If you were planning on abstaining from beer for some reason this weekend, you picked a bad time. There is a lot going on this weekend…

The Washington Beer Open House takes place this Saturday from Noon to 5pm at more than 40 breweries across the state. This is an opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of some unique and fascinating breweries, talk to the brewers themselves, and perhaps even try a taste of some of the finest beers in Washington state (or anywhere!). Participating breweries will have a wide variety of fun things happening during the five hour open house including finger food, full tours, brewer discussion, unique beer samples, growler sales, music and other surprises. Activities will vary at each brewery. Visit washingtonbeer.com for a map, directions and additional information. Plan your trip to visit a few neighboring breweries during the day or spend the afternoon at one of your local favorites. Come out and celebrate Washington Beer!

The Hop Scotch Spring Beer & Scotch Fest kicks off tonight and returns again tomorrow. More than 60 beers will be pouring from the likes of Firestone Walker, Green Flash, Iron Horse, Snipes Mountain, Silver City, and more. There will also be Scotch & Whiskey to taste, including products from local distillers. Visit the website for more info and tickets.

Beveridge Place Pub will be kicking off their 11th Annual Barleywine Bacchanal when they open at noon on Saturday. This marks the start of our local “barleywine season”, as Brouwer’s Hard Liver and other events will follow. The event will last through Saturday, March 3, and they will have 30 taps dedicated to barleywines throughout. It will be worth visiting often, as Gary and team will break out special verticals and vintage beers throughout the week. Check out a partial beer list here.

If you are lucky enough to have tickets to Hops & Props on Saturday, have fun! This great event at the Museum of Flight sold out a couple of months ago. If you want to go, keep your eye out for when tickets go on sale next year. It sells out quickly. If you are set on going this year, there are several people selling tickets on Craigslist, including some at face price it looks like.