Sunday 28 January 2018

Arrowaine (Wychwood)

Arrowaine (Wychwood)
Name: Arrowaine
Label: "Dark Beer Straight & True"
Brewery: Wychwood Brewery
ABV: 3.6%

Tasting notes: "This dark beer is a nod to the archer of yesteryear. The rich & full-roasted dark chocolate malts deliver a lingering flavour that is straight & true... & really hits the spot."

Game: We've been after this game for ages and finally it's dropped in price to £3.60: Slain -Back from Hell. It's a pixel-art style 2D platformer with a heavy metal soundtrack. Seriously, what's not to like!?! We expect later levels to get fiendishly difficult/annoying but for now it's far beyond cool. Prepare thyself!

Rating: 9 riffs out of 10


Saturday 20 January 2018

Marmalade IPA (Innis and Gunn)

Marmalade IPA (Innis and Gunn)
Name: Marmalade IPA
Label: "Refreshing IPA infused with Scottish marmalade and Mandarina hops"
Brewery: Innis & Gunn
ABV: 5.6%

Tasting notes: "Our Marmalade IPA takes the best of the exotic flavours from Dundee's finest marmalade and blends perfectly with Mandarina, East Kent Goldings and Mosaic hops. This uplifting beer sends your taste buds sky high with a sharp citrus burst, and brings you right back down to earth with a mellow and soft finish."

Game: It's a bumper Eaglemoss delivery this month! Here's part 3 of 3. This is probably one of Eaglemoss's best statues so far from the Alien and Predator Figurine Collection - Alien Facehugger & Egg (Aliens). It's a weighty piece standing 22cm tall showing the facehugger jumping from a recently opened egg. Great details on the facehugger and the egg, especially on the inside. Creepy!

Rating: 9/10

Eaglemoss Alien Facehugger and Egg from Aliens
Eaglemoss Alien Facehugger and Egg from Aliens



Monty Pythons Brian (Black Sheep)

Monty Pythons Brian (Black Sheep)
Name: Monty Python's Brian
Label: "A very naughty pale ale called Brian"
Brewery: Black Sheep
ABV: 4.0%

Tasting notes: "A beautifully balanced and superbly moreish amber gold beer. Fruity and malty with a subtle hoppy bite. Fuggles and WGV hops banter with Maris Otter malted barley to give a wonderful lingering finale. It's not the messiah, it's a very naughty pale ale!"

Game: It's a bumper Eaglemoss delivery this month! Here's part 2 of 3. Dennis Parker Figurine (Alien 1979).  The likeness is actually pretty good, sometimes due to the size of the figurine (1/16 scale) human characters don't tend to translate all that well. This one however is pretty good and there's a great level of detail on the clothing.

Rating: 7/10

Dennis Parker Figurine Alien 1979
Dennis Parker Figurine (Alien 1979)



Pickled Partridge (Badger)

Pickled Partridge (Badger)
Name: Pickled Partridge
Label: "Rich tawny ale"
Brewery: Badger
ABV: 4.6%

Tasting notes: "Suspecting his fate as the centrepiece of the Sunday roast, our cunning partridge escaped his captor with a snappy peck. This plump tipple balances roasted malt with fruity citrus hops."  The beer looks to be a slightly stronger remake of this 2009 classic!

Game: It's a bumper Eaglemoss delivery this month! Here's part 1 of 3. Issue 20 Masked Predator Figurine (Predator 1987). There's some good detail on this figurine but the paintwork seems a bit rushed on the netting and the dreads. Overall though, it looks cool, especially the skull and spine trophy.

Rating 7/10

Masked Predator Figurine Predator 1987
Masked Predator Figurine (Predator 1987)

Sunday 14 January 2018

Sunny Dayz (Hogs Back)

Sunny Dayz (Hogs Back)
Name: Sunny Dayz
Label: "A well balanced hoppy and mandarin citrus taste with strong floral notes"
Brewery: Hogs Back Brewery
ABV: 3.8%

Tasting notes: "A drier, pale golden ale with Cascade Centennial and local Surrey hops, using Pale Ale and Munich malt. Hoppy with strong citrus and floral notes on the nose. Light in body, with well-balanced hoppy and predominantly mandarin citrus flavours."

Game: Today we're playing a blast from the past, Predator Concrete Jungle.  Never played this first time round and we missed out! It's great although the graphics and controls haven't aged particularly well. The game is suitably violent and sweary though so that's good enough for us!

Rating: 7 spines out of 10


Sunday 7 January 2018

All 4 One (Hogs Back)

All 4 One (Hogs Back)
Name: All 4 One
Label: "4 hop lager - a soft and light malt zingy taste with the aroma of Germanic hops and citrus with a touch of honey"
Brewery: Hogs Back Brewery
ABV: 4.5%

Tasting notes: "Straw coloured lager with an aroma of grassy Germanic hops and citrus with a touch of honey. In the mouth it is soft and zingy with light malt and citrus fruit and a dry grassy bitterness that leads to a softer fruity caramel finish"

Game: Today we're reviewing the NECA Predator 2 – 1/4 Scale Action Figure – City Hunter Predator with LED Lights. What an absolute beast it is! The figure includes LED lights in the mask’s targeting system and the left forearm gauntlet that flips open. The figure stands an impressive 20″ tall and is entirely accurate to the movie design, with over 25 points of articulation and mesh body suit netting. My only complaint is the netting over the legs is a bit stretched and looks quite delicate. Overall though this is one exceptional collectors item!

Rating: 9.5/10


NECA Predator 2 City Hunter Predator with LED Lights
NECA Predator 2 City Hunter Predator with LED Lights

Stocking Fillers (Staffordshire Brewery)

Stocking Fillers (Staffordshire Brewery)
Name: Stocking Fillers
Label: "How you fill them is important - Smooth dark stout"
Brewery: Brewed and bottled for Cottage Delight by Staffordshire Brewery
ABV: 4.5%

Tasting notes: "A well filled stocking is an essential part of Christmas morning, be careful how you unwrap yours." Last of the Christmas beers :(

Game: Today we finally got 100% of all the achievements for Assassin's Creed Origins.  All pretty straight forward which was nice. Most difficult being the one where you had to bring a corpse to a predator. Strangely awkward when you get too close and the said predators start to eat your ass [there are donkeys in this game? -Ed]!  For the first time in history we're actually looking forward to DLC though now. We want more Origins!

Rating: 10/10