Hey it’s Friday and the weekend’s almost here. Summer has arrived and you’re ready for some fun. 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!

When you call yourself The Festival, you’d better deliver – and Portland, Maine’s two-day (June 21 – 22) event is all that and more. It’s taking place at the Portland Yacht Services and features more than 200 beers, ciders, and meads from 70+ artisans from all over the world. You’ll be hanging with the brewers and drinking what they’ve been brewing – and we can’t think of a better way to spend the weekend! For more info on this classic event, check out: The Festival 2013

The much talked about zombie apocalypse opus, World War Z, is opening this weekend and we’ve already purchased our tickets. And although the film’s been plagued (get it?) with rumors of all kinds of production problems and a skyrocketing budget, the trailers that we’ve seen look incredible. Brad Pitt stars as a United Nations representative who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself. C’mon… who could say no to that?

The second annual Chicago Craft Beer Festival is being held this weekend in Chicago’s Old Town. This three-day event (June 21- 23) is modeled after an authentic Belgian beer fest and will feature more than 50 craft-brewed beers with an emphasis on small Midwestern breweries. Held on the grounds of the iconic St. Michael’s parish, this festival also features some awesome music performances in the late afternoons and evenings, so you’ll want to hang. For a more complete listing of who’s serving what and why you need to be there, check out: Chicago Craft Beer Fest

The Firefly Music Festival is returning to Dover, Delaware this weekend and it’s one of our favorites. Considered by many to be the East Coast’s premier music experience, Firefly offers three days of great music and craft beer set among lush wooded landscapes in the heart of the East Coast. This year’s lineup includes the likes of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Alabama Shakes, Vampire Weekend and the Red Hot Chili Peppers – so go! For more info, check out: Firefly Fest

The San Diego County Fair will be hosting its seventh annual San Diego International Beer Festival at the Chevrolet Del Mar Arena. This three-day, five-session beerganza will feature more than 400 beers from all around the world and we expect that you’ll want to try all of them. There will be VIP tickets as well as Best of Show and Champion Brewery competitions.To attend, you must have a Fair admission ticket. For those that already have Fair admission tickets, you can purchase the Beer Festival and VIP Brewers Lounge inside the festival on the day of the show or in advance at the Del Mar Fairgrounds Box Office. For more info on what promises to be an awesome event, check out: SD International Beer Fest

Our Weekend Beer Pick

The Commons Brewery will be releasing bottles of Fishing With Hallet for Eugene’s 16 Tons Cafe & Taphouse with two events on June 22 and 23- and we’re thinking you should try to make one of them.Fishing with Hallet is a Belgian dark strong ale aged in Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon barrels. The beer was intentionally bottled young and is meant to be stored at cellar temperatures to allow the Brettanomyces to continue developing.