Wild Bills IPA (Harpers)

Name: Wild Bills IPA
Label: "American IPA - Biscuit and spice balance with big hop citrus fruit aromas."
Brewery: Harper's
ABV: 5.0%

Tasting notes: "Pale ale biscuity malt flavours reinforced by spicy crystal rye malt and a sweet full bodied mouthfeel. Well balanced with big American hop aromas for a peppery lemon zest and tropical citrus fruit hit."

Game: Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection includes all the DLC. So it was with some surprise when I was completely unable to locate the Da Vinci Disappearance missions in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood having played through the main story missions. Being thick does have it downsides it would seem. For others in the same thicky boat, the Da Vinci Disappearance can be found by going to the "Restored Memory" icon on the map which be looking like this:

Land of Liberty (Sadlers)

Name: Land of Liberty
Label: "American Style IPA. A zesty citrus sweet taste with an aroma to match with a hint of grapefruit and sweet malts"
Brewery: Sadler's
ABV: 5.0%

Tasting notes: "Clear straw yellow beer with a rich aroma of citrus leading to a taste of zesty citrus, grapefruit and some sweet malts."

Game: Certainly one, if not the, best Batman story in game form, Batman: The Telltale Series comes to a close with Episode 5: City of Light. Overall, the series has been gory and deals with some scary stuff and Batman kicks ass. That's pretty much all you need to know, so get playing!

Series rating: 9 batarangs out of 10

Knickerbocker Glory (Flavourly)

Name: Knickerbocker Glory
Label: "Cherry - Vanilla"
Brewery: Flavourly (or someone on behalf of...)
ABV: 4.5%

Tasting notes: "Black Forest Stout"

Game: No new games for Christmas but the kidz are on Just Dance 2016. They're good at it. I'm like a fat, wheezing, uncoordinated octopus.  No more just dancing for me, I'll stick to just drinking.

Game rating: 8 perfect moves out of 10
My dancing rating: 1 wheeze out of 10

Pale Ale (Ticketybrew)

Name: Pale Ale
Label: "Citrus and floral aromas"
Brewery: The Ticketybrew Company
ABV: 5.5%

Tasting notes: "Handsomely hopped with classic West Coast American flavours, this pale ale has citrus and floral aromas and a perfect balance of bitter and sweet."

Game: Achievement hunting in Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection has the potential to not be fun. "Sweep 5 guards with a long weapon", "Steal 1000 florins", "Steal 5 horses from horseback without touching the ground", "Kill a guard with a broom", "Air assassinate 2 guards during a leap of faith using only seagull beaks whilst hiring Courtesans under ground". Still, we'll give it a good go.

Achievement rating: 9 potential annoyances out of 10

IPA (Vedett)

Name: IPA
Label: "IPA, but not really from India and not really a pale ale" - fair enough
Brewery: Vedett
ABV: 5.5%

Tasting notes: "A hoppy aroma & fruity notes - scrubbing your palate with malty undertones"

Game: It's a revelation. Assassin's Creed Revelations in remastered 4K on Xbox One S!  Graphically it looks spot on, gameplay is smooth as yum and Ezio sports a sweet beard. Didn't remember much of this game from the 360 days but it's great. Finished. Now the Ezio Collection becomes a very big collect-em-up. Stabby collecting time.

Revelations rating: 9 beards of 10

Strong Pale Ale (Gun)

Name: Strong Pale Ale
Label: "Velo Dog - Brewed using Sussex spring water, pale malts and lots of refreshing zesty hops"
Brewery: Gun Brewery
ABV: 5.5%

Tasting notes: "A strong American Pale Ale brewed using a combination of very pale malts and lots of refreshing zesty hops."

Game: We detest endless runners. They're a bit like pissing in the wind... or running in the wind for that matter, both wind related activities being pretty horrible. Trust then, in Nintendo to make a mobile app runner that ends and is Mario!  Mario runs automatically and you just tap to jump. Sounds over-simplistic, no? Getting those fiendish special coins takes a seriously high level of tapping skills though.

Rating: 9 toads out of 10

Ten Story Malt Bomb (Alechemy)

Name: Ten Story Malt Bomb
Label: "Modern 80/-"
Brewery: Alechemy
ABV: 4.5%

Tasting notes: "A modern take on the traditional Scottish 80/- using 10 varieities of malt" This means 80 shillings by the way. A way of labelling the worth/strength, so a stronger beer would by 90/-. The currency is no longer used but this labelling system is er, also no longer used... except on this beer it would seem. We likes it. A lot.

Game: Trying out Burnout Paradise, Xbox 360 backwards compatible and free with Games with Gold. It's good. Although I tend to get bored of randomly driving round a city doing stunts and stuff. Give me a hidden blade and some Templar necks to slice any day. However, missed Burnout first time round and this has lots of potential. The bit where you bounce a trashed car down the road trashing as many other cars as you can being a highlight at the moment.

Initial rating: 7 wrecks out of 10

De Koninck (Antwerp City)

Name: De Koninck
Label: "Antwerp City Brewery Since 1833"
Brewery: Antwerp City Brewery
ABV: 5.2%

Tasting notes: "Antwaarpse Pale Ale - The taste of Antwerp. Of rugged docks and bustling terraces. Of carrier bikes and long summer nights by the river. The city in a bottle."  Belgium tastes well nice if this is anything to go by!

Game: It's definitive edition time. Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition. We love definitive editions because they are definite.  And this one is definitely about an undercover cop in Shanghai hitting people and driving around irresponsibly.  So far so good. Get it free via Games with Gold, while stocks lasts. Stocks being time...

Initial rating: 8 environmental take-downs out of 10

Paquita Brown (Tyris)

Name: Paquita Brown
Label: "Tyris Craft & Creative Beers"
Brewery: Tyris
ABV: 5.2%

Tasting notes: "Paquita Brown vive al limite: solo bebe cerveza sin filtrar, directa del fermentador. Paqui pasa lupulo de contrabando de las mejores cosechas. Esta botella contiene su cerveza favorita, una Brown ale dulce, cremosa e intensa monovarietal de lupulo simcoe, sin tonterias. Paquita disfruta de cada cerveza como si fuera la ultima."

Game: Two games on the GamingAles radar: Resident Evil 7 and Mass Effect Andromeda. What dates are they out we hear no-one ask... will let's tell you. *checks some release date listing somewhere:

Resident Evil 7: 24/01/2017
Mass Effect Andromeda: 31/03/2017

Rating: 1 annoying wait out of 10

Rhapsody (Alechemy)

Name: Rhapsody
Label: "Session Pale Ale"
Brewery: Alechemy
ABV: 3.8%

Tasting notes: "A light session pale ale. Gentle light aroma and flavour with Chinook & Columbus hops"

Game: Quick one: Star Wars Battlefront Rogue One: Scarif DLC.  It's got Walker Assault, Turning Point and... Zzzzzzz. Same old stuff to be honest but still great because there's a space battle then you can go on the beach or go in a jungle. New skins, new weapons and two new 'heroes' Jyn Erso and Orson Krennic. New film is out in FIVE days. Excited face.

Rating: 8 no spoilers out of 10

Vipa (Tyris)

Name: Vipa
Label: "Cerveza Artesanal"
Brewery: Tyris Craft & Creative Beers
ABV: 6.1%

Tasting notes: "En el siglo XVIII, las colonias indias britanicas demandaban cerveza. El maestro cervercero George Hodgson creo una receta con mas alcohol y una lupulacion mas potente para que soportara las contingencias del viaje, que podia durar hasta 3 meses. Asi nace VIPA, nuestra Valencian Indian Pale Ale" -  OK wow, my Italian isn't that great but from what I can tell, this is an Indian Pale Ale from Valencia that George Hodgson brewed cos some dudes demanded beer in the 18th century...?

Game: Time to play Gears of War 4. Not describing it because you know what Gears of War is about. This time it's just got bigger, badder monsters and some rubbish robots at the beginning. Brill though. And this time it actually contains some massive gears and cogs. Massive, massive gears and cogs.

Rating: 8 generic robots out of 10

Smoked Rye (Gun Brewery)

Name: Smoked Rye
Label: "Base Ejection - A satisfying balance of spice and smoke, brewed using Sussex spring water. Vegan."
Brewery: Gun Brewery
ABV: 4.7%

Tasting notes: "Our refreshing modern take on a classic Bavarian recipe has a subtle spiciness from rye blended with a hint of German beech smoked malt. The result is a satisfying balance of flavours - enjoy! A hobo was simply a migratory laborer; he may have taken some longish holidays but sooner or later he returned to work. His life was a dangerous one. To help cope with its uncertainties, hobos developed a system, which they would chalk on walls to provide directions, information and warnings to others. The symbol in our logo means Man With Gun Lives Here. But fear not, our beer won't force you to raise your hands any higher than your hips."

Game: Quick go of Far Cry: Blood Dragon. It's movies from the 80's in video game form. It's great but can't help thinking they could have just done a Far Cry game with proper dinosaurs in it.

Rating: 7 missed opportunities out of 10

Single-Wide IPA (Boulevard)

 Name: Single-Wide IPA
Label: "India Pale Ale"
Brewery: Boulevard Brewing Co
ABV: 5.7%

Tasting notes: Loving these American IPA's. This one is made in Kansas. No idea what Single-Wide means? Possibly related to the caravan that is pictured on the label. Strange, it doesn't taste like caravan, which is probably a good thing. Anyway, day 3 of December and beer 3 of the beer advent calendar. Yes, an advent calendar full of beer. Thanks Flavourly Craft Beer Club!

Game: Finished Assassin's Creed 2 (Xbox One Ezio Collection version). The Polygon site has mentioned that the NPC's are looking really weird and that the remaster is really bad. Just to clarify, it's not a really bad remaster. NPCs are random, the colour contrast and resolution has been boosted, some NPCs faces look a little odd as a result. No biggie. Looks like criticism for criticisms sake. Sorry, for click-baits sake. The weirdest thing about this situation is the fact that Polygon's level of journalism seems is even more amateurish than GamingAles. Amazing! :)

AC2 remaster rating: 8 polygons out of 10.

Hibernator Bock (Mordue)

Name: Hibernator Bock
Label: "New World Bock"
Brewery: Panda Frog Project, Mordue Brewery Experimental Arm, Created from the twisted genius that is Robert Millichamp (Head Brewer) and the occasional rationality of the Fawson Brothers
ABV: 6.3%

Tasting notes: "Malt centred amber coloured bock style beer, caramelised grain over herbal hop notes."

Game: Free game week thanks to Xbox Live Games with Gold. Today's game: Outland. Think we are loving Ubisoft a bit too much at the moment. Fun fact you see, it's a game developed by Housemarque and published by Ubisoft. And it looks amazing AF and jolly colourful! Slowly picking up lots of special moves and features that will know doubt be forgotten as we progress.

Rating: 8 mistimed jumps out of 10.

Coffee Anise Porter (Ticketybrew)

Name: Coffee Anise Porter
Label: "An alluring coffee anise porter with a sweet and spicy flavour"
Brewery: The Ticketybrew Company
ABV: 5.1%

Tasting notes: "Known for its fruit and floral notes, we've used Ethiopian coffee in this porter to create rich flavour and chocolate aromas. Combined with a background of gentle aniseed, this is luxurious, yet comforting."

Game: So after the Xbox 360 Tomb Raider remaster for Xbox One, GamingAles decided to never buy a remaster that we've already played on the older console. Not because they're bad, but because we've already played them and unless you play them side-by-side *whispers* you can't really tell the difference. But screw that rule because Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection is out! We get to play Assassin's Creed 2, Brotherhood and Revelations all the way through again on Xbox One! Amazing games, remastered at about a tenner a pop. Bring it.

Rating: 10 neck stabs out of 10

Old Spooky Hen (Morland)

Name: Old Spooky Hen
Label: "Crafted Fine Ale - Limited Edition Bottle"
Brewery: Morland
ABV: 5.0%

Tasting notes: It's exactly like the normal Old Speckled Hen but way way way way scarier.

Game: The GamingAles Assassin's Creed addiction continues this week with Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD.  This is an Xbox 360 port of the PS Vita game Assassin's Creed III: Liberation. Unsurprisingly it really shows too with the ropey graphics and at times dodgy free-running. However, that doesn't make it a bad game by any means... au contraire! (that's French for, "so shut up criticising").  It's an interesting aside to the "main" AC games and well worth a look. Plus you get to stab alligators in the eyes and steal their eggs. Just cos.

Rating: 6.5 alligator eyes out of 10

Scarlet Macaw (Oakham)

Name: Scarlet Macaw
Brewery: Oakham Ales
ABV: 4.8%

Tasting notes: "This beer gets its great flavour from a skillful blend of two hops from the Yakima Valley. Amarillo for it's spicy fruity character & Summit which is the most pugnacious of all American hops! Tart gooseberry and soft peach on the nose. Gooseberries and fruit to taste, before an intense bitterness that's as sharp as a macaw's screech!"

Game: Time to revisit Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China this week. We reviewed it back in April 2015 but *whispers* never actually finished it! Well now, consider it finished and it's good for that 8/10 rating it originally received. For a 2.5D side-scroller it looks absolutely stunning. In fact, there're now loads of lipstick kisses all over the telly.

Rating: still 8 kick-stabs out of 10 x x x

Farmhouse Ale (Cwrw Cwm Gwaun)

Name: Farmhouse Ale
Label: "Brewed in Pembrokeshire"
Brewery: Cwrw Cwm Gwaun
ABV: 4.0%

Tasting notes: "Made with the best British hops, this ale has a moderate bitterness with a rich malty flavour and a delightfully crisp finish made with pure spring water."

Game: It's November, forget about all the new releases, it's Assassin's Creed time! Missed out on Assassin's Creed Rogue first time around because the Xbox One had just come out (why play an Xbox 360 game when we have something new and shiny)?  So with Ubisoft's heinous decision to take a break from releasing a new AC game in 2016, what better time to play Rogue to fill that gaping Assassin's Creed shaped hole this winter?  There's even snow and ice in the game. Perfect.
Rating: 8.5 stabs out of 10

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

Unmistakably Bills (Caledonian)

Name: Unmistakably Bill's
Label: "500ml of illustriously descriptive pale ale for post-match commentary"
Brewery: Caledonian Brewery
ABV: 4.6%

Tasting notes: "To honour the spirit of rugby legend Bill McLaren, we have prepared this profound pale ale. Brewed with a cunning balance of memorable malt and appealing hop, a beer bursting with character - just like the big man himself. So raise your glass and a cheer. Here's to Bill."

Game: It's the crazy winter game season again! Fixture pileup! Today is Mafia 3. So far, so amazing! Great story. The only problem is there's a lot of the "N" word here. Yep, that's right, NIPPLES. So many nipples on the playboy magazines and Vargas paintings that are lying around.
Initial rating: 8 nipples out of 10.

Golden Ale (John Smiths)

Name: Golden Ale
Label: "Tadcaster Brewery"
Brewery: John Smiths (Heineken)
ABV: 4.0%

Tasting notes: "A refreshing and lightly hopped Golden Ale."

Game: Tempted for Forza Horizon 3. The reviews are saying it's the best racing game ever and giving it between 9 and 10 out of 10. Well *I'LL* be the judge of that thank you very much, by playing the demo for two minutes. *plays demo for two minutes* - wow it's ace! But is it worth getting when I've just been given Forza Horizon 2 for free on Games with Gold...?
Demo rating: 8 petrols out of 10