Skip the laundry this week and save your coins for what you've been craving these four months -- a strong cup of coffee, a deluxe vegan muffin and 22 hours a day of stimulated people-gawking. The West Bank's collectively owned and operated Hard Times Cafe is reopening its crusty doors Saturday at midnight with a fresh take, inviting back its eclectic mix of art enthusiasts, gutter punks, intellectuals, immigrants, bike snobs, drunks, traveling circus types and every combination thereof.

The 15-year-old cafe closed in August for a few quick renovations, but due to poor planning, unexpected plumbing projects and a mess of city codes, the reopening has been continually pushed back. The Cafe's worn-in atmosphere hasn't changed, minus a few patched walls and new booth cushions. Most of the revamping took place behind the counter, including a new ventilation system that with luck eliminates the Hard Times' kitchen cologne (aka stench) that guests were inclined to wear after a visit.

According to co-owner/cook Graham Baldwin, the opening is still not 100 percent certain, but more than likely. Check for a posting on the door. As for a reopening celebration, don't expect one. "No balloons and confetti -- we'll be open and that will be special enough," says Baldwin. Oh, Hard Times, it's good to have you back.

Is nothing sacred? Cocktail mixology might be a hot trend, but now the Leinenkugel brewery has thrown beer into the mix. Beer!

After finding that a large portion of its loyal customer base was already mixing beers -- using the Wisconsin company's large roster of flavors -- Leinie's decided to push the trend with a promotion that allows people to post their mixes on the brewery's website.

In October, the Leinenkugel brothers took nationally known mixologist Tobin Ellis (www.barmagic.com) on a tour of Twin Cities bars, where he helped Leinie's fans concoct some pretty hard-core mixes -- which included pumpkin pie, whipped cream, burning orange peels and more. Everything is fair game when it comes to beer mixology, I guess.

"Anything that can go in a glass," Ellis said.

Like the heyday of Cabbage Patch Kids or that pre-Ticketmaster era when real fans (not hackers) could buy front-row concert tickets, Surly Brewing Co. expects a few hundred people to line up outside its Brooklyn Center brewery in the bitter cold Saturday morning for the chance to buy -- get this -- two stinking bottles of beer. Exactly 480 bottles of Surly's Darkness brew (750-milliliter size, like wine) go on sale at 9 a.m. for $15 apiece, with a limit of two per person. Is the Russian Imperial stout-style brand really that good? That one should answer itself. Only six more bottles will be available after Saturday. Those will be auctioned off on eBay to benefit Energy Cents, a heating-bill fund for low-income families -- the perfect charity, since the lucky Darkness buyers will already have their perfect winter warmer.

Apparently, next Thursday's R. Kelly concert at Target Center warrants three after-parties. One is for the R&B crooner himself at the newly opened Epic (10 p.m., 18-plus. Cover starts at $20.). The other two are for his opening acts, both R&B stars themselves. Keyshia Cole's is at Visage (10 p.m., $15. 21-plus.). And J. Holiday's is at Axis (9 p.m., $20. 21-plus.).

We couldn't decipher cabaret darling Nellie McKay's joke about Sen. Larry Craig during Aimee Mann's holiday variety show at the Guthrie. But at least McKay, a sprightly and humorous presence, had a sense of place. She knew she was in Minneapolis. Mann didn't even bother to mention that Minne is the hometown of Adam Levy, her other guest vocalist. Naughty hostess.