Artesian Dark Ale (Shepherd Neame)

Name: Artesian Dark Ale
Label: "Brewed with Artesian Water"
Brewery: Shepherd Neame
ABV: 3.8%

Tasting notes: "This delicious ale is hand-crafted using chalk-filtered mineral water from the artesian well deep below our brewery. Amber in colour, it is a complex, full flavoured beer combining aromas of fruits and spices with rich biscuity malts."

Game: I've been playing Life Is Strange for a few weeks now. As it's an episodic story-driven thing I've left it til the end of Episode 4 to review a fuller experience. And wow, what a great story, it's deep and veers from the whimsical to the depressingly heavy and dark - they even mention if you're affected by the story and need support, visit www.lifeisstrange.com/talk for details of who to contact i.e. the Samaritans :(  Epic twists and some amazing end of episode cliffhangers keep you hooked though. And woah, I'm super-excited for the finale as it's going to be hella awesomes - that's how they talk in the game by the way.  It's a little grating at first but you totally get over it, and even like, start to talk like that in real life? Rating: a totally epic 8/10

Nice (Fyne Ales)

Name: Nice
Label: "White IPA - Outstanding Craft Beer - Fyne Ales is a Scottish brewery dedicated to brewing outstanding craft beer with passion and integrity"
Brewery: Fyne Ales
ABV: 5.2%

Tasting notes: "Nice is the beer for those who have been perfect angels this year, a white IPA with a fresh citrus aroma. Nice gets it's very pale, almost white, colour from the addition of wheat to the brew while Motueka, Stella, Galaxy and Citra hops along with fresh citrus peel give the beer a heavenly citrus character."

Game: Just realised I've not played a Sierra game for about 25 years, the last one probably being King's Quest V on PC. Well rejoice because King's Quest is back on this-gen consoles and I realise I'm suddenly old!  It's no longer a point-and-click adventure but who cares, it's still got the obtuse puzzles but not quite as obtuse as yester-year, or maybe I'm just slightly less thick 25 years on? Things like, use meat with bush (not a euphemism), use wooly socks on knight etc. There's also the great art style and now superb voice acting. There might have been great voice acting years ago but I didn't have a soundcard. So, overall I'm well pleased to be playing this.  Episode 1: 8/10.  Now if only they would reboot Space Quest and Police Quest...

Ruby Ale (Tesco)

Name: Ruby Ale
Label: "Rich & Smooth Roasted Barley Character"
Brewery: Tesco - can't actually see a brewery name on the bottle so we'll just go with Tesco.
ABV: 4.1%

Tasting notes: "Full of flavoursome roasted barley malt, ruby in colour with a rich fruity taste and dry bitterness to finish."   Tesco is the best supermarket cos they now make beer!

Game: It's that time of year again, PES and FIFA time. As FIFA 14 and FIFA 15 seemed identical to me, I've opted for PES 2016 this year. Seemed like the same old PES routine at first, turn off appalling menu music, check, rename all the English teams to the real names, check, rename all the stadiums, check. Yaaaaaaaaawn. But the actual footy is brilliant! Other than the atrocious graphics on crowd close-ups spoiling the illusion a bit, the actual playing of the footballs is superb 9/10.

Shipwreck IPA (Eden Brewery)

Name: Shipwreck IPA
Label: "Traditionally brewed and bottled in Scotland by an artisan brewing process"
Brewery: Eden Brewery
ABV: 6.2%

Tasting notes: "Traditionally beer would have been highly hopped and strong in alcohol so it could survive long shipping journeys to allow our ancestral expats to enjoy quality beers from home shores; this is where we have taken our inspiration for our Shipwreck IPA. Jam packed with English, American and Australian hops, our IPA has a well balanced, yet complex, deep hoppy flavour with rich, zesty and tropical aromas. Please don't drink and sail."

Game: So is the EA Access subscription any good? Well... yes! Yes it is! Downloaded a bunch of American sports games I've not played before like NBA Live 15 (basketball), NHL15 (hockey), UFC (fighting), FIFA 15 (soccer), Battlefield 4 (rifle club).  They're all kinda old as you can tell from the year and/or number after the title, but considering you get around 10 games for £19.99 a year it's not bad. And hopefully EA will add more titles and branch out from American sports games a bit in future.

Barney's Volcano IPA (Summerhall)

Name: Barney's Volcano IPA
Label: "Sorachi Ace"
Brewery: Summerhall Brewery
ABV: 5.0%

Tasting notes: "A collaboration with Japanese illustrator, Ryoko Tamura. Barney's Volcano IPA made with Sorachi Ace hops, originally cultivated in Japan." Mmmm, volcano beer!

Game: Trying the free Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes game to see if it can tempt me to buy Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which I guess was Microsoft's fiendish plan all along.  I like it! However, I don't love it. I think there's something wrong with stealth games in general. Example, when the shit hits the fan and all the alarms go off and you end up killing half the enemies in a particular area, then hide for a bit until the alarm stops, the remaining guards just go back to their regular positions thinking you've suddenly left the area. Like, at least pick up your colleagues's's dead bodies rather than leaving them strewn about the place? And do you really think I've left the area? Plus do you not think you should put some extra guards around that really high-profile prisoner I'm trying to rescue?

Sunburst (Inveralmond Brewery)

Name: Sunburst
Label: "Inspiration Series #1 - Bohemian Pilsner - Saaz & Hallertau Hersbrucker Hops"
Brewery: Inveralmond Brewery
ABV: 4.8%

Tasting notes: "Sunburst is the only authentic Czech pilsner brewed in Scotland. We combine pilsner malts with soft Perthshire waters and ignite this with the enticing aromas of Saaz and Hallertau Hersbrucker hops. We then let loose our yeast, sourced from one of the oldest brewing sites in Prague. The result? An inimitable blend of continental class and Scottish substance in an infinitely enjoyable lager." Not sure what's with all the lager recently, but it IS craft ale I guess.

Game: Witcher 3 is slowly but surely wrapping up I think... after about 3000 hours of playing it. Still not bored with it either. Although I have managed to piss off both of Geralt's love interests in the game. Couldn't decide who to romance, so er.. tried both and now they both won't talk to me. Strangely this did actually annoy me for a bit, even though 'it's only a game'. Serves him (me) right though the stupid two-timing asshat.

This. Is. Lager. (BrewDog)

Name: This. Is. Lager.
Label: "21st Century Pilsner"
Brewery: BrewDog
ABV: 4.7%

Tasting notes: "This. Is. Exactly. What. Lager. Should. Taste. Like. Full. Bodied. Full. Of. Bite. Floral. Spicy. Sharp. Bitter. Crafted. From. A. Full. Malted. Barley. Base. Matured. For. Five. Weeks. Made. With. No. Short. Cuts. And. Reclaimed. In. Honour. Of. The. Great. German. And. Bohemian. Pilsners. Of. The. 19th. Century. A. Shock. To. The. System. Maybe. But. A. Good. One. A. Really. Good. One. This. Is. Lager. Reclaimed. Perfected. Renewed. This. Is. Lager. As. It. Should. Be. End. Of."  Think BrewDog have gone a bit mad with the fullstops. What. The. Full. Stop. Pull out all the stops and you're just left with great tasting lager :)

Game: Started New Game + Batman: Arkham Knight, partly in the hope I can pick up missing / glitched Riddler trophies. NG+ is totally difficult by the way! Unlike in real life, you no longer see the wiggly lines above the baddies heads just before they attack you.  This makes it tricky to counter.

But forget that, check out the 1989 movie Batmobile! It's lived up to expectations, racing around Joker / Penguin themed tracks based on the movies. The Tumbler is the next Batmobile available soon as DLC. Looking forward to that and some more tracks.

Bombardier Glorious English (Wells)

Name: Bombardier Glorious English
Label: "Damned Tasty Rich & Fruity English Beer"
Brewery: Wells
ABV: 4.7%

Tasting notes: "Chaaarge your glasses Troops and enjoy a proper English beer!  Savour the distinct aroma, then surrender to the perfect balance of malty richness, tangy hops and sultana fruit on the palate. Brace yourself for a long soft spicy finish. Bang On!"

Game: OK, I fully appreciate it's not the end of the world, but after hours of collecting 239 Riddler trophies in Batman: Arkham Knight I'm dismayed to discover the remaining trophies are glitched. Ironically the Riddler mocks you saying "5 trophies to go Batman, you're just too stupid to find them." Er, no... the game is too GLITCHED to let me find them and in some cases I already found them (example below)! I love this game but this is slightly annoying to not be able to get the last four trophies and 100% completion. Still, I has beer :)

Guinness Golden Ale

Name: Guinness Golden Ale
Label: "Brewed with the finest hops, Irish barley and a specially selected amber malt - The Brewers Project"
Brewery: Guinness & Co
ABV: 4.5%

Tasting notes: "A group of enterprising brewers on a quest to explore new recipes, reinterpret old ones and collaborate freely to bring exciting beers to life. A beautifully balanced ale with a rich golden hue. The subtle biscuit flavours of the malted barley perfectly complement the pleasing bitterness and delicate, fruity hop aroma, giving way to a refreshing crisp finish."

Game: Hang on to your be-caped butts BatPeople, the 1989 movie pack for Batman Arkham Knight is out next week!  Yes, the one with the awesome new (old) Batmobile.  So far this THIRTY TWO quid season pass has bought me a one hour level of Batgirl, i.e. re-skinned Batman, #RippedOffFace (sounds painful - that was supposed to be like #sadface but more related to being ripped off financially, but it reads like something really violent, still valid I guess).

Strongarm (Camerons)

Name: Strongarm
Label: "Ruby Red Ale"
Brewery: Camerons
ABV: 4.3%

Tasting notes: "Strongarm is the brewery's flagship ale. First brewed in 1955 this is a well rounded, ruby red ale with a distinctive, tight creamy head. Strongarm delivers an initial sweet surge of flavour followed by a delicious malty taste. A North East classic ale!"

Game: Slowly progressing with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Now well into visiting the Skellige Isles and been reacquainted with "Uma, the ugliest man alive and the victim of a curse." Nice of CD Projekt Red to include me in their game. They said they would but I didn't realise it would be as such an integral character to the plot.