Cwrw Haf (Hurns Brewing)

Name: Cwrw Haf
Label: "Tomos Watkin's - The Great Ales of Wales - A taste of summer from the land of song"
Brewery: Hurns Brewing Co
ABV: 4.2%

Tasting notes: "The taste of Welsh Summer captured in a bottle. Cwrw Haf is a refreshing golden summer ale brewed using only the finest floor malted barley and wheat. Infused with the invigorating citrus flavours of golding and cascade whole hops and finished off with the summer floral aroma of the famous fuggle hop. Enjoy Welsh Summertime, anywhere, any place, rain or shine!"

Game: A few initial thoughts about Star Wars Battlefront DLC: Death Star. Yay Chewbacca, boooo Bossk, but yay at Bossk's regenerating health! Wow look at the graphics on that, flying around a Star Destroyer with the Death Star in the background, now we're IN the Death Star, now we're back in space doing the TRENCH RUN OH MY GOD THIS IS THE BEST STAR WARS GAME EVER.
Rating: 9 stay on targets out of 10

Clock Brew (Eden Brewery)

Name: Clock Brew
Label: "Traditional Scottish Ale - Thank you for buying our beer and we hope you can enjoy being part of the journey"
Brewery: Eden Brewery
ABV: 4.3%

Tasting notes: "A classic Scottish red ale with a hint of pepperiness and hops up front giving way to a smooth multi layered finish."  It's Beer 'O Clock! On the label this beer actually thanks you for buying the beer. I say No! Thank you!  Thank you for this most excellent of brews!

Game: Two Batman: Arkham Knight DLC missions down and enjoyable they were too!  So far we've played as Harley Quinn and now Batgirl. Both missions have been criticised by most 'proper' journalisty things but I think they're pretty good. Batgirl's level only lasts about an hour and Harley Quinn's is even less (much less) but they make a nice distraction if you're still working your way through the main Batman campaign.
So stop moaning and enjoy it will you!  Just forget for a second that you've spent thirty two quid on a season pass. Just forget it! Five more months of DLC incoming. The whole will be better than the sum of it's parts, or something.

Orange Peel (Wadworth)

Name: Orange Peel
Label: "The Beer Kitchen is a new range of intensely flavoured, hand-crafted beers, made for the discerning by Wadworth. Brewed in small batches, using the absolute finest ingredients, these beers were specially created to perfectly complement food or savoured on their own."
Brewery: Wadworth
ABV: 6.0%

Rating: "Rich, golden and full bodied with a sweet and tangy orange flavour, and aromas of citrus, melon and spice. Munich malt, US hops and orange peel provide complexity but with perfect balance. A superb compliment to game."  A beer that actually says it goes well with gaming! Finally!

Game: Two DLC packs got released the other day and being season-passed up to the eyeballs I now has extra content for Assassin's Creed: Unity and Alien: Isolation. The Alien DLCs are the timed challenges which are a great change of pace to the main campaign. The difficulty however seems to be turned up to a thousand and I can't turn it down! The Alien is a total pain in the ass (and face). I'm working my way through the challenges though slowly but surely. "Get away from me, you bitch!" Did I mention that Alien: Isolation was Gaming Ales's game of 2014?  Just did.

Black Gold (Castle Rock)

Name: Black Gold
Label: "Championship Winner - Nottingham's dark secret"
Brewery: Castle Rock
ABV: 3.8%

Rating: "Discover Black Gold for yourself and enjoy this rich, complex brew." Go on then, discover it for yourself! If you have taste buds I guarantee you'll not be disappointed.

Game: This week I'm on the hunt for an Assassin's Creed 3 pre-order deal. Seems that for the game and some 'exclusive' DLC which seems to be a character skin or gun (I can barely contain my excitement), we're looking at a £42.99 price tag or a whopping £55.99 for the Join or Die edition. This edition probably contains extra downloadable mud for the battlefields or something. Best price so far seems to be Tesco at £39.91 with a T-Shirt, of which a photo is conspicuous by its absence. The search continues...

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!

Blandford Flyer (Badger)

Name: Blandford Flyer
Label: "A bite of spicy ginger"
Brewery: Badger
ABV: 5.2%

Rating: "With the hot summer sun beating down, the patient fly-fisherman of the Dorset Stour await their catch. These 'Flyers' are celebrated in this warming ale with ginger overtones, rumoured to be originally included to remedy the bites of the infamous Blandford Fly. The rounded sweetness of this medium-bodied brew makes it an ideal and refreshing accompaniment to a hot lamb biryani or spicy crispy chilli beef."

Game: Crikey, Mass Effect 3 has caused some controversy! Now it's all about the 'rubbish' endings, which I actually happen to quite like. I didn't really understand what was going on but there was explosions and stuff which looked ace. Anyway, there's been a petition to get the endings changed and now Bioware are releasing DLC to make it happen. An horrific turn of events, I'd sooner have the Reapers destroy Earth than let mob rule choose the endings of the games I buy. Fans are fans, not writers, writers are writers and that's why they write games. Hopefully you can see the logic there.

Bad King John (Ridgeway)

Name: Bad King John
Label: "A very English black ale - I challenge the privilege of trial by combat, God will raise me up a champion"
Brewery: Ridgeway Brewing
ABV: 6.0%

Rating: "Bad King John is black, bitter, intense, like the ruthless man it honours. Do not come here looking for subtlety!"  Bad King John must have been well bad. There's even a picture of someone being burnt at the stake on the back of the bottle! The beer is definitely Good King John though.

Game: The hysterics about the release day DLC for Mass Effect 3 seems to have a died down a bit. The DLC itself, irrespective of all the publicity, wasn't really worth 800 Microsoft points in all honesty. Come on, be honest.  Although *minor spoiler... I guess* you get to recruit a Prothean and he is a bit of a badass. In other news today, games apparently out sold "video" in 2011! Hooray for games! I love games, me.

Fraoch (Heather Ale Ltd)

Name: Fraoch
Label: "Fraoch is Scotland's native ale. Fraoch is Gaelic for "Heather". Heather ale has been brewed in Scotland for four thousand years and is the oldest style of ale still made in the world. The Picts who ruled Scotland until the 9th Century were known to brew the legendary heather ale, these "people of the designs" were the creators of the artistic style of our label."
Brewery: Heather Ale Ltd (William Bros. Brewing Ltd)
ABV: 5.0%

Rating: "Fraoch has a floral, peaty aroma, full malt body, spicy herbal flavour and a dry wine like finish." I've just realised that Scottish ale is ace, and this one in particular is sublime. Seek it out!

Game: Still playing Mass Effect 3 (obviously).  Tonights mission is the release-day "From Ashes" DLC. A controversial move by Bioware given that it wasn't included in the game, and yet released on the same day as the game, so you have to pay extra to play it. Fortunately, I won ME3 (thanks to the awesome playr2.com), so shelling out the 800 Microsoft points didn't hurt quite as much. For many gamers though, it has definitely been a bitter pill to swallow. If you don't agree with the DLC don't buy it, it doesn't make or break the overall Mass Effect 3 experience. Said experience being incredible, by the way. Admittedly, purchasing this extra mission is a bit of a contradiction for me because I despise DLC and generally refuse to buy it. I blame the Reapers, they're up to no good I tells ya.

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.

Original Ale (Badger)

Name: Original Ale
Label: "Classic English Country Ale - Delicate Notes of Fruit and Spice"
Brewery: Badger
ABV: 3.8%

Rating: An original ale with the unlikeliest of original names. Delicate is also pretty accurate.

Game: Downloaded a new DLC level pack for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.  Its the Hoth level but with the Apprentice taking the place of Vader and *SPOILER* turning Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side before he's even had chance to get to Dagobah! Who'd have thought it. The Tattooine mission level was miles better though, visiting Jabba's Palace, kicking Rancor ass, killing Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the same afternoon = win.

Southwold Summer Beer (Adnams)

Name: Southwold Summer Beer
Label: "Seasonal Guest - Zesty flavour of grapefruit, sweet with a hint of bitterness"
Brewery: Brewed exclusively for Marks & Spencer by Adnams
ABV: 5.0%

Rating: This makes it ace --> "Did you know... back in the days when every farm and every inn produced its own brew, seasonal beer was an integral part of British life. Light, refreshing beers were produced for workers at harvest time and stronger ones for cooler weather. This Summer ale helps recapture that ancient tradition."

Game: First part of Alan Wake DLC out next week. Apparently it will be a bridge from "Season 1" to "Season 2" of Alan Wake.  So that's why the end of the game made no sense whatsoever, so they could sell us DLC?

Victory Ale (Batemans)

Name: Victory Ale
Label: "England Expects! - Brewed to celebrate the courage of Admiral Nelson and his crew."
Brewery: Batemans
ABV: 6.0%

Rating: FTW!

Game: After their recent DLC shenanigans, I'm really sticking it to 2K now by purchasing Borderlands. That'll learn them. Played about an hour of Borderlands and its head and shoulders above what I thought it would be. RPS - Role Playing Shooter - I think they just made that up.

Fairtrade Bumble Bee Honey Ale (Co-op)

Name: Fairtrade Bumble Bee Honey Ale
Label: "Made with Fairtrade Chilean Wildflower Honey and British malting barley."
Brewery: Brewed for the Co-operative group - actually by who though only they know
ABV: 4.6%

Rating: Is it fair on the bees though? Is it fair on the bees?

Game: This whole DLC issue is playing on my mind a bit now. Talk about a rip-off capitalist culture, crikey.  After my last post, I've had three maybe four minutes to think about it a bit more and I've come to the conclusion that I'm never going to buy anymore DLC. Ever ('cept maybe Guitar Hero tracks).  It maybe time to see what *whispers* Sony... is up to and how they deal with DLC. Also, Sony don't charge (at the moment) for the privilege of playing online but Microsoft do. Maybe its time to switch allegiances?

Sixex (Joseph Holt)

Name: Sixex
Label: "A traditional beer for real players"
Brewery: Joseph Holt
ABV: 6%

Rating: Looks like Coke, tastes like awesome.

Game: "Bioshock 2 DLC Already on the disc - Is That Okay?" http://bit.ly/9fRnEb.  No, that certainly is not ok. So downloadable content is already included on the disc that I've already bought? So buying the downloadable content is effectively unlocking what I've already bought rather than, er... downloading content?  Frankly that stinks.  This situation is like when John Lennon said The Beatles were bigger than Jesus. I'm going to burn my copy of Bioshock 2 - not really, but I have sold it, yesterday before I knew about this article... but anyway feel my wrath 2K!  At least John Lennon was right 2K, at least he was right.