Hey it’s Friday and the weekend’s almost here. The weather’s getting warmer and you’re ready for some fun and that’s where we come in! We’re all about it and we’ve got your back big-time. Plus we’ve got a special weekend beer pick that you’ll want to track down. So welcome to this week’s edition of our awesome Weekend Picks!

Kick off the world’s largest beer celebration of its kind with a festival like no other. The fourth annual Opening Tap will be held tonight at the Independence Visitor Center in Philadelphia. Welcome the arrival of the Hammer of Glory from its daylong relay through the streets of Philly, cheer award-winning brewers, and watch Mayor Nutter smash open the first official keg of the week: Brotherly Suds 4. Live music will be provided by TJ Kong & the Atomic Bombs, and you know you don’t want to miss that!

Which leads us to 2013’s Philly Beer Week: a 10-day celebration of the Best Beer-Drinking City in America. The ACB crew’s going to be there and you should be there too! Established in 2008, it’s the largest beer celebration of its kind in America, featuring hundreds of festivals, dinners, tours, pub crawls, tastings, and meet-the-brewer nights in area bars, restaurants, and other locations throughout Greater Philadelphia. Since its inception, nearly 100 other cities worldwide have copied Philadelphia’s success to launch their own beer weeks. Philly Beer Week highlights the region’s diverse beer scene – its world-class breweries, neighborhood taverns, trend-setting restaurants, and rich beer culture and history. Philly Beer Week draws thirsty beer fans from throughout the region and beyond, and if you’re smart, you’ll be one of them.

The Summer Movie onslaught just keeps coming with two notables dropping this week. M. Night Shyamalan’s special effects extravaganza, After Earth, stars Will Smith and his son Jaden, as travelers who crash land on Earth 1,000 years after cataclysmic event’s forced humanity’s escape. Now You See Me is a Louis Leterrier directed movie starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, and Woody Harrelson as magicians who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money they’ve just stolen.

If you’re up in New York City this Sunday 6/2 and you’re looking for something different to do with your evening, we suggest you take the Alphabet City Beer Cruise hosted by our friend and American Craft Beer contributing writer Zach Mack. Zach’s legendary Alphabet City Beer Company has linked up with our friends over at Atlantic Sail and Charter for an evening aboard the Ventura, a 1920s style sailing yacht. They’ll be hitting the water right at the “magic hours” and providing everyone aboard with unlimited craft brews.

Houston will be rocking this weekend when the Free Press Summer Fest 2013 comes to town. This two-day festival (June 1^st and 2^nd)is held at Houston’s Eleanor Tinsley Park, located within the beautiful rolling hills of the greater Buffalo Bayou Park. Tinsley Park marries the very best of city and natural settings with its grass amphitheater set on the bayou overlooking Houston’s impressive skyline and will be a perfect setting to see artists like Alabama Shakes, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals and Passion Pit.

Our Weekend Beer Pick

Backlash Beer Company will soon be releasing Catalyst, their newest Double IPA, as part of their “so cool” Uprising! Double IPA series. This big, yet deceptively smooth Double IPA sports a dominant Amarillo hop profile and boasts a “take no prisoners” 8.5% ABV. The label art concept for the Uprising series borrows from propaganda-style posters and features silhouettes of core Backlash team members. Catalyst includes a profile shot of Stout, their English Bulldog, and the unofficial Backlash Beer mascot. Catalyst will soon be available in limited supply in both 22 oz. bottles and on draft in the greater Boston area, so you know what to do….