Beavertown Brewery Lupuloid Beer (Waitrose) By @SpectreUK

I have an old favourite for dinner tonight, which is bangers and mash. I do like a beer with my sausage meal. At 6.7% in volume Lupuloid was produced by Beavertown Brewery. Judging by the hop shaped green monster on the front of this India Pale Ale, it should be ram packed full of hoppy goodness to complement my sausages, mash, and gravy meal.

One of my favourite parts is making instant mash with freshly boiled water, some butter and a fork. It feels like magic as the mash forms. Bangers at the ready, gravy mixed up and mash magic made, I opened the beer can. There was a strong herbal and also tropical fruity hop smell to this slightly misty golden IPA.

There was a sheer herbal and tropical fruity bitterness on first taste with some sweetness following from the malted barley and added wheat which balanced the bitterness. Oats in the brewing gave this IPA further body. Very tasty indeed, this herbal fruity hop green Lupuloid monster washed down my bangers and mash perfectly. Cheers.

Heinz Beanz Richmond Pork Sausages (Morrisons) By @Cinabar

I know the weather is hot, but I still like a jacket potato with baked beans, even in the summer. We normally also add some grated cheese and make a meal out of it. I did once try the Heinz beans with sausages, but I remember thinking they weren’t that great. The sausages were okay, but there weren’t that many of them. I haven’t bought them for quite a few years, to be honest. However, I potted this can with the promise of a new, improved recipe and a branded brand of sausages, so I decided to give them a second chance.

Here we have Heinz Beanz with Richmond Pork Sausages. I heated some up and poured them over a lovely, hot, buttered jacket potato. The first thing to spot was that there was a good amount of mini sausages mixed in, which looked lovely. The taste was good too. The beans are of the usual quality, with a nice sweet tomato base. The sausages were meaty and tasted good; each one was a treat to find. I have to say I’m converted. I’d definitely have these Heinz Beanz Richmond Pork Sausages again. 

Takis Fuego - CoOp UK [@NLi10]

 We've talked about lots of these before - Takis are the great new spicy crisp - but short of going to Spain and paying 2 Euro for a big bag it was always an expensive habit.  Until now!

Co-Op has these 100g bags for £2 (compared with the up to £5 in the shady import shops) which is a huge deal for people who wanted to try them.

These are the Spanish versions - but with English text - I'm convinced they've put less lime in here which is annoying, but maybe I'm just becoming immune.  Have to do a comparison taste test at some point.

They certainly look the same.

And I'm enjoying the bag, but I do miss the sharpness.  Have to try a few more bags to see if it's just me.

Gamer Gummies Space Invaders (Game) By @SpectreUK

I remember gaming nights in the past when we played many different video games in the same room together, there were new and retro games, and we snacked on all manners of crisps and nuts, chocolates and gummies.

Life seemed so much less complicated then, and much more fun. Gaming online took over, and became more about the pains and scars of life rather than the sheer fun of games, of beating each other in duels to the death, racing hard, and hunting down bad guys, and of course gorging on snacks.

I loved Space Invaders as a kid, and still like to play it now. However, these Gamer Gummies Space Invaders will be snacked on during my regular snacking time of just after dinner when I watch something on the box, and munch on snack food for pudding, before my evening hot soak in the tub.

Made by Powerbears with 20% real fruit, there are six flavours of gummies in the packet. Blackberry had a weak blackberry flavour. Kiwi Lime was more kiwi than lime, still pretty faint in flavour though. Plum red was very faint in flavour. Orange had a faint orange flavour. Pomegranate tasted a little bit like strawberry, but not much. And sadly, Pineapple had a faint pineapple flavour. I was pretty disappointed by these Space Invaders Gamer Gummies. I think I'll stick to face twisty sour gummies instead.

Information on the bag; The 125g packet contains 328 calories per 100g, 0.5g of fat, with 44g of sugar, and 0.1g of salt. Made with no artificial colours and natural flavours. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Chicken Tikka Masala and Pickled Red Onion Pizza (M&S) By @cinabar

I don’t buy a lot of groceries in M&S, but occasionally I pick up something that catches my eye. Tonight was all about having pizza, and there was one I hadn’t seen before. I know the shop is posh, but this Chicken Tikka Masala and Pickled Red Onion Pizza looked next level. There is even a mango sauce drizzle.

I opened up the box and took out the sachet of sauce, which is said to drizzle on cold at the end. I put the pizza in the oven, and I could smell the spices while it cooked. Once it was out, it looked lovely. There was plenty of chicken, red onions, and cheese too. I added the sauce and gave the pizza a try. 

The base is good; it is fluffy and crispy, which is a nice texture. The topping is so good. The chicken is moist, and the spices are perfect. The curry taste is very aromatic; it isn’t too hot in terms of chilli; it is just full of flavour. The mango sauce adds a nice bit of sweetness, and this pizza was a proper delight. I might not buy a lot of food from M&S, but I do have to say it is worth popping in for a nice treat sometimes.