I know I'm going to be ready for a drink by 5:00 this afternoon. It has been a long few weeks at work (if you haven't noticed, it's been a while since my last posting!), but things are finally getting back to normal.

So, where to go?

Friday Afternoon Club, or FAC, is the unofficial moniker of group meetings for cocktails directly after the work day has finished -- or maybe just before, if you can pull it off. There is no shortage of venues in the area to host your conference:

At the corner of 12th and Patterson, Breckenridge Ale House is the undisputed, though not unrivaled, king of FAC, dating back to the days of Gladstone's occupying the same location. The Ale House features a wide selection of beers, including the full line of Breckenridge Brewing, their parent company. The open floor plan around the bar is conducive to socializing and may have a lot to do with this establishment's reputation as a "meat market." If you don't come here with friends, you may leave with one.

Just to the south on 12th Street is Kannah Creek Brewing Company. It's location near Mesa State College, and the outstanding fresh beer makes it a favorite hangout for professors. Don't expect to find a room full of pipe-smokers in tweed jackets. The faculty are disguised as normal people.

If you are in the downtown area, there are several choices:

Rockslide Brewery, 4th and Main, is the oldest brewpub in Grand Junction and still draws a big after-work crowd. The bar area features a view of the brewing equipment and bowls of peanuts for idle hands.

Just to the west on Main Street is The Rouge. Not the Moulin Rouge -- that's in Paris and features dancing girls and contentious lawyers. No, The Rouge in Grand Junction has wines by the glass, elegant cocktails, smooth jazz, Charlie Chaplin, and indoor voice conversations.

If you are high-class (or want to feel like you are, at least for a little while), head to 626 on Rood. The bar offers a wide selection of wines by the glass, wine flights, creative cocktails and the best bar food in town. Happy Hour is a good time to enjoy a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget, albeit an import-microbrew-stadium-beer budget.

Heading away from downtown, there is Old Chicago on North Avenue, where you can choose from around 100 beers, many of them on tap, and munch on deep-dish pizza.

Near the mall you will find Boston's for yet more good beer and pizza, and the most beautiful wait staff in town. At least until Hooters opens.

If you find yourself in Palisade at the end of the work, day there are more good choices:

The Palisade Brewery makes and serves tasty beers on tap as well as bottling for sale in area liquor stores. The bar occupies a corner of the brewery and has the feel of a friendly neighborhood bar set in the middle of a manufacturing plant. A popcorn machine rounds out the experience. I hear they serve food now. I don't know; I haven't been out in a while.

Across the parking lot, almost close enough to feel like the same bar, is the Peach Street Distillery. Peach Street makes cocktails featuring their gin, vodka, brandies and bourbon. They offer generous pours and outstanding house-made mixers. If they start making tequila, we might be able to finally get a decent margarita around here.

Cheers!