Taylor's Tipple (Hambleton)

Name: Taylor's Tipple
Label: "Nick Stafford's Hambleton Ales - Legend of the White Horse"
Brewery: Hambleton Ales
ABV: 4.5%

Rating: "A chestnut coloured ale with an uplifting citrus and berry aroma, balanced by a malty depth of flavour evoking the Yorkshire Wolds on which the barley is grown."

Game: Finished Max Payne 3's single player campaign and then started it again straight away on the harder difficulty setting with "Free Aim". This makes it considerably more difficult as you might suspect. It's been a while since I restarted the same game straight away rather than trading it straight away. Therefore that shows that I like this game. A lot. This post has mostly been about me stating obvious things. Bye.

Westmorland Ale (Jennings)

Name: Westmorland Ale
Label: "Delicate hop flavours with hints of toffee & caramel - Delicious & refreshing well balanced amber ale."
Brewery: Jennings
ABV: 4.0%

Rating: "A lovely golden amber ale with subtle hints of toffee and caramel, beautifully balanced by hoppy notes from the Fuggles, Goldings and Challenger hops." Another from Sainsbury's "Taste the Difference" range. This beer goes great with summer.

Game: The difficulty in Max Payne 3 seems to have ramped up which suggests I'm close to the endgame.  I kept dying over and over and was getting mildly frustrated when Catherine suddenly fell into my lap. Not literally, it actually fell onto the floor after being put through the letterbox. Anyway, so far it's full of sexy anime, fiendish block related puzzles and drinking in a bar. Lots of games seems to involve drinking. I might start drinking the same in real life as the character in the game, just for that added level of immersion.

Summer Ale (Shepherd Neame)

Name: Summer Ale
Label: "Light & refreshing - mouthwatering, fresh & zesty - A fruity yet bitter golden pale ale"
Brewery: Shepherd Neame
ABV: 4.2%

Rating: "A delicious and refreshing golden ale, ideal for summer drinking. Brewed using the finest English malt with the perfect combination of choicest First Gold, Hersbrucker and Styrian Goldings hops, this ale has a zesty aroma and notes of citrus peel complemented by a bitter twist on the finish." The weather has gone nice, the perfect excuse to drink lots of this beer.

Game: I was describing some of my recent Max Payne 3 exploits to a colleague and realised I probably sounded like a completely deranged psychopath. Basically I mentioned how I was in a stadium and I sniped someone in the bum which triggered the slo-mo cutscene where I could shoot more bullets into my quickly expiring victim. I sent a bullet through the back of his neck and out of the front of his throat (this was in-game by the way, not at my colleague), another entry wound then opened up in the back of his head with accompanying exit wound out of the forehead, a final shot again through the back of the head, and then the metal clang of an empty chamber ended the sequence as blood continued to spurt out of the entry and exit wounds. Completely glorified violence and pretty horrific but somehow it was poetry in motion during the game. I'm a bit conflicted... it's so graphically violent but at the same time so amazingly amazing. And for the record, I'm not a psychopath. Possibly deranged... but definitely not a psychopath.

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.

Red (Lancaster)

Name: Red
Label: "Superb premium ruby ale. Robust malt with a splendid bitter note."
Brewery: Lancaster
ABV: 4.9%

Rating: "A premium strength, Ruby ale. Robust and malt-dominated, fired by a spicy but sweet fragrance. Red is an impact beer designed to leave lasting impressions both visually and on the taste buds." The last beer in the Lancaster collection judging by the shop shelves, Red, Blonde, Amber and Black. A veritable beer flavoured rainbow. Not a very colourful rainbow granted, but a tasty rainbow nonetheless.

Game: I wasn't going to get Max Payne 3, but then I remembered that it's a Rockstar game. And Rockstar games rock. So cutting to the chase, the bullet-time effect is copiously bloody, brutal and brilliant. I can't remember a game where you can shoot someone in slo-mo and then continue to empty a clip into their body and/or face before they hit the floor. Maybe Max Payne 2? I don't know, like I say, I can't remember. So far it's guns, blood and action with a healthy dose of alcoholism. This game is definitely not for the faint of heart, or Daily Mail readers.

Blonde (Lancaster)

Name: Blonde
Label: "National Award Winning Brewery - Vividly golden beer. Fine hand-crafted pale ale."
Brewery: Lancaster
ABV: 4.1%

Rating: "A vivid golden bitter, Blonde is designed to offer pale beer with real taste and aromatic impact. The initial bitterness is followed by a surprising sweetness culminating with a long dry finish." Great taste but easy to sup, not too strong, perfect for a Thursday evening!

Game: So, having a break from RPGs and playing Crysis 2. Had this for a while but has taken some time to get into. Graphically it's amazing and combat gets quite strategic so overall it's damn good. Max Payne 3 out tomorrow. I'm tempted but Max is a flabby, balding, old bloke now and I can do that in real life, just without the guns.