Hop (Greene King)

Name: Hop
Label: "Beer to dine for - Crafted English Beer"
Brewery: Greene King
ABV: 5.0%

Rating: Contains Tettnang hops. Never heard of them but they make for good beer. I would definitely dine for this beer.

Game: Play.com had Nier for £9.99. I thought I would give it a go because of this review.  First impressions are positive. Looks like it will play a bit like a Zelda game which is always good. Its got a floating book in it, it's a bit "WTF?".  It seems to mix up RPG, platforming, 2D and 3D exploration into the same game and transition between styles effectively. Not much more to say on it yet, I'll see if it plays out as well as hoped and then we can look forward to the obligatory bad "near" puns in a later post.

Very Special India Pale Ale (Greene King)

Name: Very Special India Pale Ale
Label: "A masterclass in brewing excellence"
Brewery: Greene King
ABV: 7.5%

Rating: Brewed to emulate the early India Pale Ales shipped during the 18th Century. They must have had hell of a good parties on those ships. They probably partied every night like it was 1799.

Game: A movie tie-in now that isn't complete shit. The Bourne Conspiracy loosely follows the plot of the film but with the game seemingly devoid of plot. Quite an achievement in itself. It ends abruptly and it's not very long, however the fighting is brutal and the take-downs look punishingly painful. If you like a bit of repetitive fisticuffs with action that doesn't let up, this is definitely worth a look. 7/10

Double Century (Thwaites)

Name: Double Century
Label: "Celebration ale - This delicious strong ale has been specially created to mark 200 years of family brewing"
Brewery: Thwaites
ABV: 5.2%

Rating: It's double hopped, it tastes great, being picky but they've been brewing great beer for 203 years now. So it should be called "Double Century plus 3" or something, although that's not got the same ring to it admittedly.

Game: Playing Need for Speed Undercover. It was only 500 pence and I thought Need for Speed Most Wanted was the best racing game I've ever played. Undercover is just more of the same by the looks of it, which is just fine by me.  Its got proper video in it of actors that are trying really hard to be good. I could probably do a better job but I still think it's superb.  This game has also reminded me that Need for Speed Hot Pursuit is out soon which will almost definitely be a must-buy.

Buzzard (Cotleigh)

Name: Buzzard
Label: "Dark Ale - Finest Somerset beers"
Brewery: Cotleigh Brewery
ABV: 4.8%

Rating: The chocolate malt gives a nutty flavour, the finish in the mouth is dry with a smoky and smooth finish. Dark ales are for winter really. It's nearly winter. Woo.

Game: So Dark Void came and went in about five hours. It was ok, the vertical shooting thing was a bit of a gimmick and some piss poor quick time events (or "QTEs" as they're known in the trade, possibly) meant the game lands in the slightly-above-average bracket.  It could have been Dark Avoid but it turned out to be Dark Ok.  6/10

Tawny Owl (Cotleigh)

Name: Tawny Owl
Label: "Tawny Owl premium bitter is a classic west country beer whose robust malty nose has hints of toffee and citrus fruit"
Brewery: Cotleigh Brewery
ABV: 3.8%

Rating: Continuing a 200 year old Georgian brewing tradition in Wiveliscombe, Cotleigh Brewery has become one of the most successful award winning independent breweries in England producing around three million pints of beer each year. Three million people can't be wrong (or the person who has drunk three million pints can't be wrong, their liver might be a bit iffy by now though).

Game: Gamestation have a bit of an awesome offer on at the moment, four games for £20.  So with each game cheaper than a small round of drinks and as games rarely result in me waking up the following day throwing up and having a headache, it's a win win situation. Need for Speed Undercover, Bourne Conspiracy, Red Faction: Guerilla and Dark Void are now filling the current gaming er, void.  What better way to remedy gaming burnout than by buying four new games!

Original Ale (Badger)

Name: Original Ale
Label: "Classic English Country Ale - Delicate Notes of Fruit and Spice"
Brewery: Badger
ABV: 3.8%

Rating: An original ale with the unlikeliest of original names. Delicate is also pretty accurate.

Game: Downloaded a new DLC level pack for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.  Its the Hoth level but with the Apprentice taking the place of Vader and *SPOILER* turning Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side before he's even had chance to get to Dagobah! Who'd have thought it. The Tattooine mission level was miles better though, visiting Jabba's Palace, kicking Rancor ass, killing Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the same afternoon = win.

Monument (Cotleigh)

Name: Monument
Label: "Finest Somerset Beers - An explosion of flavours originating from American Cascade hops gives this brilliant pale golden beer a fresh aroma and fruit filled finish"
Brewery: Cotleigh Brewery
ABV: 4.0%

Rating: Brewed to celebrate the Town of Wellington and its' Food Festivals. "Category winner" at Excellence in Food and Drink Awards 2006. Can't argue with that.

Game: Just finished Splinter Cell: Conviction.  This game is a really enjoyable action/stealth shooter, the only problem is that a big deal has been made of the Co Op and mulitplayer modes. As a result, the solo campaign seems ridiculously short. Shame, because the "mark and execute" is a splendidly satisfying game mechanic, and shooting unaware dudes in the head didn't even have chance to get old. 7/10

Gold Miner (Freeminer)

Name: Gold Miner
Label: "Brewed in the Royal Forest of Dean by The Freeminer Brewery"
Brewery: Freeminer
ABV: 5.0%

Rating: Brewed for The Co-operative. Its cooperating by tasting really good thanks to the British Hops and Barley.

Game: And the winner for "Game with the Scariest Spider" goes to.... Limbo!  Even when you get to pull it's massive leg off, it's still scarily horrible. Thanks for that, PlayDead.  I'm sure this game made my headache worse as well.

The Rev. James (Brain)

Name: The Rev. James
Label: "A silky full bodied, warming ale brewed to a traditional recipe - A taste of the good life"
Brewery: S. A. Brain & Co Ltd
ABV: 4.5%

Rating: Its Sunday, the name sounds a bit religious. Let's drink.

Game: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days was previewed ages ago and OXM were on about it being so amazing because it looked like a youtube video. I didn't understand. Video quality on youtube is shit. Having downloaded the demo though, I know now what they mean. It does look great, the shooty bits (i.e. all of it) feel about a million times better than the first game. First time I've actually enjoyed a demo since the C64 I think. Also downloaded a demo for Transformers: War for Cybertron but then realised it's just multiplayer. Boo you!