Bombardier Reserve - The Colonel's Choice (Wells)

Name: Bombardier Reserve - The Colonel's Choice
Label: "A rich and well rounded hoppy ale- Premium beer"
Brewery: Wells
ABV: 6.0%

Rating: "If you like hops, you'll simply love this beer. Yes, there are more hops in this beer than you can shake a stick at. Bang On! It's rich and well rounded, just like the Colonel himself. He says it'll put hairs on the hairs on your chest. After a hard day on the battlefield, you deserve it. Go on, put your feet up and enjoy."

I'm not sure who the Colonel is (presumably not the fried chicken dude), but he's got awesome taste in beer!

Game: It's just 11 days until Batman Arkham Origins! To celebrate I'm getting to grips with Batman Arkham City Lockdown on the iPad. Similar to Infinity Blade, you swipe the screen to slash your sword but in this case it's Batman's fists obviously.  I don't think he owns a sword? And if he did it needs writing out of the history books post-haste. A Bat-sword? No thanks! Anyway, the game is a pretty good slug-fest (not slugs, bats). There's quite a steep learning curve but once mastered, get donning your cowl and enjoy some satisfying take-downs and interesting boss fights and cameos. Well worth a look. 7/10.

Liberty Ale (Anchor Brewing Co)

Name: Liberty Ale
Label: "San Francisco's famous Liberty Ale was first brewed on the 18th of April, 1975, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Paul Revere's historic ride"
Brewery: Anchor Brewing Co
ABV: 5.9%

Rating: "Made with the finest barley malt; fresh, whole hops; top-fermenting yeast; pure water; and the simple, natural methods that reflect our exceptional respect for the ancient art of brewing." This is imported from the U. S. of A.

Game: After playing the Batman: Arkham City DLC, I seem to find myself playing through the whole game again. I've discovered the Game Plus Mode you see, which lets you play through a tougher version of the game but with all your XP and unlocked gadgets carried over. And I've still got Crysis 2 to finish. Why can't I get on with that game? It's perfectly good, but every time I think of playing it, the word "meh" appears in my mind and repeats itself over and over, getting faster and faster and faster and louder and louder until I pass out from over-exposure to meh! I don't even like the word "meh"!

Indus Pale Ale (Thwaites)

Name: Indus Pale Ale
Label: "Thoroughly hoppy flavour - Refreshing amber ale, brewed with four hop varieties for superb taste and aroma."
Brewery: Thwaites
ABV: 4.6%

Rating: "When Daniel Thwaites was embarking on his brewing career, the INDUS would have been voyaging to the East Indies - trading Lancashire cotton for exotic Eastern delights. Our INDUS Pale Ale celebrates ales of that period with a refreshing brew enriched with abundant hops for flavour that stays fresh and crisp to the finish." Tonight I'm celebrating the Queen's Jubilee in the same way as all other Royal occasions, by drinking excellent beer and playing video games.

Game: Downloaded Harley Quinn's Revenge DLC for Batman: Arkham City. This is definitely what DLC should all be about. Put simply, it's a proper, hefty piece of story driven content. You get to play as Robin as well as Batman. It was only 800 Microsoft points. Raise your glass to Rocksteady, the bestest maker of games this side of Rockstar and Bethesda.

Ruthless Rye IPA (Sierra Nevada)

Name: Ruthless Rye IPA
Label: "Purest ingredients - Finest quality - Use bottle opener" Yes the bottle cap really does advise us to use a bottle opener. Shame, I was going to use my eye socket.
Brewery: Sierra Nevada
ABV: 6.6%

Rating: "Ruthless Rye IPA is brewed with this rustic grain for refined flavours - combining the peppery spice of rye and the bright citrusy flavors of whole-cone hops to create a complex ale for the tumultuous transition to Spring." I'm reliably informed that these American beers are getting better than our homegrown brews. On this evidence they may not be better but they're definitely as good as. Seek them out!

Game: Like with The Witcher 2, I seem to be playing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning without any other games getting a look in. For me this is a sure-fire way to getting totally jaded with the current game. I need to mix it up a bit... starting tomorrow.  And with Batman Arkham City DLC incoming at the end of May, I'll be forced away from RPG'ing anyway.  Bring on Harley Quinn and proper DLC, which isn't just new multiplayer maps or character skins like most DLC seems to be. Three cheers for Rocksteady! Hic, Hic, Hooray!

March of the Penguins (Williams Bros)

Name: March of the Penguins
Label: "Smooth creamy stout - Microbrewed for maximum flavour! - Brewed in Alloa"
Brewery: Williams Bros Brewing Co
ABV: 4.9%

Rating: "A silky smooth stout brewed with a blend of chocolate malt and roasted barley combined with lovely hop aromas and a spicy, fruity finish." Drink this whilst fighting the Penguin in Arkham City. Gotta be done.

Game: Perrenial nipple-head MP Keith Vaz is at it again spouting his hateful bullshit in the direction of video games. This time he's linking Modern Warfare 3 to the July 7 London bombings. A pretty disgusting thing to say really just to gain some cheap publicity. One chap on Facebook added a great comment something along the lines of, "AGAINST pretend war, FOR real war. Interesting moral position."

I'd like to lob a little hate-filled hand grenade in Vaz's general direction, but I'm not a violent person. Even though I've been playing violent games for the past twenty five years!

Norfolk Bitter (Woodforde's)

Name: Norfolk Bitter
Label: "Brewed at Woodforde's Broadland Brewery, Woodbastwick, Norfolk - Smooth with a subtle hint of citrus fruits"
Brewery: Woodforde's
ABV: 4.5%

Rating: "A perfect match for... Caramelised crispy pork belly and roast meats."  That's proper food and ale right there.

Game: Got so many massive games on the go at the moment, Skyrim, MW3, Assassins Creed Revelations, Batman etc. I spend about half an hour each gaming session arguing with myself about which game to put on. Yeah I hate being bi-polar, it's awesome. Opted for Modern Warfare 3 tonight. It's very violent. In fact, it's quite horrible if you consider the level of realism. It just reminds you how shit war really is. War should be banned. From now on countries should settle all their arguments and power struggles on Team Deathmatch instead. No more senseless waste of life. Result.

Pendle Witches Brew (Moorhouse's)

Name: Pendle Witches Brew
Label: "A light golden beer, soft, crisp and bitter-sweet flavours"
Brewery: Moorhouse's
ABV: 5.1%

Rating: Great beer, I've only drank it once before and that was at a beer festival about fifteen years ago. At least I think it was this beer, the memories are fuzzy, bordering on non-existent...

Game: In the last post I mentioned my Halloween date with Calendar Man in Batman: Arkham City. Well what an anti-climax that was! I didn't even get an invite into his cell. No meal, no coffee, no film. See you at Thanksgiving! When the heck is Thanksgiving anyway? And how come those lucky Americans get Thanksgiving and Christmas, whilst we only get Christmas?

Spooks Ale (Shepherd Neame)

Name: Spooks Ale
Label: "The official ghost brew for All Hallows - Drink if you dare - Gall of Shepherd, Slip of Neame, Silver'd in the Kents moon dream - Double double boil & bubble, hops brown & barley stubble"
Brewery: Shepherd Neame
ABV: 4.7%

Rating: "A classic beer of true quality, Spooks Ale is characterised by its huge biscuity malt palate, derived from three traditional roasted barley malts used in the mash, giving a glorious deep red hue. The excitingly complex malty flavours are wonderfully balanced by a huge citrussy, hoppy bitterness and aroma from a particularly fruity hop added at four stages in the brewing process. The memory of this beer will haunt you forever!" Scarily delicious.

Game: After this beer I'm off back to Arkham City as I have a Halloween date with Calendar Man apparently.  Not sure whether it'll work or not but he seemed to be saying that if I go and visit him on the 31st of October then something will happen. It sounds like nonsense to me but I'm curious so I've not checked the internet for clarification lest the surprise be spoilt. I'm just going to turn up to the date, hopefully for a candle-lit meal followed by a good rom-com.  I remember getting an achievement on Call of Juarez 2 when I had a duel at high noon (that's 12 o' clock our time) so anything's possible.

St George's Glory (Batemans)

Name: St George's Glory
Label: "What legends are made of"
Brewery: Batemans
ABV: 4.1%

Rating: "A blond English ale full of succulent English hops and malt.  Put some fire in your belly. It would be unpatriotic to drink anything else. Goes well with Dragon Steaks." I didn't have any Dragon steak so I had Unicorn rump instead. The beer is magical.

Game: Today is a bit like the morning after the night before. I woke up thinking, "Ar yeah, can't wait to play Batman tonight!", then the realisation slowly dawned on me through the sleepy beery stupor that I'd finished it last night. I'm pretty sure I did most of the side-missions too so it seems quite a short game. However I have played it every night for at least two hours since last Thursday... and all day Friday. I say all day Friday but it was probably equivalent to a working day interspersed with what every male does when they're alone at home: folding clothes, hoovering and stacking the dishwasher. So, although it seems a lot, I've probably put about eighteen hours in and with only 40% of the entire game completed according to the stats screen, there's still plenty to be done such as Riddler trophy collection, side-missions and combat rooms. So it's looking like very good value for money if you've yet to get your wallet out.

Elsie Mo (Castle Rock)

Name: Elsie Mo
Label: "Full-bodied & irresistible. Blonde & beautiful.
Brewery: Castle Rock
ABV: 5.0%

Rating: "Elsie Mo is named after the Low Colour Maris Otter Malt that gives our favourite golden girl her beautiful body and complexion.  With a distinctive, yet delicate blend of hops, she's not only full bodied and desirable but totally irresistible." Without trying to sound sexist the lady on the bottle is quite attractive, for a two dimensional drawing that is...

Game: Checked my stats for Batman: Arkham City and noticed I've completed 75% of the main storyline. I nearly wept. I want it to last for years, it really is that good. There have been some reported issues with the Catwoman DLC - this is the DLC available to those that buy the game new. Luckily my code checked out ok and for the record, the Catwoman chapters are absolutely sublime. Her playable chapters slot into the main storyline perfectly and as far as video games go, she is quite possibly the sexiest character you'll ever er... use. Her stealth takedowns are something to behold, it's all long legs wrapped around necks and fancy acrobatic positions. She cat wees all over Halle Berry and Michelle Pfeiffer and leaves them crying into their litter trays, that's for sure.

Tom Fool (Jennings)

Name: Tom Fool
Label: "A Classic Amber Ale for the Foolish of Heart"
Brewery: Jennings
ABV: 4.0%

Rating: "Said to enjoy the odd tipple, Thomas Skelton - the ghost of Muncaster Castle is still fooling around today. His favourite beer named after his good self, is a golden amber ale with all the characteristics of a true traditional English beer." Ghosts like it, so it must be ace.

Game: So Batman: Arkham City went straight to number 1 in the UK All Formats Chart. Who saw that happening? Everyone, that's who. The game is quite simply stunning, both in looks and more importantly, gameplay. Some key points of note so far: there are an amazing amount of characters all inter-woven throughout the story via the main plotline or side missions, spanning the history of Batman and Detective Comics. As with Arkham Asylum, there are a wealth of upgradeable gadgets and combat moves. The combat is great. I start to struggle when surrounded by more than ten enemies at once as my feeble brain struggles to keep up, but now theres double counters, several special takedown moves and evasive moves to give Bats a serious ass-kicking edge. I did experience one glitch a few hours in where... nah never mind, it was only minor and I don't want to say anything negative about this masterpiece of a game.

Ruby Red Ale (St. Peter's)

Name: Ruby Red Ale
Label: "Our beautiful flask-shaped oval bottle is a faithful copy of one produced c. 1770 for Thomas Gerrard of Gibbstown, just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. The original is now kept at St. Peter's Hall and is a rare example of an oval Eighteenth Century beer bottle."
Brewery: St. Peter's
ABV: 4.3%

Rating: "A rich, red ale with subtle malt undertones and a distinctive spicy hop aroma from Styrian Goldings. Brewed with skill and patience in one of Britain's finest small breweries."

Game: Can't stop playing Batman: Arkham City at the moment. Still to play/finish: Transformers: War for Cybertron, FIFA 12, Portal 2 and Dark Souls.  I did manage to take a break from gaming earlier in October to go on a course to work towards the much sought after Abbot Beer Diploma. After four gruelling modules, years of revision, and that "medicine" in Mass Effect that makes you clever at exams, Gaming Ales is proud to announce a "Pass with Merit" and has been inducted into the Abbot Alumni:

Lincolnshire Best Bitter (Batemans)

Name: Lincolnshire Best Bitter
Label: "A blend of English golding hops & maris otter pale & crystal malts that give a peppery, biscuity flavour. Sweet with notes of caramel".
Brewery: Batemans (brewed exclusively for Marks & Spencer)
ABV: 4.9%

Rating: Batemans beers are great, that's all we need to know. We also need to know that Batemans Brewery site is built around an old windmill that dates back to the 19th century and sits beside the River Steeping in Lincolnshire.

Game: Starting early tonight, Batman: Arkham City has arrived!  Check out my very first unboxing video on youtube.  Here I show you all the amazing things about the game during the unboxing, the snazzy 3D effect lenticular sleeve, the shiny new instruction booklet and, bizarrely, a voucher for a free burger! It's not as in-depth as I'd have liked because I was keen to get playing the game.

Old Crafty Hen (Morland)

Name: Old Crafty Hen
Label: "Vintage Ale - Crafted by the Master Brewer of  'Old Speckled Hen' - Gold Quality Award Winner 2009 - Superior Fine Ale"
Brewery: Morland
ABV: 6.5%

Rating: "This strong fine ale combines a distinctive malty taste with a satisfying, smooth raisin finish. Brewed with a blend of the famous old 5X, which is aged using our vintage oak vat maturing method, this delicious dark amber ale is perfect for indulging yourself and your friends."

Game: Less than a week until Batman: Arkham City and the reviews are bigging it up as the best game ever invented.  No longer is it just the best superhero game, it's the best game, 'period'. And I want it 'stat' (whatever this means, presumably 'at once').  Now trying to avoid reading anything more about it, lest it be spoilt by over-zealous reviewers.  Skyrim is now less than a month away too and what better way to whet the appetite than a read of the following post from Games From the Void about all the awesome improvements and changes since Oblivion. I'm going to need a sabbatical from work this autumn.

Old Golden Hen (Morland)

Name: Old Golden Hen
Label: "Refreshing crafted beer - A refreshing golden beer with tropical fruit notes"
Brewery: Morland
ABV: 4.1%

Rating: "Crafted by the Master Brewer of Old Speckled Hen, this light golden beer delivers both flavour and refreshment. Brewed using the finest pale malts and the rare Galaxy hop to give a light golden colour, subtle tropical fruit notes and a deliciously smooth finish."

Game: I found out today that Batman: Arkham City for Xbox 360 has appeared on various torrent sites. This must be soul destroying for the developers and all who worked on the game at Rocksteady.  I can't understand how people try to justify illegal downloads, whether it be movies, music or indeed, video games.  It's just inherently wrong in my opinion. Just because you can make digital copies an infinite amount of times doesn't automatically make it OK to have stuff for free. Yes, games are expensive, that's why I only buy the ones I really really want.  And when I'm skint and can't afford a game I go without.  Anyone who downloads it is categorised as "thieving scum" in my book. Shameful.

Abbot Ale (Greene King) - in an Abbot Ale tankard

Name: Abbot Ale
Label: "Bury St Edmunds - Gold Quality Award 2010"
Brewery: Greene King
ABV: 5.0%

Rating: "Brewed for quality of the highest order in the heart of Bury St Edmunds where brewing in the town's great Abbey can be traced back to 1086. Brewed longer to a unique recipe creating a full flavoured, smooth and mature beer. This irresistible ale has masses of fruit and character. A malty richness and superb hop balance".  Notice my swish new Abbot Ale tankard in the picture? Thanks Abbot Ale / Greene King!

Game:  I saw perhaps one of the crappest video game related play on words / jokes ever on Twitter the other day. It's either rubbish or I just don't get it, or both.  It referred to the CVG article EA shuts Australian Dead Space studio regarding yet another game studio closing and the resulting job losses etc. The "joke" on Twitter quoted verbatim was, "Shocking News! Ea shuts Australian in Davy Jones' treasure chest Space studio. (Dead Space studio)".  I'm no expert on comedy but that is just shit. Sorry.  I don't know why, I honestly don't, but just reading it again makes me feel confused and angry.  I had to unfollow them in a vain attempt at catharsis.  In other, happier, news I want Dark Souls and Rage. A lot. I will resist though until I've finished Dead Island. Don't forget, Batman is out in two tiny weeks, woo!

Headcracker (Woodforde's)

Name: Headcracker
Label: "Very strong, pale Norfolk ale"
Brewery: Woodforde's
ABV: 7.0%

Rating: "Headcracker is strong and full-bodied, rich and surprisingly pale. It carries an interesting and complex plummy flavour throughout which is countered to some extent by a light bitter edge at the end. A consistent championship winner that will leave you positively glowing".

Game: I've found another grotesquely underrated game, Vanquish. Underrated by the game buying public anyway if sales are anything to go by. But, it received excellent reviews from the industry. I thought the demo sucked, maybe that had some effect on sales, but anyway the full game is pure 3rd person shoot-y, robot-y brilliance. There's even an amazing on-rails level, I'm not usually a fan of on-rails sections in games but this one just looked absolutely stunning. Gameplay-wise this on-rails section is the same as all the others (i.e. shoot stuff and try not to die), but it looked incredible, Act 2 it was in I think.

Just realised Batman Arkham City is out next month (October)!  And as Robin famously once said *: "Holy shit, Batballs! I can't f*cking wait for that game to come out!"

* Robin may not have said this.