What’s Happening

Well, maybe not in the way that you are thinking about it. 

Thursday, April 1st we host the US draft launch for Malheur 10 and Malheur 12 at 5 pm.  The brewery name Malheur translates to “misfortune” – many Belgian brewers have names that are a play on words.  So we will have massive amounts of this wonderfully “misfortunate” beer on tap for you Thursday night.

Sorry if the subject line scared you, but I had to have a little fun for April Fool’s Day.

Malheur Launch

Malheur is one of my favorite European breweries and was perhaps the best stop on this year’s Great Belgian Beer Tour.  O’Brien’s is the first establishment in the USA to tap this beer, so this is a very special night for us.  The Malheur 10 is lightly malty, strong golden ale that is 10% abv.  The 12 is a massive dark strong ale that is appropriately enough 12% abv.  It compares to the finest dark Trappist ales from Chimay, Rochefort, Westvleteren and Konigshoeven.  In addition to the two beers on tap, we will also have a full selection of bottles – Malheur 10, 12, Brut and Dark But – and some very rare Malheur bottles – Malheur 6, Malheur 2006 Commemorative Brut (a dry-hopped version of this wonderful champagne-style beer) and a very limited amount of Malheur 2003 Black Chocolate, which is the original name of the Dark Brut.  So 7 different beers (which is lucky) on a day that is bound to make you foolish!

In addition to the great beer, you know that the kitchen will be cooking up some great food.  Lindsey is making a Beer Onion soup with the Malheur 12 – think French Onion but with a beer and beef based broth.  She will also have some Malheur beer cheese plates and I imagine a Malheur burger.  And finally, she is making Malheur 10 Mac n’ Cheese.  A great night of eating and drinking at the pub.  We are also printing a limited number of men’s and women’s T-shirts to commemorate the event.  Look for our new 3 liter Malheur glass to be making the rounds.  If you can not make it by this Thursday, I have ordered enough kegs to keep both beers flowing all weekend, so stop by any time – though we will be closed on Sunday for Easter.

For those more interested in the hoppy side of life, we just tapped new kegs of Port Brewing Mongo IPA, Bear Republic Apex IPA, Alpine Nelson Rye-IPA and Russian River IPA.  Pliny is still flowing well as is the Green Flash West Coast IPA.  We’ll have a cask of Stone IPA on Thursday the 1st at 5 pm in addition to the Malheur beers.  Alpine Duet is expected back on tap this weekend and I just tapped the Ballast Point Sextant Oatmeal Stout on our nitrogen tap – it is creamy and delicious.

Belgian Fest Goodies

Friday the 2nd we are continuing the Belgian theme by tapping some of the left over kegs from the Belgian Beer Party this past weekend, which was a ton of fun (and no I did not try anywhere near all 116 beers).  I am not sure exactly what will be on when since all the kegs are only partially full and I do not expect any of them to last very long.  I know for sure that on Friday we will be tapping Allagash Oddyssey, Alpine Ned (Flanders Red), Lost Abbey Framboise de Amorosa, Avery Brewing Andy’s Mother (special festival blend) and Dubuisson Cuvee des Trolls.  I am sure that at some point later in the evening, some of these fine kegs will show up on tap: Scaldis Noel, Bruery Saison de Lente (saison with brettanomyces), Valley Brewing Promegranate Calambic, St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel, Chimay White, Gouden Carolous Easter and Kasteel Cuvee de Chateau (10 year old Kasteel Brown).  What doesn’t get tapped Friday night will get put into rotation to be tapped on Saturday.  So Thursday-Saturday this week will be a great time to enjoy Belgian draft beer at the pub.  We will also have bottles of the new (to us) 2007 Rodenbach Vintage on sale Friday night.

As mentioned, we will be CLOSED on Sunday, April 4th for Easter.  We will be open normal hours on Saturday the 3rd from 11:30 am until midnight so that you can get your last hoppy beer fix before Monday.  We’ll resume normal hours on Monday the 5th at 11 am.  Saturday is also Final Four day for the NCAA basketball tourney.  At 3 pm, Butler faces Michigan State and around 6 pm, West Virginia plays Duke.  It has been a crazy run so far and I think these will both be exciting games.  The championship game will be Monday night, April 5th

The all-important second leg games in the UEFA Champions League will be Tuesday and Wednesday, April 6th and 7th.  Tuesday will feature CSKA Moscow v. Inter Milan (0-1) and Barcelona v. Arsenal (2-2).  The first leg of the Barca-Arsenal tie was incredible and I can only hope the second leg is as good to watch.  Wednesday the 7th will see Bordeaux host Lyon (1-3) and Manchester United welcome Bayern Munich (1-2) to Old Tradford.  The UEFA Europa league games will all be on TV on Thursday, April 1st and 8th for both legs and all will start at 12:05 pm.  And if you didn’t see the score, our American ladies crushed Mexico 3-0 at USD this past Sunday.  We now have the MLS Direct Kick package and can show nearly every single MLS game on tv.

Beer and Cheese Please

There are still about 10 spaces left for our Spring Beer and Cheese pairing on Sunday, April 18th at 6:30 pm at the pub.  We will be setting up the final pairings next week, but it looks like we are heading for a Belgian-themed class.  Cost is $40 and you can sign up and pay at the bar (cash only please).  If this class sells out early (seeming quite likely), we will start a waiting list for a potential second class on the following Sunday, April 25th.

Looking Ahead

Next week we have two fantastic events planned.  Thursday, April 8th is Sculpin Casks night.  No, that is not a typo, there will be cask(s) plural of Ballast Point Sculpin IPA.  We will tap the first one at 5 pm and the second one when the first is blown.  I don’t expect it to last all night, but the two casks should last until at least 7 pm (no promises though).

Saturday the 10th we have a very special treat as our friends Bas and Hildegard from Urthel will be stopping by the pub.  I do not have a set time yet, but it is likely to be in the late-afternoon, early-evening time frame.  We will have draft beer and bottle specials from Urthel all day.  On tax-day, Thursday, April 15th we will tap a cask of AleSmith ESB at 5 pm.  Tuesday, April 20th we will tap a keg of Russian River Pliny the Younger at 4:20 pm.  And you can mark your calendars now for the San Diego Real Ale Festival on June 4th and 5th at Pizza Port Carlsbad.

That is your good beer news for now.  We’ll see you this weekend for Malheur draft beer!  Cheers, Tom

 Hello Beer Fans!
 
The chaos of St. Patrick’s day is behind us and there is plenty of great beer coming up.  We still have 4 triple IPAs on tap as of this morning – Alpine Exponential Hoppiness, Moylan’s Hopsickle, Avery Maharaja and Port Hop 15.  This is all in addition to Russian River Pliny the Elder, Alpine Pure Hoppiness and Karl Strauss To the 9’s Double IPA.  If you can’t make it by in the next few days to enjoy these hoppy beers, look for Alpine Nelson Rye IPA and Bear Republic Apex IPA to be on tap soon.
 
Belgian Beer Party
 
The big event this week is the Belgian Beer Party at Pizza Port Carlsbad on Saturday, March 27th.  The festival is split into two sessions – 10 am to 4 pm and 5 pm to 11 pm.  Each session will have the same great line up of beers.  There will be more than 100 beers available and after working on the list today, I can tell you that there are some truly amazing beers that will be served.  Tickets are $40 each and can be purchased through the Pizza Port website at www.pizzaport.com or at www.ticketderby.com.  Tickets should be available at the door for both sessions, but ticket sales are limited, so if you plan on going, buying in advance is your best bet (it will also save you a few dollars).  There will be rare beers from Cantillon, six of the seven Trappist breweries, Russian River, Oud Beersel, Drie Fonteinen, Jolly Pumpkin, De Ranke, Allagash, Avery, De Dolle, Boon and many more!  Don’t miss one of the best collection of Belgian ales in the country.
 
This Week at the Pub
 
Back on the pub front, look for some great Ballast Point beers on tap on Wednesday, March 24th.  We will have Tongue Buckler, Victory at Sea and hopefully a nitro-tapped keg of Sextant Oatmeal Stout.  Thursday the 25th we continue the Ballast Point theme with a cask of Big Eye IPA at 5 pm.  Our Malheur draft launch that was tentatively set for the 25th has been moved back one week until Thursday, April 1st.  For Belgian beer fans, we will have a keg of Konigshoeven Quadrupel on tap.  We’ll also be filling up the new 3 liter La Trappe glass for the first time on the 25th. 
 
Friday the 26th we will start to tap some Belgian ales in honor of the Belgian Beer Party.  Look for a rotating line up of Belgian ales all week from the 26th until April 3rd.  We’ll also have some new bottles out for Friday including two new Redstone Meads: a Red Pyment and White Pyment.  Pyment is a special type of mead (honey wine) that is made with the addition of grapes – in this case one with white grapes and one with red grapes.  We will also have the popular Redstone Vanilla Bean and Cinnamon stick back in stock.  We’ll also have two rare bottles from Dogfish Head – Burton Baton, a blended, strong, hoppy ale that is aged with barrel staves and Red and White, a strong wit-style beer blended with pinot noir grape juice.  Right now we have the new Avery Tot, which is a rum barrel aged stout and several of the fantastic St. Peter’s English ales available.
 
The US women’s soccer team plays against Mexico on Sunday, March 28th at 2 pm at USD.  Our local American Outlaws chapter (www.theamericanoutlaws.com) bought a block of seats and we still have a few available.  Tickets are $23 and you can just email me if you are interested.  We will be meeting at the pub beforehand and then going down to the game at USD’s Torero stadium, which is a great place to watch any sporting event.  The Champions League resumes on March 30th and 31st for the quarterfinals.  And we will have the MLS Direct Kick package this year and we will be able to show nearly every single MLS game.  If you want to see a list of our upcoming games, just visit our website and click on the soccer link on the news page.  You can also sign up for our soccer specific emails by emailing me.
 
Beer and Cheese
 
Our Beer and Cheese Pairing with Taste Cheese Shop will be happening on Sunday, April 18th at O’Brien’s at 6:30 pm.  The class on the 21st at Taste in Hillcrest is no longer taking place.  We are about half full for the class on the 18th already, so I expect it to sell out.  When we set the final pairings I will pass along info about the beers and the cheeses.  You can sign up at the pub for the class on the 18th.  Cost is $40 (cash only please).  These classes are always a lot of fun and even manage to be a little educational to boot.
 
Looking Ahead
 
Next week we kick off with our great Monday Night Pitcher Special on March 29th – $10 pitchers of craft and local beers and $14 pitchers of strong/rare beers.  This happens every Monday night from 4:30 pm until closing all year round.  We also feature our beer battered Fish and Chips, Chipotle Fish Sandwich and Fish Tacos every Sunday and Monday.  Next Thursday, April 1st we will have Stone IPA on cask at 5 pm.
 
Our big Malheur draft launch party is now scheduled for Thursday, April 1st (no fooling!).  We will have both 10 and 12 on tap along with Brut and Dark Brut in the bottle.  I have been assured that we will have enough of the 10 and 12 draft to keep it on tap all weekend – no matter how much you all try to drink.  Malheur is one of my favorite Belgian breweries and I am very proud to be launching this beer on draft in the USA with them.  We recently visited the brewery on the Great Belgian Beer Tour and having tasted both the 10 and 12 on draft there, I can tell you that you will not be disappointed.  We will tap both kegs at 5 pm and keep the beer flowing all night long.  Lindsey will have some great specials from the kitchen and we should have a cheese plate to pair with the Malheur beers.  If you can’t make it by on Thursday, we will have plenty of kegs to make it through the weekend, so stop by and enjoy these great beers.  We’ll be tapping some additional Belgian beers including some likely left over draft beers from the Belgian Beer Party on Friday, April 2nd.
 
The pub will be CLOSED on Sunday, April 4th for Easter.  We will be open normal hours on Saturday the 3rd from 11:30 am until midnight and will resume normal hours on Monday, April 5th.  Look for Ballast Point Sculpin IPA on cask on Thursday, April 8th.
 
That is your good beer news for now.  I look forward to seeing many of you up at the Belgian Beer Party this weekend!  Cheers, Tom

Hello Football Fans!
 
There are lots of great games coming up in the next few weeks as the European seasons winds down and the MLS season gets started.  The UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa league are both at the quarterfinal stage with some fantastic match ups.  We will have every UCL and Europa league quarterfinal on TV shown LIVE.  For the first time ever in the US, the Champions League final will be on broadcast TV on the Fox network.  It is the first soccer broadcast for Fox Sports.  Also for the first time, the final will be held on a Saturday, instead of its traditional weekday slot.
 
The USA women play this coming Sunday against Mexico at USD Torero stadium right here in San Diego.  I have some extra tickets to the game from our group purchase with the American Outlaws (for more info on the Outlaws, visit www.theamericanoutlaws.com).  The tickets are just $23 each.  We’ll meet up at the pub before the game for a beer and then make our way down Convoy to the stadium for the 2 pm kick off.  If you would like to join us, just email me and let me know.

I also have a special offer from the LA Galaxy for this weekend’s home opener on Saturday the 27th at 8 pm at the Home Depot Center.  To purchase tickets, just click on the link below: https://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/go.htmI?l=EN&t=galaxy&o=100125&g=625

Put in the offer code “Friends” for a special discount on tickets.
 
The World Cup is getting closer and the USA has three great warm up games before the finals start against the Czech Republic, Turkey and Australia.  The US kicks off its group matches on Saturday, June 12th against England.  The MLS season will start Thursday the 25th with the expansion Philadelphia Union taking on the Seattle Sounders.  We will have the MLS Direct Kick package and will be able to show nearly every single MLS game this season.  And the programming content from Setanta has seamlessly transitioned onto Fox Soccer Plus with no disruption in coverage.
 
Here are the upcoming games:
 
Tuesday, 3/23:
12:55 pm – West Ham v. Wolverhampton – FSP
 
Wednesday, 3/24:
12:30 pm – Portsmouth v. Chelsea – FSC – also at 5 pm
12:40 pm – Manchester City v. Everton – FSP
3 pm – Aston Villa v. Sunderland – FSP
3 pm – Inter Milan v. Livorno – FSC – also 8 pm
5 pm – Tottenham v. Fulham – 6th Round FA Cup replay – FSP

Thursday, 3/25: MLS First Kick
Noon – Getafe v. Real Madrid – Gol TV
12:30 pm – Juventus v. Napoli – FSC -also at 5 pm
2 pm – Atletico Madrid v. Athletic Bilbao – Gol TV
6:30 pm – Philadelphia Union v. Seattle Sounders – ESPN2
 
Friday, 3/26:
7:30 pm – Colorado Rapids v. Chivas USA – DK
 
Saturday, 3/27:
On Tape – Birmingham City v. Arsenal, Tottenham v. Portsmouth, Bolton v. Manchester United
1 pm – Toronto FC v. Columbus Crew – DK
2 pm – Wolverhampton v. Everton – FSP
3 pm – Hull City v. Fulham – FSC
4 pm – West Ham v. Stoke City – FSP
4 pm – Chicago Fire v. NY Red Bulls – ESPN
5:30 pm – DC United v. Kansas City Wizards – DK
6 pm – Real Salt Lake v. San Jose Earthquakes – FSC
8 pm – New England Revolution v. La Galaxy – FSC
 
Sunday, 3/28:
On Tape – Liverpool v. Sunderland, Burnley v. Blackburn
2 pm – USA Women v. Mexico Women – Live at USD Torero Stadium! – FSC
 
Monday, 3/29:
11:55 am – Manchester City v. Wigan – ESPN2
 
Tuesday, 3/30:
11:30 am – Bayern Munich v. Manchester United
11:30 am – Lyon v. Bordeaux
2 pm – Bayern Munich v. Manchester United
2 pm – Lyon v. Bordeaux
 
Wednesday, 3/31:
11:30 am – Arsenal v. Barcelona
11:30 am – Inter Milan v. CSKA Moscow
2 pm – Arsenal v. Barcelona
2 pm – Inter Milan v. CSKA Moscow
6 pm – USA Women v. Mexico Women – ESPN2
 
Thursday, 4/1:
12:05 pm – Fulham v. Wolfsburg – Direct TV
12:05 pm – Hamburg v. Standard Liege – Direct TV
12:05 pm – Valencia v. Atletico Madrid – Direct TV
12:05 pm – Benfica v. Liverpool – Direct TV
6 pm – Real Salt Lake v. Houston Dynamo – ESPN2
8 pm – Chivas USA v. LA Galaxy – ESPN2
 
Saturday, 4/3:
On Tape – Manchester United v. Chelsea, Arsenal v. Wolverhampton
1 pm – Sunderland v. Tottenham – FSP
4:30 pm – New England Revolution v. DC United – DK
5 pm – Portsmouth v. Blackburn – FSP
7 pm – Arsenal v. Wolverhampton – FSP
7:30 pm – New York Red Bull v. Seattle Sounders FC – FSC
 
The pub will be Closed on Sunday, April 4th for Easter
 
Tuesday, 4/6:
11:30 am – Barcelona v. Arsenal
11:30 am – CSKA Moscow v. Inter Milan
2 pm – Barcelona v. Arsenal
2 pm – CSKA Moscow v. Inter Milan
 
Wednesday, 4/7:
11:30 am – Bordeaux v. Lyon
11:30 am – Manchester United v. Bayern Munich
2 pm – Bordeaux v. Lyon
2 pm – Manchester United v. Bayern Munich
 
Thursday, 4/8:
12:05 pm – Wolfsburg v. Fulham – Direct TV
12:05 pm – Standard Liege v. Hamburg – Direct TV
12:05 pm – Atletico Madrid v. Valencia – Direct TV
12:05 pm – Liverpool v. Benfica – Direct TV
 
Saturday, 4/10:
Chelsea v. Aston – FA Cup Semi-Final
Portsmouth v. Fulham or Tottenham – FA Cup Semi-Final
Noon – DC United v. Philadelphia Union – FSC
4:30 pm – Toronto FC v. New England Revolution – DK
5:30 pm – Columbus Crew v. FC Dallas – DK
5:30 pm – LA Galaxy v. Houston Dynamo – DK
5:30 pm – Colorado Rapids v. Kansas City Wizards – DK
5:30 pm – San Jose Earthquakes v. Chicago Fire – DK
6 pm – Seattle Sounders FC v. Real Salt Lake – DK

April 20, 21 and 27, 28 – UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals
 
Saturday, 5/22:
11 am – UEFA Champions League Final – Fox
3 pm – USA Women v. Germany – ESPN2
 
Tuesday, 5/25:
5 pm – USA v. Czech Republic – ESPN
 
Saturday, 5/29:
11 am – USA v. Turkey – ESPN2
 
Saturday, 6/5:
USA v. Australia – Time TBD
 
Friday, 6/11:
World Cup Finals Begin!!!
 
Saturday, 6/12:
11:30 am – USA v. England – ABC
 
Friday, 6/18:
7 am – USA v. Slovenia – ESPN
 
Wednesday, 6/23:
7 am – USA v. Algeria – ESPN
 
That is your footie update for now.   Belgian Beer Party at Pizza Port Carlsbad this Saturday, March 27th.  Tickets available at www.pizzaport.com.  Cheers, Tom

Hello San Diego Beer Fans!
 
I am glad to back in sunny San Diego and the land of hoppy beers!  Our European beer tour was fantastic with many great stops including Malheur, Rodenbach, Westvleteren, La Trappe/Konigshoeven and the tiny De Molen brewery in Holland.  I even managed to carry back two new 3 liter glasses for the pub from Malheur and La Trappe.  Everyone from the trip will be back in town tonight, some even coming straight to the pub from the airport this afternoon.
 
Double Trouble
 
And to greet them this evening will be our double double IPA cask night with Green Flash featuring Imperial IPA and Palate Wrecker both tapped at 5 pm.  We will also be debuting the new Green Flash/Elysian collaboration Red Queen Saison on tap and we will have Double Stout and West Coast IPA also on tap.  Head brewer Chuck Silva will be joining us to have a few beers and tell us about his latest collaboration with St. Feuillien that he brewed earlier this week in Belgium.
 
Also on the draft board you can find two Karl Strauss beers – To the 9’s double IPA and the 21st Anniversary Ale, which is a barrel aged, Belgian-styled beer made with old vine Zinfandel grapes.  Blind Pig IPA is back on tap, Alpine’s delicious Duet IPA is still flowing and for big beer fans, we have the Alaskan Barleywine and Full Sail Slip Knot Imperial IPA.
 
Stouts and St. Paddy’s
 
Friday the 12th we start a week long celebration of the stout style of beer.  We have the Green Flash Double Stout and Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout on tap right now.  I also have kegs of Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout, Avery Out Of Bounds Stout, Victory Storm King Stout, AleSmith Speedway Stout, Lost Abbey Serpent Stout, Guinness, O’Hara Irish Stout, Murphy’s Irish Stout, Carlsbad’s Port Truck Stout, North Coast Old Rasputin, Ballast Point Sextant Stout, Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast and Alpine Captain Stout coming between now and St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th.  Don’t expect them all to be on at once, but we should have 4-5 on tap every day for the next week.  So any day this weekend – Friday – Saturday or Sunday – look for great stouts on tap.
 
Next week is of course St. Patrick’s day on Wednesday the 17th.  We will have the obligatory Guinness and Harp on tap along with Alpine McIlhenney’s Irish Red and lots of great stouts!  We will have casks of Alpine Duet IPA and Captain Stout on tap at 5 pm.  The kitchen will be cranking out Corned Beef and Cabbage, corned beef sandwiches, Guinness Bacon burgers and Irish stew all day long.  If you want to avoid the big crowds, late afternoon (3-5 pm) and after 9 pm are your best bets for coming by.  The pub is always a fun place to have a beer on St. Patrick’s and everyone is in a festive mood.  The pub will be open late – expect last call just after midnight.
 
The following day, Thursday the 18th, we get back to normal with a cask of Alpine Pure Hoppiness at 5 pm.  Friday the 19th we will host an evening of beers from St. Peter’s Brewery in Suffolk, England.  These beers are packaged in distinctive green 500 ml bottles.  We will have the IPA, Golden Ale, Cream Stout, Porter and our new gluten-free beer, the Sorghum Ale.  The friendly sales rep, Xavier, will be on hand to answer questions and sample us on the beers.  The entire line-up is great, especially the two dark beers.
 
Saturday the 20th we will have a night of triple IPAs starting at 5 pm – very hoppy beers over 10% alcohol.  We will have at least five on tap, hopefully even a few more.  We will have beers named for the number of hops used, a mathematical function, an Indian King, an ancient philosopher and a hop dessert.  Check the events board at the pub next week for the latest additions to the line-up.
 
Beer and Cheese Please
 
Our Spring Beer and Cheese pairing class with Taste Artisan Cheese shop will be Sunday, April 18th at O’Brien’s.  The class will start at 6:30 pm and last a little over 90 minutes.  Class cost is $40 and you can sign up at the pub (cash only please) or at Taste – you can find them on our Friends page on the website – www.obrienspub.net.  We have not yet set the pairings for these classes and we are holding a drawing to invite a lucky attendee and a guest to help us through the grueling work of pairing beer and cheese for the class.  If you sign up for either class before March 15th, you will be entered in the drawing to spend hours eating and sampling with us to determine the final line-up for the class.  It is dirty work, but someone has to do it.
 
Belgian Fest and Malheur
 
The Belgian Beer Party will be held Saturday, March 27th at Pizza Port Carlsbad in two sessions – 10 am to 4 pm and 5 pm to 11 pm with both sessions having identical beer lists and quantities.  There will be more than 100 Belgian and Belgian-style beers available across many styles and from several different countries.  Tickets are $40 and can be bought at www.ticketderby.com – first session can be found at: http://ticketderby.com/innerindex.php?eventid=2265 and the second session can be found at: http://ticketderby.com/innerindex.php?eventid=2266.  Only a limited number of tickets are available for each session and last year both sessions sold out in advance, so don’t delay.  We will be tapping several Belgian beers at the pub in honor of the Belgian Beer Party.
 
We have tentatively set Thursday, April 1st as the date for our Malheur Draft night.  We are hosting the national draft launch party at O’Brien’s for Malheur 10 and Malheur 12.  I will have our new giant Malheur glass there and this will be a great evening of celebrating two of my favorite Belgian beers.  We will also have the Brut and Dark Brut in the bottle and I am working on a cheese plate to serve that night that will pair with the beers.  The date is subject to change since the kegs have not cleared customs yet in the USA.  I will keep you posted, but for now, look for the beers to be on tap at 5 pm on Thursday the 1st.  I plan to keep both of the beers on tap for at least a full week, so if you can’t make it by on the launch night, we will have it on tap all weekend.
 
That is your good beer news for now.  We’ll see you soon for a great dark beer.  Cheers, Tom