Tis the Saison

This post has sat in draft for too many months; so clearing it out to make way for more posts next year. One of my favourite beer "styles" are saisons, nothing better when you want a sessionable ale to spend some time over. I've curated an interesting range in this post; to show you the breadth of the style.

Up first is an offering from Partizan, very much in the traditional vein - Saison Grisette @ 4.8% Hazy pale blonde with lacing of white head. Typical dry Belgian yeast esters, well attenuated, medium body, slightly peppery coriander, long ester filled finish. I've since had all of Partizan's saisons* but this was still one of the best.

Another Partizan saison next (Big Red), similar but darker, not black however. Cloudy mid amber with coriander and yeast esters on the nose - probably the same yeast as used above but igven more malt to chomp on as this one hits 7.4%. Sweet and spicy, caramel and apple, warm and spiky, dry Belgian finish. Its got the best bits of a Belgian dubbel without the candy sugar off-taste I hate.

Stepping ever stronger is Nomada Untitldead at 9% which I discovered in the fridge at the Barley Mow one day. Dark chestnut amber, minimal head soon dissipated. Rich toffee sweetness plus slight tartness. Sweet, toffee, caramel, fruitcake, rich marmalade. Low carbonation. Long fruity finish but too rich for my tastes.

To finish off is my final bottle of the "Overseas Dictator" brewed for my birthday last year by my friend Paul. The carbonation has died down somewhat which means I can pour the glass without it frothing everywhere (redecorated Bitter Virtue with a fresh bottle...) This has really aged well with a good dry finish, just a touch of chocolate and some nice herbal hop notes complementing the saison and wheat spices. Apologies to Paul for leaving this so long to post!

*Post to come in the new year!

Partizanal Ales

I've been trying a lot of London beers recently thanks to the sterling efforts of Ales By Mail with their "Best of London" cases, 15 beers from breweries from all over the capital. They're now on box 15 which has a black forest stout and Windsor and Eton's excellent Republika pilsner among them.

But I digress, this post is about one brewery in particular, and those of you clued in have probably already twigged who I'm talking about, but for the rest of you read on! I would probably class thisbrewery as in my top five* London brewers, no mean feat considering there were over 40 at last count! So who holds my affections so rabidly? Partizan, that's who.

Springing up out of the dust left behind in Bermondsey's arches by Kernel's move to bigger premises and even using the same kit is Andy Smith's new venture. I've been an avid collector but I'm struggling tokeep up with their prolific output! I've managed about 10 of their beers so far and no duffers amongst 'em! I'm a particular fan of their saisons, properly Belgian in character with plenty of hop interest.

The pale ales are crisp and bright flavoured, showing off the hops to the full and the porters are amongst the best in the business, Partizan truly are ones to watch. Special mention must be made of the eye-catching labels which are superb individual works of art in their own right, each crafted by Alec Doherty. Hop bills are clearly stated, and even better a brewed on date lets you know exactly how fresh the beer you've picked up is. Bottle conditioned too which means the mouth feel is spot on.

So if you do spot these when you're out and about, don't hesitate to pick them up! There's still some left on Ales By Mail's website too if you fancy doing some mail order (tip a box holds 24 bottles; so may as well get your monies worth postage wise...). I look forward to you thanking me for the recommendation later ;)

Partizan Brewing

@PartizanBrewing

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*Subject to change, mail me to find out which brews are currently floating my boat!