Old Contemptible (Caledonian)

Name: Old Contemptible
Label: "British Ale - Brewed by hand in Edinburgh"
Brewery: Caledonian Brewery
ABV: 4.8%

Tasting notes: "The First World War changed the world forever. Millions went off to fight and many never came home. Among them were almost 30,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force. The German Kaiser reportedly referred to these troops as a 'contemptible little army'. Veterans of the British Expeditionary Force of 1914 took the name as a badge pride becoming known as 'Old Contemptibles'. Old Contemptible is brewed in partnership with Imperial War Museums, in a style of the period to mark the First World War centenary commemorations.  This deep mahogany beer has a superb creamy head, a distinctive flavour of caramel and vanilla and a slight hop tang. The robustness of the interwoven malt and hop flavours linger well after the last swallow."

Game: Ever been at work and just wanted to hide under the desk until the day finished? That's pretty much how the first XCOM 2 play-through went. Got to a point where there were no available soldiers, no available resources and therefore no way to halt the alien takeover. So just started hitting the 'advance time' button - which is basically the Commander hiding under his desk whilst aliens massacre the entire civilisation. So when the real alien invasion happens, lets hope we have plenty of saves to revert back to.

A difficult yet fabulous game, rating: 8 men in black out of 10

Flying Scotsman (Caledonian)

Name: Flying Scotsman
Label: "Edinburgh to London - Premium Bitter - The officially licensed Flying Scotsman beer"
Brewery: Caledonian
ABV: 4.0%

Rating: "Specially brewed to celebrate the return of the world's most famous locomotive after a major restoration programme at the National Railway Museum in York. Salute the loco with a glass of this superb beer. Look for a raisin-like spiciness and a superb toasty dryness. First Class refreshment from Edinburgh to London and beyond." I looked and I found! Great beer.

Game: Between Max Payne 3 and the billions of other games I've yet to finish (I believe this is referred to as a "pile of shame") I've been attempting to play Wipeout 2048 on PS Vita. I say 'attempting' because this game makes me feel like I'm the worst ever player at Wipeout. Most of the laps are spent careening from the left side barrier to the right side barrier and back again whilst managing to somehow avoid all of the speed boosts and pickup pads on the track. I seem to have an uncanny ability to miss all of the power ups. Go me. Great game, I'm just rubbish at it.

Deuchars IPA (Caledonian)

Name: Deuchars IPA
Label: "Distinctive - refreshing"
Brewery: Caledonian
ABV: 4.4%

Rating: Cask Champion Beer of Britain 2002 and BIIA, World Champion Cask Ale 2005 - enough awards already

Game: Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed II.