A local adult kickball league has organized an all-day bus trip and meet-up at one of this weekend’s Jimmy Buffett concerts at Nissan Pavilion.

Coincidentally, both Adult Kickball and Jimmy Buffett Concerts finished near the top of U.S. News and World Report’s most recent Things That Make My Butt Water rankings, now on newsstands.*

*U.S. News and World Report hasn’t really published a Things That Make My Butt Water issue yet.

Let’s play: What’s in My Inbox? It’s a fun game. It gives you a blog item when you’re a touch hungover from the Old 97’s show and blogging kind of sounds like how your stomach felt when you got home. Anyway: Today’s tasty box nugget is an invitation to join the Bigfoot Sketch Project. Pete@thepaintedcave.com wants to know what your sasquatch looks like. Well, Pete, mine came out looking like this:

Not sure why, but I think that the Art Instructions Schools may want me. Anyway: Pete’s invitation to me today also arrived with a news hook, courtesy of the CBC: “Berry pickers report sasquatch sighting in northern Ontario.” This is a fun article about Helen and her mom who were out raiding the blueberry bushes in Grassy Narrows when they saw something big and black and not quite right. It includes a wonderful little nut graf:

Sasquatch, an aboriginal word meaning “hairy giant,” refers to a large manlike creature some believe could be roaming woods from California up the West Coast and across Canada.

Obviously, the reporter on this is not aware that Bigfoot is, actually, in Virginia, only a short drive from the nation’s capital. If you haven’t read our 7/18 cover story, “Hot for Creature“, or watched the video starring William Dranginis, the most sane Bigfoot hunter you’d ever care to meet, get on it. Although, truth be told, I kind of wish I hadn’t read it before going camping. I stayed awake all night listening for sasquatch and he never did show up. Next time, sasquatch, I will find you, I will draw you. And I will follow Pete’s e-mailed instructions:

If you have seen the creature, Pete asks that you submit a detailed description and then buy a T-shirt.

Ever pass some new sleek club or divey pub and wonder what beers lie inside? As new bars pop up around the city, it can be hard to stay up on beer selection. So in keeping with my reputation as an enabler, here’s a few of the interweb’s finest sites to help you strike liquid gold.

Ratebeer and Beer Advocate are your best bets on finding the good  stuff. Their directory sections (called “Places” and “Beerfly,” respectively) both offer extensive reviews of bars and stores, and Ratebeer even has a neat Google Map mashup. What puts these sites at the top of the list is their community — the thorough reviewers can get down and nerdy, but these enthusiasts tend to offer the best tips on the web.

We realize it’s not all about quality, though. Save your booze dollars (or just stretch them further) with happy-hour finders like Bar DC and DC Happy Hours. There’s a panoply of these sites online, but these two have some of the more comprehensive listings. We also give kudos to the younger DrinkGuru. It seem to be still building its database, but it sports the cleanest, most navigable design of the bunch.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on Unthirsty and MappyHour. Both seem to be in beta mode, but also feature Google Maps interfaces.

We want it now: Beer Menus is the site we crave more than anything — a beautiful, simple directory of beer menus and prices all around the city. The problem? That city is New York. Damn yankees.

(Thanks in part to Webware)

Got a question about beer? E-mail the Beerspotter.

Last week, we reported that D.C.’s Best Dance Night would be moving on up to Club Five this Saturday. Now, it looks like the event will by moving across the street to MCCXXIII, at 1223 Connecticut Ave. NW. Club Five had its license suspended earlier this month after a stabbing occured in the club. Five was set to open again June 18th; according to ABRA, that suspension has now been extended indefinitely.

Miami Horror and Gameboy/Gamegirl are still set to play on the Nouveau Riche bill, but the move to MCCXXIII brings some changes in the event’s time, cover charges, and dress code, says DJ Gavin Holland. The details: The show starts at 10 p.m. Entry begins at $10 and jumps to $20 at midnight. The dress code, while relaxed to include sneakers, does stipulate some no-no’s. Writes Holland:

They have relaxed their normal dress code for us, sneakers are okay. However, no shorts, no sandals, and sadly no totally wacky shit. Basically, dress well by your own standards, but you don’t need to wear fancy shoes or any of that silly ‘club’ attire. You should be lookin’ snazzy for Nouveau Riche anyway, so this should be no different. My heart goes out to Life Preserver Dude from the 9:30 Club, you will not be able to wear your life preserver.

One of beer’s holy grails has arrived in D.C.

The coveted beer is Mikkeller, the brainchild of two Danish homebrewers who joined forces in 2006 and within a few short years were producing some of the best tipples in the world. On Ratebeer, the Internet’s largest beer site, all of the brewery’s current batches rank in the 93rd percentile or higher – an almost unequalled feat.

Just a sample of the wares: Mikkeller beers seen around town include Beer Geek Breakfast, a sturdy, black-as-night oatmeal stout with notes of milk chocolate and espresso. Newcomers might enjoy the more accessible Jackie Brown, a brown ale that goes down like Nutella on toast. And for heavyweights there’s Big Worse, a sweet, powerful barleywine whose name is a higher level of “big bad.”

But as of now, Mikkeller is only available in two D.C. stores. And it’s your fault.

Well, at least partially. For vendors, high-end brews like Mikkeller are a risk: Individual bottles retail between $10 and $17, meaning stores have to spend $90 or more on a case that could take weeks to empty. Buying a more popular brand guarantees a much quicker turnover.

Your role in all this (and mine, and anyone who buys beer) comes with purchasing power. Epicurean movements like organics and local food rely on customer demand to drive the market toward better products. If your dollars leaving the supermarket for the farmers market, in time those grocery chains will take notice.

The same happens with beer, but even faster. The population of microbrew drinkers is a fraction of the population in the produce aisle, and D.C. has far fewer good beer stores than groceries, or even farmers markets.

So it’s our responsibility as beer drinkers to encourage stores to carry the good stuff. By buying it.

If we’re talking about Mikkeller, right now you can only do that at D’Vines, in Columbia Heights, and The Wine Specialist, south of Dupont Circle. Their respective beer managers, Pat Hayes and Tim Schliftman, are taking a risk by buying a few cases of the pricy Danish brew, even if more accessible brands could offer a higher turnover.

I spoke with other beer managers at several of the area’s largest and best-regarded stores – none of whom currently stock Mikkeller – and the universal answer was, “We can order a case for you.” That is, they’ll order you some if they can guarantee a sale.

But who can blame them? Stores are businesses, and they need to respect the bottom line if they are to continue offering their services. It’s your duty as a customer to buy responsibly. When a gift beer lands at D.C.’s feet – something exceptional or new or rare – try it.

Talk to your beer vendors. Find out what new stuff they’ve got, and tell them what you thought of the last six-pack you tried. Remember that they’re working to serve you, the loyal customer; if you let them know there’s a market for your favorite microbrew, they’ll do their best to stock it.

And if you’re new to quality beers, ask for advice. Of all the good beer stores I’ve ever visited – in D.C. or anywhere – I’ve never encountered a single staffer that wasn’t completely helpful, friendly, and eager to talk shop. Good beer drinkers are a community, and that community needs more members to thrive.

So next time you’re torn between a six-pack of fizzy yellow stuff and something new and intriguing, empower yourself. Put that buying power to good use. And don’t forget to thank your vendor.

Got a question about beer? E-mail the Beerspotter.

Photo courtesy of Mikkeller