the embattled retailer reported another quarterly loss, J.C. Penney CEO Mike Ullman told shareholders: "I have an enduring affection for J.C. Penney, its customers, associates and shareholders...it's a privilege to come back and get us on a profitable growth track."

Without a formal presentation or powerpoint slides, Ullman outlined his priorities for shareholders who gathered inside the company's home office in Plano, Texas, in a large room just to the left of a giant statue of company founder James Cash Penney. For all the controversy surrounding the department store's transformation, the shareholder attendance was sparse, and the meeting was short, lasting only 55 minutes from start to finish.

Ullman's message mirrored the words he spoke on the earnings call less than 24 hours prior. Messaging, marketing, "attractions" in stores, fixing ecommerce, and reaching out to suppliers as the team looks to re-establish some of its more popular private-label brands. Although Ullman didn't name names for those store brands, St. John's Bay, an important billion dollar store brand, is already 50 percent re-established in stores.

The "attractions," Ullman referred to are the shops within J.C. Penney's stores, which had been the cornerstone of former CEO Ron Johnson's plan to overhaul the struggling retailer.

McRib's got a new McRival.

Burger King on Thursday will unveil its 2013 summer menu plans, highlighted by a new, limited-time BK Rib Sandwich, which is boneless like McRib — has a tangy sauce and comes with sweet bread and butter pickles. It will be sold nationally beginning May 21.

BK's other summer roll-outs include a return of Memphis Pulled Pork sandwiches, a line of Carolina BBQ sandwiches and sweet potato fries. It also will introduce a new BBQ Chicken Salad and line of Oreo-infused desserts. All of the products, including the rib sandwich, will be available only though the summer.

The move comes at a time when industry players like Burger King are increasingly taking on McDonald's in product innovation. Now, Burger King is even aiming for Mickey D's piece of the rib sandwich market — whose fans can be fiercely loyal.

Rising home prices stand to benefit home-improvement retailers, especially Lowe's, although investors may have to wait until second-quarter results are out before they see meaningful acceleration, Goldman Sachs said in a new research report.

For now, first-quarter strength will likely be shrouded by unfavorable weather comparisons after a much colder-than-normal period following a more-mild-than-usual first quarter of 2012.

Recent economic data point to a sharp uptick in prices with the median price for a home resale rising the most since 2005 and the S&P/Case-Shiller index showing the best annual increase for single-family home prices since May 2006.

The National Transportation Safety Board voted Tuesday to recommend to states that they lower the blood-alcohol content that constitutes drunken driving.

Currently, all 50 states have set a BAC level of .08, reflecting the percentage of alcohol, by volume, in the blood. If a driver is found to have a BAC level of .08 or above, he or she is subject to arrest and prosecution.

The NTSB recommends dropping that to a BAC level of .05.

Over the weekend, alert food fans took notice of a waffle taco that Taco Bell is quietly testing at three Southern California locations.

Taco Bell reps are remaining tight-lipped about the taco, and refused to comment except to say it's in its testing phase and is part of the chain's increased breakfast service.

A staff member at a Santa Ana, Calif., location, who did not want to be identified, confirmed to TODAY.com that the waffle is lightly fried, stuffed with scrambled egg and a sausage patty, then folded over and served with maple syrup on the side, all for a mere 89 cents.

Yoga is a weapon in the war on obesity, but it's also a fast-growing, $10 billion business. As its popularity expands in tandem with our collective waistline, analysts say there's a potentially lucrative market for clothing companies to outfit curvier bodies.

In a country where roughly two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, medical experts and a growing community of health bloggers are suggesting that the answer might lie on a yoga mat.

The number of yoga practitioners, which skews more than 80 percent female, jumped 29 percent in the past four years, according to a Yoga Journal study. It's become so mainstream that the White House even added yoga classes to its annual Easter egg roll last month.

Turnarounds take time, and the road isn't without hurdles—just ask the struggling J.C. Penney.

But some turnarounds have happy endings, and for global specialty retailer Gap, the current outcome is a positive one. Both consumers and investors are again falling into the Gap.

"The consumer across all brands is waking up and saying Gap and Old Navy are a potential choice in their shopping trips now versus years ago when they wouldn't have considered going in the stores. The brands are back in the consumer psyche," said Randal Konik, an analyst at Jefferies.

Inspired by the glitz and glamour of "The Great Gatsby's" 1920s backdrop (and hoping to capitalize on some free press), several retailers have launched collections to help consumers to live it up West Egg style.

Two of these retailers, high-end jewelry designer Tiffany and Brooks Brothers, collaborated with the movie's costume designer Catherine Martin to outfit the actors. Both retailers went back to through their extensive archives to create items that resemble their own Jazz Age offerings.

"The film has seen an unprecedented level of marketing in advance of its release, which brings it into the consciousness of a very wide reach of customer," said Laura Pickard, a U.K. womenswear editor at WGSN, a trend forecasting firm. "It makes sense then for retailers to tap into this zeitgeist and jump on the potential huge success of the film.

The Stella Artois family is getting larger. But this time around you can the leave the beer chalice on the shelf.

Anheuser-Busch Inbev is rolling out a brand extension, Stella Artois Cidre, hoping the beer brand's premium name recognition can set the new release apart from the crowd in one of the fastest-growing beverage categories in the country.

While hard cider is often seen as beer's smaller-in-market-size and sweeter tasting cousin, that's not the play Anheuser-Busch is making here. Cidre (pronounced CEE-dra) is aimed at the white wine drinker and Stella Artois recommends this beverage be served in a white wine glass.