Frederic's Great British Alcoholic Ginger Beer (Frederic Robinson)

Name: Frederic's Great British Alcoholic Ginger Beer
Label: "GB - Hoppy and refreshing with a fiery ginger kick and fruity lemon notes"
Brewery: Frederic Robinson
ABV: 3.8%

Rating: "Distinctive and unique in that it has been created especially for beer drinkers who like traditionally crafted ales and those who love the taste of ginger. Tasting note: A wonderful blend of traditional malty ale combined with natural ginger extract gives rise to a rich ruby red, warming beer. This hoppy and refreshing beer comes to life with a fiery ginger kick and in harmony with fruity lemon notes."

Game: So Dark Souls eh? What a bitch. Recently saw a video preview of Dark Souls 2 and it has spurred me on like a deranged horse to try and finish the original. Over the past week or so I've beaten Queelag, Havel, a Hydra, the Iron Golem, giant felines (or something, they were definitely big cats) and conquered Sen's Fortress, almost sorted New Londo Ruins and reached Anor Londo! Phew! I've also run through Firelink Shrine about a billion times due to lots of dying (some swine has extinguished the bonfire). But I think we're getting there, slowly but surely.

Vintage Ale (Fuller's)

Name: Vintage Ale
Label: "Limited Edition - Bottle conditioned - No. 50556"
Brewery: Fuller's
ABV: 8.5%

Rating: "The 2012 Vintage Ale, our 16th is brewed with three of this year's finest hop varieties including, Goldings, award winning Sovereign and Target hops. These combined with our unique yeast and organic barley grown by Sir James Fuller on the Neston Park Estate result in a wonderful limited edition brew that has a luxurious flavour. 

Individually packed and numbered, this bottle is one of only one hundred and twenty five thousand produced." 

Probably the most extravagant beer related purchase I've made, (it comes in it's own box and everything), costing a whopping £4.99.  Just noticed on the box that it says it will improve with age for many more years like a fine wine or whiskey. I'm that confident it's going to be great, it appears on this site already and I've not even drank it yet!

Game: There's an Xbox event on May 21st when the new Xbox will be revealed. Yep, you read it here last, the new Xbox reveal! I for one can't wait to see what Microsoft have up their wizards sleeves. I've just seen some Battlefield 4 game-play footage which (I think) is next-gen and it looks amazing.  A new era is dawning and I've still not finished Dark Souls... and I'm currently too busy cursing difficulty spikes in Final Fantasy XIII to get back to it. To the Xbox 360 I go!

Gunhill (Adnams)

Name: Gunhill
Label: "Full flavoured beer - Beer from the coast - Adnams Gunhill is proud to join the fight against Prostate Cancer by contributing a donation from Gunhill sales to the Prostate Cancer Charity."
Brewery: Adnams
ABV: 4.0%

Rating: "A traditional dark ruby ale, delivering full flavour at just 4% ABV. Full aromatic barley malts and an exquisite blend of hops combined to create a wonderful balance of sweet biscuit and subtle fruit flavours, with a hint of chocolate bitterness."

Game: What's all this "always-on connectivity" needed for the next Xbox then?  My internet connection sometimes drops. Not often. But sometimes. And last night I couldn't sign into Xbox Live. So Microsoft can't guarantee 100% service up-time, and to be fair, who honestly can? But to say that I won't be able to play any games on the next console if there's a loss of connection is absolutely bonkers! PlayStation 4 just took the next-gen lead #dealwithit

Sole Star (Adnams)

Name: Sole Star
Label: "Pale Amber Ale - From the Sole Bay Brewery"
Brewery: Adnams
ABV: 2.7%

Rating: "Named after the brightest star in the sky, which rises first over the Sole Bay Brewery every morning, Sole Star is a celebration of our very special East Coast location. This pale amber ale has a light floral, citrus aroma and gentle caramel notes - it's a great quality ale at only 2.7%"

Game: It's Tuesday, it's great when new games come out on a Tuesday, it means you don't have to wait until Friday. Today there are no new games out but I bought one anyway (take that, release schedule). Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. But what's this? The Thank You For Playing website is go, go, go! Being a contributor to the Indiegogo campaign thing that kick started this thing, it's a proud moment for me. Check it out, right now. Look out for the Escort Service clip too, it's brilliant.

Golden Hare (Bath Ales)

Name: Golden Hare
Label: "Our full-flavoured light ale"
Brewery: Bath Ales
ABV: 4.4%

Rating: "Golden Hare is bursting with flavour and brimming with condition. It's smooth yet dry, wonderfully fresh and delightfully zesty. We brew Golden Hare using floor-malted Maris Otter barley and the aptly named Goldings hops. These fine ingredients (plus our brewers' skill and patience) have helped to make Golden Hare a very rewarding light ale."  Could only find three Bath Ales stocked locally, all of which I've now covered. Time to visit the Bath Ales website to order some others I think!

Game: I've just heard that Elizabeth's giant bird guardian in Bioshock: Infinite is supposed to be an allegory of an abusive relationship.  And I thought it was just a massive mechanical bird. Must learn to read between the lines.  Time for a replay!

Barnsey (Bath Ales)

Name: Barnsey
Label: "Our distinctive dark bitter"
Brewery: Bath Ales
ABV: 4.5%

Rating: "Rich in fruit with hints of chocolate, this full-bodied dark ale is a complex but deeply satisfying beer. We brew Barnsey using a mix of Maris Otter, Chocolate and Crystal malts together with Bramling Cross hops. These fine ingredients (plus our brewers' skill and diligence) have made this a truly rewarding and enjoyable beer."  Happy Easter! Forget chocolate eggs, drink beer instead.

Game: Got a craving for gaming at the moment. More so than usual. Bioshock: Infinite (10/11) is amazing, replaying Tomb Raider (9/10) because guess what... it's amazing, even Final Fantasy XIII is amazing (8/10)!  That's my Easter review round-up right there.  Just bought Eurogamer tickets too!

Scottish Craft Brewed Lager (Harviestoun)

Name: Scottish Craft Brewed Lager
Label: "Clean and crisp with fresh citrus notes - A dry and refreshing hand-crafted lager"
Brewery: Harviestoun
ABV: 4.1%

Rating: "A unique lager-style beer, deliciously fresh and zesty with aromatic notes and a refreshingly dry finish. Award-winning brewery, Harviestoun has a passion for creating hand-crafted beers and this lager is no exception. They have used the finest quality barley, hops, water and yeast and have bottled this lager with less carbon dioxide to give a fresher taste."

Game: I've played the worst, now I'm currently playing the best FPS game.  Bioshock: Infinite... obviously.  This game is so good that I'm thinking of changing my rating system so that it goes up to eleven. Can't put into words yet exactly why it's so great, (because I'm a bit thick really) but suffice it to say it's amazing. 10/11.

Maple Gold (Joseph Holt)

Name: Maple Gold
Label: "Golden ale - Pure gold from the heart of the Maple Tree"
Brewery: Joseph Holt
ABV: 4.3%

Rating: "Glorious golden ale with a refreshing hint of Canadian maple. This ale is crafted to be the lighter sister brew of our award winning Maple Moon Ale, using amber malts and cascade aroma hops."  I always knew Maple Moon had a sister, and she's fit!

Game: Finally got round to getting Rocksmith. Guitar Hero was ace but I can't help feeling like a tit when I strap on a plastic guitar with six massive buttons instead of strings. With Rocksmith I can strap on my real guitar! Now, I'm not very musical, a turd could probably play better than me, if turds could pick up guitars. Really impressed with the game though, I'm definitely improving already and I've only played it twice. My guitar is a Squier Strat by the way. I know nothing about guitars (I always thought it was 'Squire strat'), yet I can sense guitar aficionados mocking my Squier. The swines.

Gem (Bath Ales)

Name: Gem
Label: "Our premium amber ale - Brewed for those who know... Gem has a rich aroma of hops and malt, with a long, deep, bitter-sweet finish. An exceptional best bitter."
Brewery: Bath Ales
ABV: 4.8%

Rating: "Here at Bath Ales, we brew Gem using floor malted Maris Otter barley and Goldings hops from East Kent. Those fine ingredients, together with our brewers' skill and passion, have helped to make Gem a quintessential English beer."

Game: Tomb Raider = Best. Reboot. Ever. It's a bit of a stunner in more ways than one. It's extremely violent as well which is always welcome. The animation of Lara trying to un-impale herself from a spike or branch that you've inadvertently careened into is quite disturbing. Incredible set-pieces and visual style make this an absolute gem. See... like the beer!... 9/10

Summer Sizzler (Shepherd Neame)

Name: Summer Sizzler
Label: "Pale Golden Ale - Master Brewer's Choice"
Brewery: Shepherd Neame
ABV: 3.8%

Rating: "Deliciously refreshing, this pale golden ale will quench the driest palate on those long hot summer days. The distinct hoppy, fruity aroma is complimented by a wonderful combination of malt and spicy citrus flavours. A brew with a good bitter bite and hoppy finish." With summer fast approaching (ages off) I thought I'd best get tasting some seasonal beers. This one I'm highly recommending.

Game: Having just started replaying Assassin's Creed III to try and get 100% synchronisation, I hear Assassin's Creed IV is about to be officially revealed on Monday! With Assassin's Creed probably being my favourite franchise for this-gen, this is good news. It also sounds like I'll be playing it on next-gen hardware too. Exciting times! And in the meantime there's The Tyranny of King Washington episodic releases to play. Episode 1 was great by the way... 8/10.