Pumpkin Ale (Saranac, Matt Brewing)

Name: Pumpkin Ale
Label: "The spirits of the Adirondacks - Ale brewed with pumpkin spices and other natural flavours"
Brewery: Saranac, Matt Brewing Company
ABV: 5.0%

Rating: "In celebration of the fall harvest, here's an autumn favourite that's as enjoyable as pumpkin pie. This hearty ale is brewed with cinnamon all spice, cloves and vanilla. Look for a full body and amber color. We're sure you'll enjoy this special brew!"  I've never had pumpkin pie. If it's anything like the beer though I'm sure it's positively ace.

Game: Finally got round to finishing Portal 2... with zero help from the Internet. Ok it's not that great an achievement I guess, it's not like rocket science or brain surgery or anything. It's more like creating portals to hard to reach places and then walking through them. But as far as puzzle games go, it's been the best one I've ever played. It definitely had me stumped for periods of time too which makes beating the game all the more satisfying. My rating: 8 out of 10.

Hardcore IPA (BrewDog)

Name: Hardcore IPA
Label: "Equity for Punks - Love the beer, own the company - Explicit imperial ale"
Brewery: BrewDog
ABV: 9.2%

Rating: Wow, crazily strong beer. Even though its so strong, it's a remarkably drinkable, smooth and citrusy craft beer. They also have what can only be described as a manifesto on the bottle label encouraging you to "Ditch the mainstream and say hello to BrewDog" and there's the opportunity to buy shares in the brewery, hence the "Equity for Punks" slogan. Excellent idea, I would invest if I had any spare money. Angry sad face.

Game: I think it would be remiss of me not to mention the newly released Star Wars saga on blu-ray. There's been a lot of moaning and gnashing of teeth about how "Lucas is ruining our childhood" etc by tinkering with the original films.  Personally I think the tweaks are great when seen in context. Obi-Wan Kenobi's new Krayt dragon impression scared me, so the Sand People who were actually there must have needed to change their underwear after hearing it. The films are George Lucas' invention in the first place so he's got every right to amend them. If you don't like the changes then stick to the original theatrical releases on DVD while I watch my blinking Ewoks.

Back to gaming, I think I've nearly finished Portal 2 and I've not used the internet once to solve the puzzles. Does that mean I'm clever a bit? *crosses fingers*.

Summer Swallow (Batemans)

Name: Summer Swallow
Label: "One swallow does make a summer - Gold medal winning beers"
Brewery: Batemans
ABV: 4.2%

Rating: "A golden pale ale with an aroma of biscuity malt, orange fruit and grassy hops"

Game: Maybe I was a little harsh with my One Word Review of Monsters the other day. It's not shit, it's more like, meh. It might be an allegory of war or something. A more in-depth review (with spoiler): the films protagonists both sleep a lot, she needs a wee a lot and then two massive octopuses shag. The End.

I'm giving Portal 2 8 out of 10 by the way. It's great but hurts my withered old brain.

Summer Breeze (George Gale & Co)

Name: Summer Breeze
Label: "Light & refreshing summer ale - Quality English ale"
Brewery: George Gale & Co
ABV: 3.8%

Rating: A classic, golden, summer ale brewed with a selected blend of malted wheat and barley, Saaz hops and Gales' unique yeast. It's light, smooth and crisp - highly refreshing served chilled and perfect for enjoying on a warm summer evening.  "Summer" is nearly over for this year and it pretty much sucked weather wise, this beer was great though.

Game: It's great when games remind you how stupid you actually are. Take Portal 2 for example, one minute you feel like the cleverest "mo fo" in the world for getting past a room, only to be completely befuddled by the next one.  Portal 2 is a little genius gem of a game and it's one of the first games to actually make me laugh out loud (I'm refusing to write LOL because it's annoying... even though I just wrote it nine words ago).

Betty Stogs (Skinner's)

Name: Betty Stogs
Label: "2008 CAMRA Champion best bitter of Great Britain - THE Cornish Session Beer - Special edition Coronation bottle - The Queen of Cornish ales"
Brewery: Skinner's
ABV: 4.0%

Rating: Light hop aroma with underlying malt. Easy drinking copper ale with a superb balance of citrus hops, bitterness, Cornish malt and wheat. Named after the wonderfully wicked West Cornwall folklore character.

Game: So to try and stop myself from playing Deus Ex too much I've invested in several new games: Vanquish, Bulletstorm, Portal 2 and Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare. It's my birthday in a few days so I thought what the heck. And with a few days off work, what better way to celebrate the yearly reminder of my inexorable march to the grave than by playing loads of games and drinking beer? I'm giving Deus Ex 9/10 by the way, due to its sublime action, stunning visuals and immersive storytelling. And using the rather clever analogy of a page-turner that's difficult to put down, this is a game that's er... difficult to put down.  For a detailed review that makes more sense check the Games from the Void review here.