So Dad’s Weekend has drawn to a close. It’s that magical time of year when fathers flock to Pullman from across the country in droves to spend that special time with their sons or daughters. A whole migration of men named Bob, Douglas and Ron.

Be it for a football game, bonding time or to sit in with their son in class and observe his attention and note-taking skills, because, in his words, he’s “checking in on his ‘investment.’ ” Dad’s Weekend was a blast.

To herald the blitzkrieg of fathers, WSU demonstrated its ability to host and prepared a swarthy spectacle in a way that only it knows how: Beef and Brews. Hosted by the WSU College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences, this parade of steak, potatoes and beer was a great place to get a pregame bite and a mild buzz. The beer was from Paradise Creek Brewery, as well as a cider from Whiskey Barrel Cider.

The Scottish Stovepipe was mature, smoky and paired particularly well with the meat, and the cider was dry and just a little sweet, the perfect beverage to start off a football game. If you ever get a chance to go downtown to Paradise Creek Brewery, and have some good local beer, do it.

A little ways down the road, Merry Cellars was filled with classy folk and dads with names like Hoyt or Chaz. It was also a great place to have some wine before dinner. For those of you who are interested in great Christmas gifts, get your “of-age” friends to get you a bottle or six of Merry Cellars Wine.

My personal favorite is the Cabernet Franc. First off, you’ll sound classy as hell saying Cab Franc (pronounced “fronk”) to your folks, and second, the wine itself is probably one of the most delicious things you, or your parents, will ever drink.

It oozes with aromas of stewing plums and blackberries, with great notes of smoky wood and a little bit of what that fancy shiny leather chair in some rich guy’s study might smell like. It tastes and finishes the same way, except with chilled and ripe Juniper berry flavors.

For those of you who like wine, the time has come for another release party, which is from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday. at Merry Cellars. If you’re not part of the wine club, and love wine, now is your chance to join and have some great booze for the holidays.

Which brings us to the last, but certainly not any less important, phase of the weekend: liquor. I had the glorious opportunity to pass on some alcoholic wisdom to my dear old dad and let him know that, if you ever order a margarita, ask for Anejo tequila. For those of you don’t know, that’s the darkest kind of tequila and so worth it to have in your south-of-the-border-style drinks.

On to the weekly Cocktail Roulette Challenge: This week the bar staff at Sangria Grille in Moscow worked together to create the “Screaming Viking.” That’s not the real name for it, it doesn’t have one, so I just guessed.

They combined Hendricks gin, muddled cucumber and basil, Crème de Violette and fresh lime juice to create a rather healthy-flavored drink. Just ask for your cucumber to be only slightly bruised. Pop quiz: Where is that reference from?

Thanks to all the dads that made this weekend special, and as always, stay safe, my friends and bottoms up.

Chris West is a sophomore viticulture and enology major from Plano, Texas. He can be contacted at [email protected].