Hey it's Friday and we're heading into the weekend and it looks to be a hot one in more ways than one. We know that you're looking to enjoy some down time. And that's where we come in. It's time to start planning your moves for the weekend and we've got some suggestions. We're all about it and have got you covered. Plus we've got a weekend beer pick for you too! So welcome to this week's Weekend Picks!

Though we've written about The Commons in the past, we'd not as yet had the opportunity to meet with its founder, Mike Wright, or to visit this unique and distinctive mini-brewery, so we we're psyched when we were invited to come through!

This is a big one.

The Mother of All Pumpkin Beer Festivals is returning to Seattle and the folks at Elysian Brewing Company are serious about it! This year's Great Pumpkin Beer Festival, on October 19 and 20, will showcase around 60 different beers made with pumpkin by local brewers, brewers from around the country, and this year from Canada and Norway as well.

So many beers- So little time. With so many breweries releasing so many beers, we thought it might be useful to provide a weekly update to help us keep up with all the new beers hitting the streets coming up. So welcome to this week's edition of Newbies - our weekly guide to new releases that you'll want to look out for!

South Africa has been known for a lot of things, but until recently craft beer wasn't one of them. The country has developed a name for itself in the wine trade and is also home to South African Breweries Limited, a subsidiary of SABMiller, the world's second largest beer producer. Now, according to Sandra Mac Gregor writing for the New York Times, with the advent of places like Triggerfish Brewing, South Africa is fast becoming a craft beer hotbed, Mac Gregor explains:

It's Wednesday and that means its Rumor Mill time! There are whispers in the streets that Flying Dog's been hoarding some secret stash! Our calls to Flying Dog have not been returned but we'll be giving you everything that we know so far....Plus we've got all kinds of other news bytes and some hot new releases that you'll want to get your hands on. So on to "Everything We Think Matters."

"Fans don't boo nobodies." – Reggie Jackson We felt the love last week, as a subset of Dangerous Hopheads scampered up to Capitol Hill in Seattle to meet Tom, Nick, Steve and Matt before they set off on their trip down to Bend. Want to know what happened?

A couple of entrepreneurs are having some difficulty in Southern Mississippi pursing their dreams.  Paul and Wanda Blacksmith are looking to open up a craft micro-brewery on the Gulf Coast but are getting push back from the religious community in their location of choice.  Originally slated to be built on their own land in Vancleave, MS, a small community not far from the Gulf of Mexico, the Blacksmiths were surprised when the Jackson County Board of Supervisors denied their permit request.  The denial of the permit came as a surprise since the brewery would be injecting a good amount of tax revenue into the county.

Our second stop in Seattle on day one of the tour was Elysian Brewing Company's new facility in the Georgetown neighborhood of South Seattle. We had a chance to spend some time with Dick Cantwell, one of Elysian's founders and Head Brewer. As always, Dick shared his fascinating and innovative approach to craft beer.