Partizan - Cascade, Chinook, Columbus

"Hey Drew."

"What's up Grapevine?"

"I got that list you wanted."

"The one for all the awesome beers I should try? Awesome! Well, what've you got?"

"Partizan."

"Awesome, I've always wanted to try their stuff! What else you got?"

"..."

"Well?"

"... Uh..."

"You didn't do any research at all did you, Grapevine?"

"... Just drink the Partizan, ok?"

These London breweries seem to be popping up like padded moles in outdated arcade games and I, for one, couldn't be happier. You've got The Kernel, Beavertown and Brodie's as well as Camden Town and Crate and many more emerging, seemingly, by the day. However, to shine in such an environment you must be special, you must be the best, you must be quirky and fun, which Partizan seem to be
. Everything from the artwork to the fact that they've named this beer after the hops they've used gives me the impression that these guys think so far outside the box that the box is a dot to them.

The pour is frisky but satisfying with between 1 and 2 fingers of head depending on how much of a jerk you want to be to your beer. It's a pleasant oak brown, which hides the carbonation but if you look closely then it is quite evident that it's there. The smell is something rather special, that sweetly savage citrus that reminds me of red grapefruit and brown sugar is a throwback to a darker time when such things were a luxury. The smell itself is in the style of these strong craft breweries from London, uncompromising, and that's just the way I like it.

It tastes bitter with a sweet smoothness and a hoppy after burn that flares and mellows in a second. Once your taste buds calibrate to the initial shock and the 7.4% it's packing, you can settle down to a deliciously hoppy and bitter beer that even has a lightly spicy kick and a consistent tingly effect on all your senses. I am not surprised that this is as good as it is because it was recommended at The Bottle Shop in Canterbury and they definitely know what they're doing.

Food suggestion: They say that IPAs go really well with Indian food but I'd love to try this with Mexican... Though I guess it's the same principal: Hunks of meat, spicy sauce, side of rice, everyone's happy.

Drink this if you like: Similar, in ways, to Meantime IPA but this is a step up in almost every area.