O’Brien’s Pub – USA, Racer X and Decadence!

Hello Beer Fans,

I have to start by saying congrats to the U.S. Soccer team which won group C over England today.  The team played a great game and created tons of scoring opportunities – in addition to having another seemingly good goal called back.  Landon Donovan put in the winner in the 91st minute of play setting up a showdown with Ghana on Saturday at 11:30 am.  The pub will be crazy, but it will be a good crazy.  The pub was on NBC and CBS (channels 7/39 and 8 ) today.  Here is the link for the NBC story.  The CBS one had not been posted on line yet.  Both news trucks were at the pub at 5 am!  So now on to the beer for a bit…

Tonight, Thursday the 24th we host an AleSmith night featuring a cask of the new 2010 Decadence anniversary ale.  This year, the brewery remakes the award 2005 recipe which was an old ale, around 11% alcohol.  In addition to the cask at 5 pm, we will have Nautical Nut Brown, Speedway Stout and the new Summer YuleSmith all on tap.  You can also look for the remaining Six Rivers beer to be rotating into the line-up.  I seemed to be the only person who fell in love with the Chili Pepper Ale, but all of the beers were quite good.  The Alpine Red Card Ale is still flowing strong and I expect it to be on tap during the entire World Cup.  If you haven’t tried it yet, be sure to check it out next time you are at the pub.

Thursday lunch time will feature Denmark v. Japan and Netherlands v. Cameroon both at 11:30 am.  Friday the 25th will bring us Spain v. Chile and Switzerland v. Honduras at 11:30 am.

SDIBF

For those unfamiliar with the above acronym, it stands for San Diego International Beer Festival.  The fest is in its fourth year at the San Diego County Fair.  This year the festival will feature 4 four hour tasting sessions over three days – June 25, 26 and 27.  The sessions run from 4-8 pm Friday and then 11-3 pm and 4-8 pm Saturday and 1-5 pm on Sunday.  More than 350 different beers from 20 different countries will be available for sampling.  Admission to the fest is $30 and includes unlimited one ounce sampling of the beers during the session.  You must also buy admission to the San Diego County Fair.  You can buy tickets in advance and save some money – just go to www.sdfair.com/beer.  You will also find the winner’s list there from the competition.  This is an amazing chance to try a ton of beers you have never had before.  Don’t miss this San Diego version of the Great American Beer Festival!

While I am talking about fests, we have a few left over shirts from the San Diego Real Ale Festival that we are blowing out for just $10 each.  We have men’s Large, XL and 2XL along with a few girls shirts in Large (Bella brand) for $15 and few hats (S/M Flex fit) also for $15.  If you are interested, please email me with what you would like and I will have the shirts delivered to the pub.  I will have the shirts at the pub this Thursday (6/24) if you would like to pick one up.  If you have already emailed me about the shirts, I will have them set aside for you at the pub anytime starting Thursday evening.

World Cup this Weekend

So we now know this weekend’s match-ups for the World Cup.  This weekend starts the knockout round where it is win or go home.  The pub will open at 6:45 am on Saturday the 26th and serve coffee, OJ and light breakfast fare (muffins, bagels, etc..) with Beer and Mimosas starting at 8 am, full breakfast service (burritos, omelettes) from 9 am until 10:30 am and then lunch from 11 am through the rest of the day.  The morning game will be Uruguay v. South Korea at 7 am.  We will then show the USA v. Ghana game at 11:30 am.  We will be adding an additional TV outside to help with the overflow on the patio.  I expect to be completely full at least an hour, if not 90 minutes before the USA-Ghana match kicks off.  If you are not coming to the pub to watch the game, I strongly suggest you show up at or after 2 pm to avoid the standing room only crowd that we are sure to have for the game.

Sunday the 27th, we will again open at 6:45 am with coffee, OJ and light breakfast fare for the 7 am game between England and Germany.  We will start full food service with our normal menu at 10 am.  Mexico faces Argentina at 11:30 am in what is sure to be a great day of blockbuster matchups.

We still do not know the schedule for Monday and Tuesday’s games, but we will open at 6:45 am on both days.  For more soccer info, sign up for out soccer specific email.  Just reply to this email and let me know you want to be on it.  If you are interested in joining our San Diego chapter of the American Outlaws, or you just want to know more about it, go towww.theamericanoutlaws.com.

Looking Ahead

Thursday July 1st we will tap a cask of Hanger 24 Double IPA.  I had this beer at the Real Ale Festival and it was delicious.  We will be CLOSED Sunday, July 4th for Independence Day.  We will be open until Midnight on Saturday, July 3rd and normal hours on Monday, July 5th (which is our $10 craft/local pitcher night, strong ale pitchers just $14).  The Green Flash-St. Feuillien collaboration beer, Biere de l’Amitie (Beer of Friendship), will be released at O’Brien’s pub in July.  Green Flash brewer Chuck Silva joined us on the Great Belgian Beer Tour and then stayed a few days later to make the beer with owner Mike Hinkley and the St. Feuillien brewers.

I will end the email with a list of the upcoming World Cup matches.  We will see you soon for a great beer – and some great soccer.  Cheers, Tom

Upcoming World Cup Matches – All Games Are Being Taped

Wednesday, 6/23:     Pub open at 6:30 and serving breakfast
7 am – USA v. Algeria – ESPN – pub open at 6:30 am – replay at 6 pm
7 am – Slovenia v. England
11:30 am – Ghana v. Germany
11:30 am – Australia v. Serbia

Thursday, 6/24:
On Tape – Slovakia v. Italy, Paraguay v. New Zealand
11:30 am – Denmark v. Japan
11:30 am – Cameroon v. Netherlands

Friday, 6/25:
On Tape – Portugal v. Brazil, North Korea v. Ivory Coast
11:30 am – Switzerland v. Honduras
11:30 am – Chile v. Spain

Saturday, 6/26: Knock out round begins, Pub open at 6:45
7 am – Uruguay v. South Korea
11:30 am – USA v. Ghana – GO USA!!!
Sunday, 6/27: Pub open at 6:45
7 am – Germany v. England
11:30 am – Mexico v. Argentina

Monday, 6/28: Pub open at 6:45
7 am – 1E v. 2F
11:30 am – 1G v. 2H

Tuesday, 6/29: Pub open at 6:45
7 am – 1F v. 2E
11:30 am – 1H v. 2G

Friday, 7/2: Pub open at 6:45
Quarterfinals at 7 am and 11:30 am

Saturday, 7/3: Pub open at 6:45
Quarterfinals at 7 am and 11:30 am

Tuesday, 7/6:
Semi- Final 1 at 11:30 am

Wednesday, 7/7:
Semi-Final 2 at 11:30 am

Saturday, 7/10:
Third Place Match at 11:30 am

Sunday, 7/11: We will open early, but time TBD
World Cup Final at 11:30 am

Tom Nickel
O’Brien’s Pub
20 Taps – Tons of Hops
Official U.S. Soccer Bar
4646 Convoy Street
www.obrienspub.net