Hey it's Friday and work's been brutal and the weather not much better -so you're ready for some fun. Well good, because we're all about it and we've got all kinds of ideas. From the nation's coolest beer festivals to movies, music, and cutting-edge TV - we've got your back big-time.

So welcome to our awesome Weekend Picks...

Every region across this great land now features a craft beer week or month to showcase and celebrate the best their city or state has to offer. In Oregon, we go one step further, by not only opening up a projected 100 breweries to the general public, but allowing folks to tour each location, most allowing samples directly from fermentation tanks.

So many beers, So little time...Newbies is your essential map to the "best of the best" and the hottest new craft beers rolling out each week. From Sierra Nevada's special 4-Way IPA Variety Pack to the latest releases from Stone and Deschutes - we've got all kinds of new releases you're going to want to chase down.

So welcome to another edition of Newbies -Your ultimate guide to great new craft beers!  

Hey it's Wednesday and that means it's Rumor Mill Time....World leaders were beer-binging in Sochi last week. We'll be bringing you everything we know so far on this international throwdown. Plus we've some updates from Ninkasi and Sierra Nevada Brewing. So fasten your seat belts everybody because....THIS WEEK'S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

Seems northern Arizona's got more going on than the red rocks of Sedona or the Grand Canyon. High desert towns long known for their sprawling scenic grandeur have started brewing beer--and some are getting very good at it.

Welcome to Flagstaff--craft beer's newest Kathmandu.

I was at one of my favorite beer stores recently and came across a beer called Imperial Destroyer IPA. It was from the Do Can Brewery and the label made me think of a Star Wars movie I watched endlessly growing up. So I picked up the beer and I have to say, it was much more than a cool label and catchy name ... and that led me to Pat Slattery, the owner of the Do Can Brewery.

We blame the industry for this... It used to be that when we wrapped up our Weekend Picks on Friday, we could coast through the weekend. There was little need to check in for updates -things were pretty much done. But clearly all that's changed.

California craft beer lovers rejoice! No longer are we susceptible to growler fatigue. No longer do we have to store large quantities of ceramic and glass jugs in dusty closets like old Magic card collections of yesteryear.

If you've been reading us regularly, you may already be following our Craft Beer - Good, Bad, and Ugly series - where our regional correspondents look back at 2013 and weigh in on craft beer's highs and lows in their parts of the country. What started as a simple idea quickly turned into a three-part regional manifesto and we're wrapping things up in a big way today.

Hey it's Friday and 2014 is definitely on. You're ready to play this weekend and you want to keep things fun. Well good, because we're all about it and we've got all kinds of ideas. From the nation's coolest beer festivals to movies, music, and cutting-edge TV, we've got your back big-time. Plus we've a serious Weekend Beer Pick that you'll want to get your hands on.

So welcome to our awesome Weekend Picks...