Blitzen (Black Sheep)

Name: Blitzen
Label: "A collaboration with Blitzen the Reindeer, this beer has Santa's official approval - Ruby Christmas Ale"
Brewery: Black Sheep
ABV: 4.0%

Tasting notes: "This cheeky festive number has been brewed using a blend of Cascade and Goldings hops and a hint of orange peel and muscovado sugar." This beer is great even though I've never heard of muscovado sugar. At first I read it as mucusvader sugar. Must have snot and Star Wars on the mind again.

Game: So while everyone is falling asleep watching shite telly after a gigantic food-fest, I'm sneaking out for a cheeky couple of rounds of Star Wars Battlefront and a go on new addition, Transformers Devastation. Merry Christmas!

Bitter (Banks's)

Name: Bitter
Label: "Award winning ales - Fide Et Fortitudine 1875"
Brewery: Bank's
ABV: 3.8%

Tasting notes: "Deep gold in colour, Bank's Bitter is the outstanding example of classic English ale. A bitter that resonates with tangy and refreshing flavours that only Fuggles and Goldings - the classic twin masterpieces of the English Hop Growers' art, can deliver."  Simple name, awesome flavour. And currently only a measly 90p from Asda!

Game: I'm out for the rest of the season with a hand injury! Played Star Wars: Battlefront pretty much nonstop during the double XP weekend and now my hand really hurts. Seriously. RSI I think it is (Really Stupid Idiot). Anyway it's only my left hand so it's not the end of the world... I can still lift a pint with my right hand.  Back to Assassin's Creed Syndicate for a bit while I convalesce.

IPA (Fourpure Brewing)

Name: IPA
Label: "Inspired by Oregon USA"
Brewery: Fourpure Brewing
ABV: 6.5%

Tasting notes: "Fourpure is a London based family brewery founded in 2013. Beer is our passion and our travels are what inspires us to brew. We believe craft beer should always be bold and flavourful - enjoy one of ours, kept fresh in this can."

Game: So prize for Most Poorly Designed Bit of Gaming 2015 goes to Batman Arkham Knight DLC, Catwoman's Revenge. There's a battle with Riddler's robots on a floor, a large proportion of which is electrified seriously restricting movement. So it basically renders useless one of the best things about the Batman Arkham series, the fight mechanics. For example you can't do a special takedown move because it usually ends up with Catwoman sat on the electrified floor being sapped of energy while the animation plays out. Ditto for some counters where Catwoman ends the animation in a different position, usually on an electrified part of the floor. Even the evade move is not an option because she jumps quite far, usually ending up on... you guessed it, the electrified floor.  Bit moany, but so what. It's spoilt an otherwise enjoyable item of DLC.

Saltaire Pride (Saltaire)

Name: Saltaire Pride
Label: " Hand crafted ales - A pale amber bitter with spicy hop flavours"
Brewery: Saltaire Brewery
ABV: 3.9%

Tasting notes: "Bordering the World Heritage site of Saltaire in Yorkshire, Saltaire Brewery uses traditional brewing methods to produce great ales, with a contemporary twist! A pale amber bitter with soft roast flavours, good spicy bitterness and a citrus finish."

Game: Wow Star Wars Battlefront has been super laggy since its release. It got worse and worse: juddery screen (technical term), rubber-banding, 'bad connection' messages popping up every other second.  Anyway the resolution was incredibly complex but I managed it. As an IT technician I've had 18 years of computery experience but this taxed me to within an inch of my capabilities. If you're getting the same laggy problems just turn your modem on and off again. Problem solved!

Unicorn Black (Robinsons)

Name: Unicorn Black
Label: "Deliciously rich roasted stout - A modern twist on an aged old recipe, Unicorn Black is a dark, mysterious, ebony coloured stout with a distinct aroma of roasted malt and chocolate."
Brewery: Robinsons
ABV: 4.1%

Tasting notes: "Rich, full bodied and deeply satisfying, Unicorn Black delivers a palate of roasted coffee and peppery hops leaving a robust after bitterness. It is perfectly balanced with a hint of sweetness."

Game: Assassin's Creed Syndicate is ace. The attention to detail is amazing. However, there only seems to be about three enemy character models which is weird.  It's like, "Oh, there's that stocky looking bald bloke again and the baddy woman lookout person." This happens every minute or so when traversing London's streets bumping into groups of Blighters. Seems strange given the obvious effort gone in to recreating London and it breaks the immersion. Breaks it worse than getting stuck on a wall mid-climb. A minor quibble so it still gets 9/10.

Headland Red (Wold Top)

Name: Headland Red
Label: "Wold famous - A beacon of taste in an ocean of choices"
Brewery: Wold Top
ABV: 4.3%

Tasting notes: "A red beer to halt you in your tracks, giving you a warm red glow! A mellow malty flavour, from predominately Wold grown barley, dark Crystal malt and roasted barley, hopped with Progress hops. This is the beer to use for the best 'beef in beer!'"

Game: Here's a quick flyby birds eye view of a parked Millennium Falcon in Star Wars Battlefront. It's a very similar video to the eagle flying over London that Ubisoft did to promote Assassin's Creed Syndicate.

Amber Ale (Fourpure Brewing)

Name: Amber Ale
Label: "Inspired by Colarado USA"
Brewery: Fourpure Brewing
ABV: 5.1%

Tasting notes: "Fourpure is a London based family brewery founded in 2013. Beer is our passion and our travels are what inspires us to brew. We believe craft beer should always be bold and flavourful - enjoy one of ours, kept fresh in this can."  Craft ale in a can! Who'd have thought it?!

Game: I'm increasingly concerned that I've spent a tit-load of money on Star Wars Battlefront and it's not going to hold my attention for long.   There's only so many times that finishing mid-table or watching yet another AT-AT fall over can keep me entertained. Thinking positively though it's hopefully something I can dip into from time to time over the course of a year or two until Battlefront 2 comes out. And even though there's no single player, it's still got more story than Destiny...

British Clipper IPA (Meantime)

Name: British Clipper IPA
Label: "Brewed exclusively for Marks & Spencer"
Brewery: Meantime Brewing Company
ABV: 6.0%

Tasting notes: "This rich, complex beer is brewed with British Fuggles and Goldings hops and has all the earthy, peppery notes of a classic IPA."

Game: Got a 10 hour trial of Star Wars Battlefront so I'm playing at being the rebel scums for a day or so.  It's interesting how much I suck at it, although it was a bit juddery for some reason which is totally the reason for the poor performance obviously. Looks like there'll be plenty to do when the game releases proper next week anyway, there's more game modes than you can shake a Jawa at. Just hope the lag sorts itself out or there'll be hell to pay.

Blonde (Bottle Cap Brewery)

Name: Blonde
Brewery: Bottle Cap Brewery
ABV: 4.5%

Tasting notes: "The Blonde Ale is a sessionable, easy drinking American Pale Ale, with light floral notes."

Game: Yay free game time on Xbox One! This time it's Pneuma: Breath of Life. It's a first person puzzler. It's kinda pretty. It's also got one of the most horrendously annoying narrator/guide/disembodied voice thingys I've ever heard. It's constantly yapping about what's going on in the world and I can't work out whether it's trying to be funny in a Portal 2 / Stephen Merchant-esque way but with all the humour sucked out of it. The writing is terrible (bit like mine) and the delivery, although he tries hard, is lacklustre at best. Still you can nab 100 gamerscore for completing each level, and level one is just walking in a straight line! Win. But I can only stomach the voice for so long so it's back to Witchering for me! Huzzah!

Barry Island IPA (Brains Craft Brewery)

Name: Barry Island IPA
Label: "An American style IPA - Collaboration brew with Simon Martin"
Brewery: Brains Craft Brewery
ABV: 6.0%

Tasting notes: "Created by Simon Martin, aka Mr Real Ale Guide, this India Pale Ale was inspired by the 'IPA revolution' across the pond. The boy from Barry has used a trio of hops from the US in this pale coloured ale, which is bursting with citrus aromas. A unique smooth malt taste upfront is finished off by a vigorous bitterness and a 'tidy' clout of citrus and berry hop flavours." Barry Island sounds like a really rubbish holiday destination. Like the George Coast or the Timothy Isles.

Game: Started to play The Walking Dead by Telltale games again. This time the Xbox One version. I've took some alternative choices this time round. Made the opposite decisions to what I made on the 360 version and I've made a startling discovery! Generally the choices don't make all that much difference to how the game pans out! Bit like real life, stuff just happens as its intended to happen and you're just given the ILLUSION of choice!  This is getting a bit heavy so I'm off to drink some more beer. It's still a great game though by the way...

Atlantic White (Brains Craft Brewery)

Name: Atlantic White
Label: "A US hopped Belgian style witbier"
Brewery: Brains Craft Brewery
ABV: 6.0%

Tasting notes: "Atlantic White blends the tradition of Belgian 'Wit' beers and the hop-character of American IPAs to produce a 'White IPA'. Brewed with wheat malt and Belgian wit yeast the addition of freshly crushed coriander seeds, Curacao orange and US hops gives a light refreshing beer with a zesty and spicy finish."

Game: So I was wondering what new enemies we'd get to fight in the Hearts of Stone Witcher DLC and I was hoping it wouldn't be spiders but then after playing it for a few hours I was like, "spiders... why did it have to be giant spiders"?  It's spiders you see, One of the new enemies is spiders. #SadCobwebbyFace  Also, they turned the difficulty up to eleven. Actually the enemies are levelled up to the mid-thirtys. Amazing DLC. Have at it!

Wizard (Robinsons)

Name: Wizard
Label: "Mythical Amber Beer - made using 5 British hops, Bramling Cross, EKG, 1st Gold, Challenger & Admiral - Drink of this and take thy fill, for the water falls by the Wizard's will."
Brewery: Robinsons
ABV: 3.7%

Tasting notes: "Inspired by a local Cheshire legend 'The Wizard of Alderley Edge', we have combined 5 English hops, pale, wheat & crystal malts to produce Wizard, a moreish, sessionable 3.7% ABV mythical amber ale. Packed full of flavour, Wizard has a spell-binding fruity & zesty hop palate complemented by a magical full malt character."  Definitely a great session ale, unfortunately my session was very short as I only had one bottle.

Game: I'm expanding my Witcher 3 experience with the Hearts of Stone expansion which looks to be quite expansive.  So far I've learned how to; survive a ship wreck, raise spirits (ghosts, not more alcohol) and how to talk to women, e.g. "This way, my strawberry".  Probably the best DLC ever, although I don't think I'll ever try the strawberry line in real life lest I be slapped.  8/10

Black Wych (Wychwood)

Name: Black Wych
Label: "A dark mysterious spellbinding porter"
Brewery: Wychwood
ABV: 5.0%

Tasting notes: "The Black Wych has cast her spell. Start with a measure of alluringly rich dark malt and allow the bitterness to creep in. Watch out for the caramel sweetness lurking behind. This silkily smooth porter is no taboo, she's a spellbinding force to be reckoned with."

Game: Assassin's Creed: Syndicate has some collectibles right up our alcohol drenched street. Bottles dotted around London can be picked up to unlock Beer Tasting Notes in the database. Apparently the beer wasn't too great in 1868 judging by just one of the examples:

Amber Ale - Robert, Barnaby & Co.
With its strong flavour and heady aroma, this beer would pair wonderfully with halibut. I'm sorry, did I say "pair with?" I meant "tastes of," it tastes like halibut. The body has an unctuous pond-scum quality, but manages to be gritty at the same time. Overall I'd rate this beer somewhere between "poison oak" and "a live and furious piranha" on the "things I'd willingly put in my body" scale.

Buy Black Wych (Seasonal - limited stock)

UK & Worldwide delivery

UK Standard £9.89 GBP UK Signed £10.99 GBP Worldwide Standard £15.99 GBP Worldwide Tracked £26.99 GBP

Dunkel Fester (Wychwood)

Name: Dunkel Fester
Label: "T'is the season of mischief - A disturbingly dark beer"
Brewery: Wychwood
ABV: 4.4%

Tasting notes: "An exceptionally dark malty beer with an eerie red tinge brewed for those with a fetish for rich flavours. Hints of coffee & roasted nuts are haunted by an underlying fruity finish creating the perfect Halloween treat." Yay, it's nearly scary Halloween. Celebrate with this scarily great beer!

Game: Cor blimey, guv'nor! It's a new Assassin's Creed! AC: Syndicate is set in London and there's lots of  assassinating going on and apples & pears or something.  So it's like previous Assassin's Creeds's's but totally better and with a cockney accent.  This time out the multiplayer element has been stealth assassinated! Thankfully there's lots and lots and lots and lots to do. Best bit so far is thieving a horse and cart like it's GTA, 1868 style!

Buy this beer (very limited stock)!

UK & Worldwide delivery

UK Standard £9.89 GBP UK Signed £10.99 GBP Worldwide Standard £15.99 GBP Worldwide Tracked £26.99 GBP

Firecatcher (Wychwood)

Name: Firecatcher
Label: "Dazzling Golden Beer"
Brewery: Wychwood
ABV: 3.5%

Tasting notes: "The warming hints of honeyed nectar will spark the intense and sharp gooseberry flames. A refreshingly crisp catch smoldering in citrus aromas that will leave you glowing inside."

Game: Pre-ordered Star Wars Battlefront Ultimate Edition. We liked the beta a lot judging by the stats. Walker Assault on Hoth was great but the level of immersion was dented somewhat by the hero powerups which see Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader join the fray. I can understand Vader messing about on Hoth, jumping around like a knob and lightsabering rebels, I guess that's why he was late getting to the Millenium Falcon. What I don't get is how Luke managed to change out of his orange flight-suit and don his Return of the Jedi clothes.  Presumably when the rebel base was overrun he then got changed back into his orange flight-suit in order to get in his X-Wing to go to Dagobah. Lucky Hoth had heated changing rooms!

Withens Pale Ale (Little Valley Brewery)

Name: Withens Pale Ale
Label: "Organic Bottle Conditioned - Brewed in Yorkshire - Light and Hoppy"
Brewery: Little Valley Brewery
ABV: 3.9%

Rating: "Light and bright, Withens Pale Ale uses refreshing floral Cascade hops with hints of spice, orange and citrus, giving a delicious dry bitter finish. Withens Pale Ale is a bottle conditioned beer. Connoisseurs prize such beer as it continues to mature in the bottle and carbonates naturally."  I prized it, not because I'm a connoisseurs but because it's awesome!

Game: Initial thought regarding Star Wars Battlefront: OH MY GOD IT LOOKS AMAZING!!  Playing the Beta, and I suck at the multiplayer, Drop Zone on Sullust, but did OK against the 6 waves of baddies on Tattooine in single player.  Now to try the Hoth Walker Assault. It warns me to level up before trying the Walker Assault. Yeah right! Did Dak level up before he went to Hoth? Did he balls. And he did alright... oh no hang on...

High Maltage (Bottle Cap Brewery)

Name: High Maltage
Brewery: Bottle Cap Brewery
ABV: 6.9%

Tasting notes: "The Scottish Ale/Wee Heavy is a strong, malty beast that's deceptively easy drinking for a 6.9% brew."

Game: I've pretty much done all I want to do in the Witcher 3 and Batman Arkham Knight so it's back to a game I played back in May but never got around to finishing: Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. The prequel released after Wolfenstein: The New Order. So it's been five months since I last played an FPS. And wow did the motion sickness kick in. It's a great game but the dangers of playing RPGs and open world stuff for months means that going back to first person makes me want to puke big time. Seriously, I felt so vomitous that I had to turn off the Xbox and go back to building my Halo Mega Bloks set! More ale is in order to help settle the stomach. Game rating: 8/10. Sickness inducement score: 10/10

Artesian Dark Ale (Shepherd Neame)

Name: Artesian Dark Ale
Label: "Brewed with Artesian Water"
Brewery: Shepherd Neame
ABV: 3.8%

Tasting notes: "This delicious ale is hand-crafted using chalk-filtered mineral water from the artesian well deep below our brewery. Amber in colour, it is a complex, full flavoured beer combining aromas of fruits and spices with rich biscuity malts."

Game: I've been playing Life Is Strange for a few weeks now. As it's an episodic story-driven thing I've left it til the end of Episode 4 to review a fuller experience. And wow, what a great story, it's deep and veers from the whimsical to the depressingly heavy and dark - they even mention if you're affected by the story and need support, visit www.lifeisstrange.com/talk for details of who to contact i.e. the Samaritans :(  Epic twists and some amazing end of episode cliffhangers keep you hooked though. And woah, I'm super-excited for the finale as it's going to be hella awesomes - that's how they talk in the game by the way.  It's a little grating at first but you totally get over it, and even like, start to talk like that in real life? Rating: a totally epic 8/10

Nice (Fyne Ales)

Name: Nice
Label: "White IPA - Outstanding Craft Beer - Fyne Ales is a Scottish brewery dedicated to brewing outstanding craft beer with passion and integrity"
Brewery: Fyne Ales
ABV: 5.2%

Tasting notes: "Nice is the beer for those who have been perfect angels this year, a white IPA with a fresh citrus aroma. Nice gets it's very pale, almost white, colour from the addition of wheat to the brew while Motueka, Stella, Galaxy and Citra hops along with fresh citrus peel give the beer a heavenly citrus character."

Game: Just realised I've not played a Sierra game for about 25 years, the last one probably being King's Quest V on PC. Well rejoice because King's Quest is back on this-gen consoles and I realise I'm suddenly old!  It's no longer a point-and-click adventure but who cares, it's still got the obtuse puzzles but not quite as obtuse as yester-year, or maybe I'm just slightly less thick 25 years on? Things like, use meat with bush (not a euphemism), use wooly socks on knight etc. There's also the great art style and now superb voice acting. There might have been great voice acting years ago but I didn't have a soundcard. So, overall I'm well pleased to be playing this.  Episode 1: 8/10.  Now if only they would reboot Space Quest and Police Quest...

Ruby Ale (Tesco)

Name: Ruby Ale
Label: "Rich & Smooth Roasted Barley Character"
Brewery: Tesco - can't actually see a brewery name on the bottle so we'll just go with Tesco.
ABV: 4.1%

Tasting notes: "Full of flavoursome roasted barley malt, ruby in colour with a rich fruity taste and dry bitterness to finish."   Tesco is the best supermarket cos they now make beer!

Game: It's that time of year again, PES and FIFA time. As FIFA 14 and FIFA 15 seemed identical to me, I've opted for PES 2016 this year. Seemed like the same old PES routine at first, turn off appalling menu music, check, rename all the English teams to the real names, check, rename all the stadiums, check. Yaaaaaaaaawn. But the actual footy is brilliant! Other than the atrocious graphics on crowd close-ups spoiling the illusion a bit, the actual playing of the footballs is superb 9/10.

Shipwreck IPA (Eden Brewery)

Name: Shipwreck IPA
Label: "Traditionally brewed and bottled in Scotland by an artisan brewing process"
Brewery: Eden Brewery
ABV: 6.2%

Tasting notes: "Traditionally beer would have been highly hopped and strong in alcohol so it could survive long shipping journeys to allow our ancestral expats to enjoy quality beers from home shores; this is where we have taken our inspiration for our Shipwreck IPA. Jam packed with English, American and Australian hops, our IPA has a well balanced, yet complex, deep hoppy flavour with rich, zesty and tropical aromas. Please don't drink and sail."

Game: So is the EA Access subscription any good? Well... yes! Yes it is! Downloaded a bunch of American sports games I've not played before like NBA Live 15 (basketball), NHL15 (hockey), UFC (fighting), FIFA 15 (soccer), Battlefield 4 (rifle club).  They're all kinda old as you can tell from the year and/or number after the title, but considering you get around 10 games for £19.99 a year it's not bad. And hopefully EA will add more titles and branch out from American sports games a bit in future.

Barney's Volcano IPA (Summerhall)

Name: Barney's Volcano IPA
Label: "Sorachi Ace"
Brewery: Summerhall Brewery
ABV: 5.0%

Tasting notes: "A collaboration with Japanese illustrator, Ryoko Tamura. Barney's Volcano IPA made with Sorachi Ace hops, originally cultivated in Japan." Mmmm, volcano beer!

Game: Trying the free Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes game to see if it can tempt me to buy Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which I guess was Microsoft's fiendish plan all along.  I like it! However, I don't love it. I think there's something wrong with stealth games in general. Example, when the shit hits the fan and all the alarms go off and you end up killing half the enemies in a particular area, then hide for a bit until the alarm stops, the remaining guards just go back to their regular positions thinking you've suddenly left the area. Like, at least pick up your colleagues's's dead bodies rather than leaving them strewn about the place? And do you really think I've left the area? Plus do you not think you should put some extra guards around that really high-profile prisoner I'm trying to rescue?

Sunburst (Inveralmond Brewery)

Name: Sunburst
Label: "Inspiration Series #1 - Bohemian Pilsner - Saaz & Hallertau Hersbrucker Hops"
Brewery: Inveralmond Brewery
ABV: 4.8%

Tasting notes: "Sunburst is the only authentic Czech pilsner brewed in Scotland. We combine pilsner malts with soft Perthshire waters and ignite this with the enticing aromas of Saaz and Hallertau Hersbrucker hops. We then let loose our yeast, sourced from one of the oldest brewing sites in Prague. The result? An inimitable blend of continental class and Scottish substance in an infinitely enjoyable lager." Not sure what's with all the lager recently, but it IS craft ale I guess.

Game: Witcher 3 is slowly but surely wrapping up I think... after about 3000 hours of playing it. Still not bored with it either. Although I have managed to piss off both of Geralt's love interests in the game. Couldn't decide who to romance, so er.. tried both and now they both won't talk to me. Strangely this did actually annoy me for a bit, even though 'it's only a game'. Serves him (me) right though the stupid two-timing asshat.

This. Is. Lager. (BrewDog)

Name: This. Is. Lager.
Label: "21st Century Pilsner"
Brewery: BrewDog
ABV: 4.7%

Tasting notes: "This. Is. Exactly. What. Lager. Should. Taste. Like. Full. Bodied. Full. Of. Bite. Floral. Spicy. Sharp. Bitter. Crafted. From. A. Full. Malted. Barley. Base. Matured. For. Five. Weeks. Made. With. No. Short. Cuts. And. Reclaimed. In. Honour. Of. The. Great. German. And. Bohemian. Pilsners. Of. The. 19th. Century. A. Shock. To. The. System. Maybe. But. A. Good. One. A. Really. Good. One. This. Is. Lager. Reclaimed. Perfected. Renewed. This. Is. Lager. As. It. Should. Be. End. Of."  Think BrewDog have gone a bit mad with the fullstops. What. The. Full. Stop. Pull out all the stops and you're just left with great tasting lager :)

Game: Started New Game + Batman: Arkham Knight, partly in the hope I can pick up missing / glitched Riddler trophies. NG+ is totally difficult by the way! Unlike in real life, you no longer see the wiggly lines above the baddies heads just before they attack you.  This makes it tricky to counter.

But forget that, check out the 1989 movie Batmobile! It's lived up to expectations, racing around Joker / Penguin themed tracks based on the movies. The Tumbler is the next Batmobile available soon as DLC. Looking forward to that and some more tracks.

Bombardier Glorious English (Wells)

Name: Bombardier Glorious English
Label: "Damned Tasty Rich & Fruity English Beer"
Brewery: Wells
ABV: 4.7%

Tasting notes: "Chaaarge your glasses Troops and enjoy a proper English beer!  Savour the distinct aroma, then surrender to the perfect balance of malty richness, tangy hops and sultana fruit on the palate. Brace yourself for a long soft spicy finish. Bang On!"

Game: OK, I fully appreciate it's not the end of the world, but after hours of collecting 239 Riddler trophies in Batman: Arkham Knight I'm dismayed to discover the remaining trophies are glitched. Ironically the Riddler mocks you saying "5 trophies to go Batman, you're just too stupid to find them." Er, no... the game is too GLITCHED to let me find them and in some cases I already found them (example below)! I love this game but this is slightly annoying to not be able to get the last four trophies and 100% completion. Still, I has beer :)

Guinness Golden Ale

Name: Guinness Golden Ale
Label: "Brewed with the finest hops, Irish barley and a specially selected amber malt - The Brewers Project"
Brewery: Guinness & Co
ABV: 4.5%

Tasting notes: "A group of enterprising brewers on a quest to explore new recipes, reinterpret old ones and collaborate freely to bring exciting beers to life. A beautifully balanced ale with a rich golden hue. The subtle biscuit flavours of the malted barley perfectly complement the pleasing bitterness and delicate, fruity hop aroma, giving way to a refreshing crisp finish."

Game: Hang on to your be-caped butts BatPeople, the 1989 movie pack for Batman Arkham Knight is out next week!  Yes, the one with the awesome new (old) Batmobile.  So far this THIRTY TWO quid season pass has bought me a one hour level of Batgirl, i.e. re-skinned Batman, #RippedOffFace (sounds painful - that was supposed to be like #sadface but more related to being ripped off financially, but it reads like something really violent, still valid I guess).

Strongarm (Camerons)

Name: Strongarm
Label: "Ruby Red Ale"
Brewery: Camerons
ABV: 4.3%

Tasting notes: "Strongarm is the brewery's flagship ale. First brewed in 1955 this is a well rounded, ruby red ale with a distinctive, tight creamy head. Strongarm delivers an initial sweet surge of flavour followed by a delicious malty taste. A North East classic ale!"

Game: Slowly progressing with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Now well into visiting the Skellige Isles and been reacquainted with "Uma, the ugliest man alive and the victim of a curse." Nice of CD Projekt Red to include me in their game. They said they would but I didn't realise it would be as such an integral character to the plot.

Strong Suffolk Dark Ale (Greene King)

Name: Strong Suffolk Dark Ale
Label: "A rich dark ale featuring rare 2 year old oak aged vintage 5X"
Brewery: Greene King
ABV: 6.0%

Tasting notes: "As the name suggests, Strong Suffolk is not for the faint-hearted. We blend a proportion of our very special and rare vintage 5X brew with a rich malty dark ale to create a deeply satisfying and complex beer." I really enjoyed this beer, so there.

Game: Thirty two quid seems a lot for a season pass, however it was recently mentioned that the 1989 Batmobile from the Tim Burton films is going to be power-sliding into Batman: Arkham Knight! This news is muchos awesomes, although you may only be able to use it in certain situations rather than cruising around the city in it.  Just realised that the first Tim Burton Batman film was released 26 years ago... suddenly feel totally old.

St Andrews Blonde (Eden Brewery)

Name: St Andrews Blonde
Label: "Small batch locally crafted beer"
Brewery: Eden Brewery
ABV: 3.8%

Tasting notes: "We reckon no one will sit on the fence with this refreshing, drinkable beer. It has loads of hoppy attitude, and a flavour profile spanning apricot to, pineapple and grapefruit."

Game: The better half bought me a book recently, "1001 Beers You Must Try Before You Die" by Adrian Tierney-Jones.  I'm definitely game for giving this a go!  I've already spotted a few ales that have graced these web pages in the past. And it has my fave, Well's Banana Bread Beer in there too so it definitely gets the Gaming Ales seal of approval. And it's like, you know, professional, well written and well researched... kinda the opposite to Gaming Ales in many ways.  Link below if you want to buy it.

Clock Brew (Eden Brewery)

Name: Clock Brew
Label: "Traditional Scottish Ale - Thank you for buying our beer and we hope you can enjoy being part of the journey"
Brewery: Eden Brewery
ABV: 4.3%

Tasting notes: "A classic Scottish red ale with a hint of pepperiness and hops up front giving way to a smooth multi layered finish."  It's Beer 'O Clock! On the label this beer actually thanks you for buying the beer. I say No! Thank you!  Thank you for this most excellent of brews!

Game: Two Batman: Arkham Knight DLC missions down and enjoyable they were too!  So far we've played as Harley Quinn and now Batgirl. Both missions have been criticised by most 'proper' journalisty things but I think they're pretty good. Batgirl's level only lasts about an hour and Harley Quinn's is even less (much less) but they make a nice distraction if you're still working your way through the main Batman campaign.
So stop moaning and enjoy it will you!  Just forget for a second that you've spent thirty two quid on a season pass. Just forget it! Five more months of DLC incoming. The whole will be better than the sum of it's parts, or something.

Seggie (Eden Brewery)

Name: Seggie
Label: "Our brewer's aims are simple: to help more people experience and enjoy really good beer more often."
Brewery: Eden Brewery
ABV: 5.2%

Tasting notes: "Based on a 17th Century Porter recipe and using local malted barley 'Seggie' has layers of flavour with roasted coffee, liquorice, and hints of chocolate in evidence. It is a smooth and deceptively drinkable beer that we are really proud of"

Game: So utterly addicted to The Witcher 3 I'm now actually looking forward to upcoming patches! What is going on? Patch 1.07 will include a player stash for storing items! Books will have a dedicated tab and be greyed out when they've been read. Crafting and alchemy components won't add weight! I'm super excited for these, which may sound sarcastic, but scarily enough these words contain zero sarcasm!