My friend Bruce Aidells wrote a great book on cooking with beer (look for a used copy), and he asked me to come up with a contribution.  I offered this stout gingerbread, and the recipe now makes an annual appearance on my Christmas baking list.  The caramel notes in the stout work beautifully with the molasses and brown sugar.  It keeps forever...but it doesn't last more than a couple of days in our house.  Make it as a single cake, and it is a perfect addition to a holiday potluck.  Bake it in individual mini-Bundt pans and they are terrific gifts.  One tip that I have recently learned that I want to pass on:  Never put a Bundt pan on a baking sheet for baking.  The inner tube must get hot to bake the cake properly, and the baking sheet would block the heat.