Looking up at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Redhook had an awesome time in Indianapolis last week and wanted to share a few photos with everyone who couldn’t be there. Which is, like, 99.9999% of people on the planet.

Dan mingling with adoring fans.

We spent the week hanging out with The Dan Patrick Show, as they broadcast live from Victory Field, home of the Indianapolis Indians.

A peek inside the Dan Patrick Show studio tells you pretty much all you need to know.

Redhook's never met a dude who doesn't like racing go karts.

We had go karts and, yes, paint was traded. As the brilliant Robert Duvall said in Days of Thunder, “Rubbin’s racin’.”

Redhook strives to inspire America with positive messages.

Andrew “McLovin” Perloff  is one of Dan Patrick’s “Danettes” and, as it happens, Redhook is the official sponsor of McLovin’s weekly Against the Grain segment. Above, you can see him mingling with spectators.

Turns out, people love Redhook Pilsner and free Redhook hats.

No, you didn't have to break your arm to get a free Redhook sticker.

Redhook fully embraced Indianapolis’ two-week open container law in honor of the Super Bowl.

Like a shining beacon of hope, the giant, inflatable ESB bottle welcomed weary, thirsty travelers.

111.3 million people watched the game on TV. Redhook was one of the lucky 68,000 who saw it in person.

Redhook made it through the week and scored some great seats for the game. Here’s to a return trip next year.

Cheers.

And a darkness fell upon the land.

Once again, Redhook and legions of football fans are faced with the utter emptiness that began the very moment the Super Bowl ended.

Two years ago, we had the Winter Olympics to fill this void. Last year, we had worse than nothing — a looming owner lockout that only added to our despair.

This off-season's real life drama offers hope for abandoned football fans.

Fortunately, in a league plagued by sub-par quarterbacking in 2011, there are plenty of compelling storylines to keep everyone’s football jones sated from now through Draft Day, starting with: what the heck will happen with Peyton Manning?

Even the most casual football fan knows the story: Peyton sat out the season with a neck injury. The Colts finished with the worst record in the league, winning the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. Indy owes Peyton, fused neck vertebrae, nerve damage and all, a $28 million bonus if they keep him after March 8. And since there is 0% chance of that happening, Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, will become an unrestricted free agent.

The biggest question is, can he still play? And if that’s in doubt, which team will be willing to roll the dice to pick him up anyway?

Lots of teams are rumored to be looking for a franchise QB.

To that story, add Matt Flynn, RGIII, Tim Tebow’s tenuous hold on his starting job, Kevin Kolb’s quasi-bust in AZ, the fact that Alex Smith continues to have doubters, and the roughly nine NFL teams looking for a QB, and we’re set to have the most interesting off-season in years. It’ll be like a special edition of The Bachelor where rich, old men court virile, young men and millions of middle class men sit at home riveted like 14-year-old girls watching Twilight.

While you ponder the undertones of that, Redhook suggests you have a beer.

Here’s hoping we see Peyton on the field in 2012.

Well, well. We meet again, old friend.

On any normal week, if your boss asked you to hop a plane to Indianapolis to tour your company’s rendering plant, you might say, “Seriously? Can’t you send Jenkins instead?” Of course, you probably wouldn’t complain if El Jefe was sending you during Indy 500 week. And you definitely wouldn’t turn that trip down if, say, Indianapolis happened to be hosting the mother freakin’ Super Bowl. Which it is.

That’s a long way of saying Redhook is headed to Indianapolis with The Dan Patrick Show for the full week of festivities leading up to Super Bowl XLVI. Redhook is looking forward to a seven-day bacchanalia filled with sports, laughter, beer consumption, meat dinners, music and visits to anywhere between two and fifty “gentlemen’s clubs.”

On the off chance you’ll be in Indy during Super Bowl Week, you can join Redhook, Dan and the DIRECTV RV at Victory Field, home of the Indianapolis Indians, where Dan will be broadcasting live every morning. Redhook will be pouring Pilsner and IPA for Dan’s guests and crew. Plus, we’ll be handing out tons of Redhook schwag to all the fans. Should be a great time.

David Tyree's famous helmet catch kept the TD drive alive.

As for the game, it should be a good one. The Giants have already beaten the Pats this season in week 9. And, of course, these same two teams and QBs met up in Super Bowl XLII where the Giants stunned the previously undefeated Pats with a game-winning TD in the final minute. Yes, even though Tom Brady is rich, handsome, has three Super Bowl rings and is married to a supermodel, it seems his life isn’t perfect.

Lastly, if you don’t have Super Bowl tickets yet and you have anywhere between $3,000-$15,000 lying around, you’re in luck.

We’ll talk next week from Indy.

It’s that time of year again. The time where you can either give in to Seasonal Affective Disorder by curling into the fetal postion under a light therapy lamp, or you can embrace the cold, dark, wet, muddy suckiness* that defines Pacific Northwest winters. (*Suckiness refers only to the lowlands. Our local mountains currently kick ass.)

Rather than wallowing in dark misery, Redhook prefers to revel in his hometown’s weather and latitudinal challenges. And what better way to do it than the 5th Annual Stinky Spoke mountain bike ride, this Saturday, January 14.

The clever Stinky Spoke organizers have masochistically chosen what should be the coldest, rainiest day of the year for their 18.5-mile mountain bike ride. Here’s the weather forecast as of posting time:

Given that the ride will happen rain, shine or snow, Redhook thought he’d share a great little POV video giving you a look at the course.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The ride starts and ends at Redhook Brewery in Woodinville. Along the way, riders collect playing cards in hopes of putting together a decent poker hand. At the finish line, riders with the best hands win prizes. And regardless of your hand, every rider gets a souvenir pint glass, a Stinky Spoke beanie, a Bag-o-Schwag and a free beer or soda.

Here are the deets:

Date:                  Saturday, January 14, 2012

Start:                  Any time between 9 and 10 a.m.

Address:            Redhook Brewery, 
14300 N.E. 145th Street, Woodinville, WA

Fees:                  $40 pre-registration, $50 day-of if available

Click here for online registration.

Registration Closing:    Friday, January 13, 2012 @ 6:00 PM PST

For added inspiration, we thought we’d share this video of mountain bikers tackling a muddy hill in Wales. No, Redhook didn’t pick the music.

Don’t worry. The Stinky Spoke is nothing like this. Heh.

See you on Saturday.

A favorite tradition in Seattle is the lighting of the Redhook Tree at Westlake Center.

Happy/Merry to everyone. With Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa all on tap this week, Redhook wants to wish peace, joy and good beer to all. (Interesting side note: if you’ve ever puzzled over whether to spell it Chanukah, Hanukkah or some other variation, this NPR segment will not clear things up for you.)

Hang on. We almost forgot to recognize the Druids who be congregating at Stonehenge tonight to celebrate the arrival of the Winter Solstice. Nice thing about the Winter Solstice is that there tends to be less Druid nudity than during the Summer Solstice.

To mark the onset of winter, Redhook would like to share this video of a magical snowmobile ride up Kællingehætten mountain in Greenland. By “magical,” Redhook means “life-threatening.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Good times, no? The rider is Kris Kenni Støvlbæk and Redhook would like to formally recognize Kris’s giant huevos and good fortune. That’s right, he didn’t get hurt. Here’s how his mishap looked from up top:

Redhook hopes you learn something from these videos. Namely, not to cartwheel down a mountain on your snowmobile.

Have a great holiday.

What are you doing this Sunday morning? Redhook will be up early, running through the streets of Seattle at the 27th Annual Jingle Bell Run/Walk with DJ Harms from The End and lots of other festive folks.

The Jingle Bell Run is a leisurely 5k benefiting the Arthitis Foundation. Plus, there’s a 1K Run with the Elves for parents with little ones. The whole deal starts and ends at Westlake Center and you can pick up your entry packets as early as 6:45 a.m on Sunday 12/11.

You should totally watch out for this guy.

Your reward for getting up early? After the run, Redhook will be refreshing people of legal drinking age with Redhook Pilsner and Winterhook Ale in the Holiday Cheer Garden starting at 9:15. Bonus: your first Redhook is included with your race registration fee.

The Jingle Bell Run is only three miles, so if you pace yourself (running and drinking), you shouldn’t end up like these dudes:

Online registration is closed, but you can still register on Saturday at North Seattle CC, or on Sunday before the race until 8:45 at Westlake Center. Find all the deets here.

Hope to see you.

First off, Redhook wishes you a belated Happy Repeal Day. Back on December 5, 1933, the United States ratified the 21st Amendment, repealing nearly 14 years of Prohibition.

Nothing like the aroma of empties wafting through the office.

We would’ve posted this yesterday, but we were too busy celebrating.

Next, as we near year’s end, Redhook thought he’d spread some cheer in the form of holiday lights synced with a festive thrash metal score. Warning, your hand may unconsciously form “rock fingers” as you watch this. SLAYER!

Lastly, as the exclusive craft beer of UW Athletics, Redhook is stoked to see the Dawgs take on Robert Griffin III and the Baylor Bears in the Alamo Bowl on December 29.

By next Saturday, we’ll also know if RG3 is this year’s Heisman Trophy winner. The Dawgs have about three weeks to get healthy and figure out how to contain him and Baylor’s 44 points per game. Seeing as how UW rose to the occasion in last year’s Holiday Bowl, we’re optimistic. Should be fun.

Cheers.

Redhook’s buddy texted him last Saturday night claiming Redhook had jinxed the Dawgs in Corvallis simply by mentioning that UW had a shot at nine wins going in.

Redhook's fantasy team blows, but at least he didn't draft Peyton Hillis.

Redhook takes no responsibility for UW’s loss. First off, with the possible exceptions of the Chicago Cubs’ Curse of the Billy Goat and the ongoing Madden Curse, there are no such things as curses, hexes or jinxes. The Huskies played horribly and got beat. End of story.

On to the Apple Cup. Other rivalry games like Ohio State-Michigan, Auburn-Alabama and Texas-Oklahoma may get more national pub, but the unpredictability of the Apple Cup and the utter hatred between the UW-WSU fan bases is hard to beat.

The Dawgs and the Cougs have been acting more like puppies and cubs as of late.

Unfortunately, both UW and WSU are hobbling into the 2011 Apple Cup. The Dawgs have lost 4 of 5. The Cougs have lost their shot at a bowl, as well as two starting QBs. Still, both teams want desperately to win for pride, bragging rights and the aforementioned mutual hatred. And that’s reason enough for a huge tailgate party.

Redhook has paired up with 107.7 The End and DJ Harms to throw an Apple Cup tailgate party with beer, food, music, games and more. Here are the deets:

Apple Cup kickoff is at 4:30 pm at CenturyLink Field.

The tailgate starts at 10 am in the parking lot just north of Coastal Environmental Systems on Occidental, right across from the Clink’s Will Call office. As you can see below, the party is in easy stumbling distance of the field:

Even if you don’t have game tickets, come down. Both Huskies and Cougs are welcome and the tailgate will continue through the end of the game. You can RSVP to Redhook’s Facebook event or you can just crash the party. Either way, we’d love to have you.

See you there.

As the exclusive craft beer of UW Athletics, Redhook is stoked. With two games remaining, plus a bowl game, UW Football has a shot at a 9-win season. But getting there won’t be easy.

On Saturday, the Dawgs travel to Corvallis to play the Oregon State Beavers. Given the UW’s hobbled starting QB and the unpredictable Beavs, this one could go either way. Hopefully, that trestle Redhook saw on I-5 between Seattle and Portland will bear out:

Stay classy, Dawg fans.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Dawgs take on Wazzu at CenturyLink Field in the Apple Cup. Predicting this game is almost always impossible. And if you do make a prediction, you risk provoking the sports gods. Not worth it. One thing Redhook does know is he’ll be throwing a huge tailgate party near the stadium. Details for that next week.

Moving on. Several months back, Redhook’s lady friend, Tonya, turned him on to the @humblebrag twitter feed. The word humblebrag and the reason for its existence are pretty self-explanatory. People love to brag and, at the same time, like to give the impression they’re not braggarts. Thus, the humblebrag: an obvious boast, poorly disguised by a veneer of false humility.

If you’ve just learned about humblebrags, you’ll be amazed at how often you’ll now spot them — kind of like buying a new car, then suddenly seeing the same model everywhere you go. Your friends on Facebook are particularly guilty of it. Here are a couple Redhook’s recently been exposed to:

37-year-old male: “I must be gettin’ old. I can’t keep up with this 25-year-old waitress I’ve been dating.”

40-year-old female: “An older man stops me on the way out of the store to tell me that I have great legs. Pervy or flattering? I can’t decide.”

Alas, even Redhook has been guilty of dropping the occasional humblebrag. In this ad from a couple of years back, Redhook uses open-mindedness as a cover to let people know he’s a player:

Would Redhook take the ad back if he could? No way. You’d be surprised at how many dates one can get by running a full-page color ad. Btw, that was just a flat out brag.

That’s it for now. Go Dawgs!

Redhook was all excited to do a mustache-related post devoted to Movember, then he noticed plenty of sites had pretty well covered this topic. And hey, what a surprise, Bleacher Report has another one of their long, anticlimactic slide shows. Redhook won’t be linking to that.

Coverage overload notwithstanding, Movember is a great cause for promoting awareness of men’s health issues like prostate cancer. Check it out, donate if you can, and support your buddies on Facebook who are brave enough to share their goofy staches.

On a semi-related note, a great little site has launched over the past few days called Moustair. Its creators describe it as:

Where men meets moustaches meets hair meets moustaches meets hair meets MOUSTAIR.

Confused? The photos below explain everything.

Creepy, yet oddly fascinating, no?

Alright. Enough mustache talk for one day. Cheers.