Partizan - Single Patersbier

I do enjoy when countries other than Belgium attempt Belgian style beer... It's pretty cool when Belgium do it too but they've got a horrifically unfair advantage right from the off. I've described Partizan before as players in the craft revolution but after actually visiting the brewery a couple of times I came to the realisation that they weren't players, no, these guys (and gals) are soldiers! Scrapping away at the front line, trying to give us hardy beer geeks the innovation and quality that we crave!

The Single Patersbier smells zesty and fresh with that lovely raw beer scent hanging around, which I love. The pour is as frisky as a March hare in Chernobyl, leaving a generous 2 finger head (which sounds like something you'd see on a sign in Amsterdam) and producing a beautifully light, pale, cloudy, body with heavy fizz that's just begging to be chugged like a thirsty hog at the only watering hole in the forest.

It feels fantastically light! The head fizzles away to nothing as it touches your lip and the body is like drinking bitter-sweet air. There's a hint of the sweet shop in the after taste and hop bitterness as an opener but it's surprising just how drinkable it is! It's refreshing and has enough going on for me not to dismiss it as a watery beer. It's got that thick, lively, head that's just happy to see you, like that receptionist your company gave a forced lobotomy to. It sticks around for the duration too, it's not the kind to go ugly early and just sod off, that head is in it to win it!

This is a real winner! Maybe not a complex, barrel aged, beast with smoky bacon overtones but this just hits the spot and it hits it good... With a lovely, refreshing, stick.

Food suggestion: This really wouldn't be out of place in a Belgian restaurant, which is testament to the job Partizan have done, so I'd happily pair this with Moules Frites.

Drink this if you like: Orval is pretty close to this, though it has slightly more zing. This would do you well if you wanted something a bit less wafty than a saison but something not quite as heavy as typical Belgian blond. We're really splitting hairs here though.