Sunday 17 September 2017

The Rev James Original (Brains)

Name: The Rev James Original
Label: "Rich, warming ale with a clean rewarding finish - Fine ale revelation"
Brewery: S. A. Brains
ABV: 4.5%

Tasting notes: "The Rev. James Original is rich and well-balanced with a mellow malty flavour that unexpectedly gives way to a clean, refreshing finish."

Game: Assassin's Creed statue time. This is one of my favourite pieces (referring to them now as 'pieces' like they are part of a museum collection, but mainly because I like to be pretentious). This piece is called Ezio Leap of Faith. It depicts Ezio jumping off a church roof. Looks ace. Quite rare now, look to pay around £200 new, half that for used.

Rating: 9/10

Ezio Leap of Faith
Ezio Leap of Faith

Wainwright The Golden Beer (Marstons)

Wainwright The Golden Beer (Marstons)
Name: Wainwright The Golden Beer
Label: "Refreshingly rewarding crafted golden beer"
Brewery: Marston's
ABV: 4.1%

Tasting notes: "A superb thirst quenching, refreshing beer packed full of flavour, lightly hopped with subtle sweet notes and a delicate citrus aroma"

Game: Lets get back to GAMES. This week we're playing remasters, specifically Batman: Return to Arkham which contains Arkham Asylum and Arkham City games. First up, obviously is Arkham Asylum. The graphics have supposedly been updated and optimised for Xbox One. Can't really tell unless you're playing both versions side by side. And that would just be crazies because you'd need two tellies set up, one with the Xbox 360 version and one with an Xbox One version.  Plus we'd need four hands as separate controllers would be required and four eyes, two for blankly gazing at each screen. And we'd need two mouths for our beers. Anyway, lets assume the graphics are better. It's also still an absolutely amazing game!

Rating: 9.5 batarangs out of 10

Smoked Ruby (Adnams)

Smoked Ruby (Adnams)
Name: Smoked Ruby
Label: "Specially brewed for Marks & Spencer"
Brewery: Adnams
ABV: 4.7%

Tasting notes: "This beer is brewed with malted barley that's been smoked with cherry wood, giving it an intriguingly sweet, nutty, smoky flavour. This beer's smoky notes work brilliantly with roasted meat dishes, or try it with a smoked cheese."

Game: Issue 13 of the Alien and Predator figurine collection - Hunter Predator. From Predator 2 - this one is ace, well painted and holding a bloody spine with skull attached.

Rating: 8.5 spines out of 10

Issue 13 of the Alien and Predator figurine collection - Hunter Predator
Issue 13 of the Alien and Predator figurine collection - Hunter Predator



Summer Daze (Hatherwood)

Summer Daze (Hatherwood)
Name: Summer Daze
Label: "Craft Beer Company"
Brewery: Hatherwood
ABV: 3.8%

Tasting notes: "Summer Daze is a shining example of a pale ale, both delicate and refreshing. Traditionally craft-brewed using a light blend of British and American Cascade hops, with grassy notes that shine through golden grapefruit and bright citrus overtones."

Game: Issue 12 of the Alien and Predator figurine collection is Johner.  This one actually bears a passing resemblance to Ron Perlman too so it's all good. The film actually ain't tooooo bad either.

Rating: 7/10

Issue 12 of the Alien and Predator figurine collection - Johner
Issue 12 of the Alien and Predator figurine collection: Johner

Tuesday 5 September 2017

Triple Hopped IPA (Charlie Wells)

Triple Hopped IPA (Charlie Wells)
Name: Triple Hopped IPA
Label: "Brewed with THREE HOPS Goldings, Galaxy and Simcoe"
Brewery: Charlie Wells
ABV: 5.2%

Tasting notes: "Grab a beer & discover what floated Charlie's boat, tickled his fancy & inspired him to embark on a beer brewing voyage in his hometown of Bedford. Captain's Log: Tropical fruit aromas on the nose. This moreish IPA has a gentle malt character & minerality with a pronounced hoppy fruitiness. The finish is long lasting; a fine bitterness balanced by some residual sweetness. Cheers Charlie!"

Game: For some reason we almost weren't going to get this, what fools we would have been! [speak for yourself - Ed] So off we go with Batman Season 2 or it's full title: Batman: The Enemy Within - The Telltale Series. Starting off (surprisingly) with the first chapter "The Enigma". It's superb, a good amount of content for a first episode, some genuinely difficult decisions to make although whether these will affect the story in further episodes remains to be seen. Anyway, it's off to a really strong start.

Rating: 8 morally vague decisions of 10


Spitfire Gold (Shepherd Neame)

Spitfire Gold (Shepherd Neame)
Name: Spitfire Gold
Label: "Pure Golden Ale - sweet malt base, soft bitter finish."
Brewery: Shepherd Neame
ABV: 4.3%

Tasting notes: "Brewed by Britain's oldest brewer, Spitfire Gold is a well-balanced golden ale. Its sweet malt base is complemented by subtle bitterness and tropical aromas imparted by some of the world's favourite hops, including Challenger, Centennial and Saaz."

Game: Two official figurines based on the lead characters from the severely underrated Assassin's Creed movie.  Unlike a lot of statues around, Maria and Aguilar actually look like their real life counterparts and not the approximations whittled by a blind man with a chisel (looks at you Hachette's Assassin's Creed Collection).

Good level of detail, both bases fit together to form the diorama below.

Rating: 8/10
Maria and Aguilar
Maria and Aguilar