Hey it's Friday and we're heading into our second December weekend. With the holidays just around the corner, you've never been busier, and you need a weekend break! So if you're up for some ideas that don't involve holiday shopping, we've got them. We're all about the fun and we've got you covered. Plus we've got some weekend beer picks for you too! So welcome to the "Anything but Shopping" Edition of Our Weekend Picks!

The moment I walked into Nebraska Brewing Company, I immediately noticed the signs of a hardworking brewpub everywhere I looked. Barrels occupied many of the open spaces, kegs were lined up in a back corner, and the tap-laden bar stretched vertically across the brewpub's left-hand side. This was a place that took beer seriously, a place that could definitively prove to the nonbelievers out there that great and creative brews do in fact get made in Nebraska.

It's crazy how much the excitement that now surrounds the craft beer industry reminds us of the energy that used to (and to a certain degree still does) surround the music industry. And just as the music industry back in the day gave birth to the rock stars - people like Mick Jagger or Robert Plant, who became the faces of the bands they came from - there's a similar thing happening with some people in the craft beer arena today.

It's probably fitting that the next place I chose to imbibe was Lucky Bucket Brewing Company, a growing brewery with 15 employees and a well-balanced assortment of seasonal brews overseen by acting president Jason Payne and partner Brian Magee (who is also, as I mentioned previously, president of Upstream Brewing Company).

Hey it's Wednesday and it's Rumor Mill Time! There was a major Rock Icon sighting at Dogfish Head last week. We'll be giving you everything that we know so far, plus we've got some fast-breaking craft beer news from Tröegs and Saint Arnolds...We also have a hot new release that you've got to get your hands on. So fasten your seatbelt because...THIS WEEK'S RUMOR MILL IS ON!

Thanksgiving conjures up different visions for everyone, but for me, it's about spending time with family in the comfort of a home, surrounded by copious amounts of both new and beloved craft beer. So when I decided I wasn't flying home to Virginia as I normally do over the holiday, my husband and I braved the roads and drove 11 hours to Omaha, Nebraska to spend time with my twin sis, Tiffany, and her husband Nathan.

With Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act having recently won approval from a majority of Colorado voters, it appear s that the state's populace is ready to move beyond marijuana prohibition, as they did eighty years ago when they voted to approve the repeal of alcohol prohibition. And whatever your position is on the subject, there is no denying that there is a growing trend (at least at the state level) suggesting that many Americans are increasing open to repealing what they see as marijuana prohibition.

When Ron Jeffries began brewing the original test batches for Jolly Pumpkin Brewery in Dexter, MI, a pale ale was considered "really crazy" in the craft beer industry. But Jeffries took crazy to a new level when he turned his evolving business plan into a craft brewery focused on sours. "We saw a spot in the market for French and Belgian beers. No one in the US had an emphasis on sours," explains Jeffries - so he and his wife Laurie opened the sour-focused Jolly Pumpkin Brewery in 2004. As it stands today, Jolly Pumpkin is known as the only brewery that ages all of its beers in oak barrels and is the only US brewery to make its name brewing only sours.

So many craft beers, so little time...With so many craft breweries, releasing so many beers, we thought it might help to provide a weekly update on all the new beers that are hitting the streets...So welcome to this week's edition of Newbies - your guide to great new craft beer releases!

Zach Mack, our NYC correspondent, also runs the Alphabet City Beer Co. His place is down on Avenue C in lower Manhattan, and he, like so many of the region's small businesses, was hit hard by Sandy. He's not complaining (it's not his style) and explained that so many people took it worse than he, but he did worry that the region's devastation is now an afterthought for many and that the national media's attention may have moved on.