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Hey it’s Friday and we’re heading into our first December weekend. Work had to be brutal coming off a long Thanksgiving break and you’re ready to get away and have some fun. That’s where we come in. If you’re up for some suggestions – we’ve got them. We’re all about it and have got you covered. Plus we’ve got a massive weekend holiday beer pick for you too! So Welcome to a Holiday Edition of Our Weekend Picks!
If you’re starting to get in a more seasonal mood, we can’t think of a better place for you to be than this year’s Portland Holiday Ale Festival. It runs Nov 28th through Dec 2nd and sounds like the perfect alternative to holiday shopping. The Ale Fest is being presented by the Oregon Brewers Guild and you know that they know how to throw a party. It’s all taking place in downtown’s Pioneer Square which is good because it’s heated and there will be one of the region’s largest Christmas trees on display! Plan to drink the entire weekend and wrap things up with their “Beer and Brunch” event on Sunday. For more info on this weekend’s event check out: Holiday Ale Festival
We can’t think of a better holiday movie to check this weekend than Killing Them Softly. It stars Brad Pitt as a Mob enforcer hired to restore order after three losers rob a Mafia protected card game causing the local criminal economy to crumble…I mean who needs DreamWorks’ animated Rise of the Guardians, with Santa Claus and Jack Frost trying to save Christmas, when you can watch Brad Pitt running all over Boston, blowing people’s brains out? Enjoy!
BevMo is presenting the inaugural Los Angeles edition of its Holiday Beerfest. This afternoon event is taking place tomorrow, Saturday, December 1st, out at the Golden Road Brewery. There will be more than 200 holiday, seasonal, and special beers from over 100 breweries from all around the world – so you know it is going to be awesome! There will also be music and food and VIP tickets (allowing you all kinds of special access) if you want them. For more info check out: Night That Never Ends
If you’re looking for a musical alternative to Jingle Bells, we’ve an idea. How about booking a voyage on the Barge To Hell, a four day Caribbean cruise that leaves from Miami, with 2000 headbangers from around the world onboard, and some of the most extreme metal bands ever! For the entire trip it’s like everyone has a backstage pass and you can mingle side-by-side with the Artists in this incredibly fan-friendly scenario that has no comparison. The 2012 lineup includes bands the likes of Rotting Christ, Napalm Death and Municipal Waste. Now, who’d want to miss that? To make sure we’re not making this up check out: Barge to Hell
Our Holiday Weekend Beer Pick
In French-speaking parts of the world, notably Belgium, there are two fabled figures associated with the Christmas season. Saint Nicholas is well renowned, but it is the esteemed Père Noël that checks to see if children have been well-behaved and rewards the good ones with toys and candy while leaving twigs in the shoes of the naughty. Boulder’s Twisted Pine Brewing Company seeks to pay tribute to the legend with the year’s last release from its Artisan Ale Project, Twisted Pine Noel Tripel. This is Twisted Pine’s first foray into the Tripel style popularized by Trappist monasteries in Belgium. It’s a Golden Ale brewed with Pilsner malt and weighing in at a hefty 9% ABV. Noel Tripel will be available on draft and in 750 ml, wax-dipped bottles at the brewery, along with a few other select locations in and around the Boulder, Colorado area.
