Thoroughbred Gold (Thwaites)

Name: Thoroughbred Gold
Label: "A golden winner - A winning thoroughbred is the result of breeding the best stallion to the best mare, with the proof of superiority and excellence being established on the race track"
Brewery: Thwaites
ABV: 3.7%

Rating: A really great beer that I've not seen much of in the shops before. Not sure why its got all those equine breeding tips on the bottle, maybe it was brewed for some horsey people at some horsey event.

Game: Very addicted to Split/Second now. It only arrived today so I guess it's only natural to want to play it constantly until the novelty wears off. The game is quite shallow to be honest, but it's what one would class as a "guilty pleasure". I'm really really really tired tonight by the way, just thought I'd share...

Blueberry Classic Bitter (Coach House)

Name: Blueberry Classic Bitter
Label: "Brewed in Cheshire"
Brewery: Coach House Brewing Co.
ABV: 5.0%

Rating: An exceptionally great tasting beer. This is now my favourite beer of all time and has knocked Banana Bread Beer off the number one spot. I love you Coach House! Some name-dropping on the bottle too, Maris Otter barley grown by James Fawcett and hops grown by Geoff Thompson. Swish.

Game: Split/Second arrived today from Zavvi (took two weeks to arrive...) and initial impressions are good. Played it for about an hour so far and graphics look great and the explosions and destruction look wicked. I was expecting the cars to be fast enough to make me feel sick but they're not yet. Hopefully faster cars can be unlocked.  As an aside, one of my children made me feel a bit sick today, by throwing up all over me in the middle of Asda. The poor little tike.

Keltek Gold (Keltek Brewery)

Name: Keltek Gold
Label: "The Keltek Brewery is a multi-award winning Brewery situated in Redruth, Cornwall"
Brewery: Keltek Brewery
ABV: 3.8%

Rating: "Traditionally brewed with hops and barley, this light golden ale is pale and fruity with a citrus bias." I'd like to go to Cornwall on holiday again, that's if it's ok with the Cornish people of course as I get the impression they don't particularly approve.

Game: I finally got Oblivion by the way. After all these years I've finally got round to getting it and it seems to be a rather large game.  The graphics look a little dated but that's a minor issue. The hours fly by when you play this game, it literally eats time. Elder Scrolls IV: The Eater of Time it should have been called.

Ridgeway Bitter (Ridgeway)

Name: Ridgeway Bitter
Label: "Leaf hops, Maris Otter, South Stoke RG8 0JW Oxfordshire"
Brewery: Ridgeway Brewing
ABV: 4.0%

Rating: Another CAMRA approved real ale. They choose the hops not just by farm but by individual garden and time of harvest. So you'd think it would be good... and it is!

Game: Dead Space 2 has gotten highly addictive again. Two playthrus so far and soon I'll be trying to attempt the Hard Core mode which only allows you to save your game three times during the whole of the single player story! I get the feeling attempting this is going to make me angry. And you wouldn't like me when I'm angry. Actually, you probably wouldn't like me when I'm not angry either, but hey ho.

Port Stout (O'Hanlon's)

Name: Port Stout
Label: "The Original - Superbly smooth, enriched with rich ruby port. Often imitated, never equalled. Made with fresh clean water from our own well. SIBA Champion - World beer cup silver - CAMRA champion"
Brewery: O'Hanlon's
ABV: 4.8%

Rating: It also says on the bottle "..is inspired by traditional morning after reviver, as dispensed by kindly Irish barmen." If that means what I think it means then I can see why it doesn't also say "please drink responsibly" on the bottle. Tastes superb anyway.

Game: More brown trousers time as Dead Space 2 hits my screen. Seems I've only just finished the New Year champagne and already a Game of the Year contender arrives. I didn't really have any champagne by the way, but I did get Dead Space 2.  And it's bloody violent, with a capital bloody. Theres also multiplayer which seems a bit tacked on but the single player campaign is mega. 9/10

Applewood Cider (Badger)

Name: Applewood Cider
Label: "Oak aged - Scrumptious to the core - produced in Somerset"
Brewery: Badger
ABV: 6.0%

Rating: Its not real ale but its made by Badger so I thought I'd give it a try (and it does have "Dorset Ales" embossed on the bottle). When I was a teenager I went to one of those horrible parties round at some persons house and drank rancid cider. I was sick, the party was shit, I had a terrible hangover and I hated cider from that day forth. Thanks to this I can now drink cider again without fear. "Its oaky, wood-infused notes are created by maturing the cider in oak vats - hence the name Applewood."

Game: Finished all the Christmas games. Kane & Lynch 2 was pretty good but can't really get into the multiplayer, which seems to be its focus after a relatively short single player campaign. 7.5 out of 10. Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions was pretty good but its no Batman Arkham Ayslum 7.5 out of 10. Finally got Need for Speed Hot Pursuit which is difficult to put down. Just one more race....

Black Gold (Cairngorm)

Name: Black Gold
Label: "Silver medal, winter beer of Scotland 2007/8 - Champion beer of Scotland 2005"
Brewery: Cairngorm
ABV: 4.4%

Rating: Not a bottled ale this time.  I went to a "pub" and bought some ale, we should be supporting the pubs. In this case it was a Wetherspoons - some people like to pronounce it Witherspoons for some reason. I have no idea why... Anyway, the ale - a Scottish stout with a wonderful rich dark colour. A smooth full bodied beer with subtle bitterness giving way to late sweetness and underlying roast barley hints.

Game: Some games are criminally underrated and some are criminally overrated. Yes it should definitely be a criminal offence to underrate or overrate games.  Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is definitely one of those underrated games. I've previously given it a 9 out of 10 and stand by the rating after finishing it. Buy it. Its great.

Battle of Britain (The Wolf Brewery)

Name: Battle of Britain
Label: "Royal Air Force Battle of Britain 70th Anniversary 1940 - 2010, 10p donated to the RAF Association's Wings Appeal"
Brewery: The Wolf Brewery
ABV: 3.9%

Rating: This copper coloured, full bodied ale has been brewed specially to commemorate 'The Few'. 2353 young men from Great Britain and 574 from overseas, who are officially recognised as having taken part in the Battle of Britain, of whom 544 lost their lives during the period of the Battle.

Game: Happy new year! Christmas has come and gone in the blink of an eye and it's nearly time to go back to work. Luckily for him, Santa did as promised and delivered Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Kane & Lynch 2 and Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions. Castlevania is similar to Dante's Inferno so that immediately makes it great.  It looks amazing and  also has Robert Carlyle and Patrick Stewart on voiceover duties. And its on two discs! 9 out of 10.

India Pale Ale (Finchley's)

Name: India Pale Ale
Label: "A style of beer enjoyed by generations - Brewed using only the finest ingredients - Specially selected"
Brewery: Finchley's
ABV: 4.5%

Rating: Pale & crystal malts combine with spicy and fruity hops to give a luscious flavour. This style of beer evolved from the strong, hoppy, beers that had the character to retain their refreshing flavour on the long sea voyage to India in the days of the East India Company.  Is that when the British Empire used to go to other countries and say "This is nice, we'll take it"?

Game: This week I've been playing a "Facebook game". It's shameful I know but it's worth a mention because it's quite good. It's Assassin's Creed Project Legacy and you do missions and stuff. It's kind of turned based strategy where you need to earn money, equipment and action points to progress through the missions. Sounds rather yawnsome but it's actually quite addictive. You can give it a go yourself here: Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy. 7/10

Golden Pale Ale (Finchley's)

Name: Golden Pale Ale
Label: "A style of beer enjoyed by generations - Savour the taste of this superbly refreshing Golden Pale Ale, Brewed using only the finest ingredients - Specially selected"
Brewery: Finchley's
ABV: 4.2%

Rating: A beer from Aldi. Yes, Aldi. The only place that makes shopping for food feel like you're at a jumble sale. Nice one.

Game: DLC time again and it's the Battle for Endor on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2.  Similar to the first games DLC, the level is short and sweet with a few achievements chucked in.  Except this time at a measly 80 microsoft points, it's ten (10) times cheaper than the previous add-ons. Splendid: 8/10