Meet the Brewer: Partizan Brewing
This week, South Bermondsey’s own Partizan Brewing have taken over DeskBeers and KegHop to showcase a range of their exciting beers. Founded in 2012, using The Kernel’s original brewing kit, Partizan’s story is one of collaborative beginnings and a very distinctive outcome. We caught up with Partizan’s founder and owner, Andy Smith, to find out more about his history in fine dining, his links with other craft brewers, and current developments at Partizan.
DESKBEERS: Hi there Andy. Thanks a lot for taking time out for a chat. We were intrigued to learn that you came to brewing through working in fine dining. Please could you provide some detail of your background in the food industry?
ANDY: I bounced around a fair bit over 8 years in the industry, and worked in teams as small as 3 people all the way up to teams of 50 in the kitchen — in country pubs and city restaurants. I worked mostly fine dining (2 Rosettes and up, and Michelin-starred), but also in restaurants that had no awards. We’re talking about an industry where people tend to move every 6 to 18 months to build their CVs and learn as much as possible. That much time with the same people tends to make people want to move on too! I had a good time doing it and learned a lot, but I wouldn’t want to do it again…
DB: How did your move from food to brewing come about? What kinds of similarities have you encountered between the two trades, and what kinds of differences?
A: I was working at a restaurant which went bankrupt but remained open; they started fining staff, not paying people properly and so on. I ended up getting behind with rent, and had to draw a line. I got a job in a pub to get the landlord off my back, and wound up rediscovering a love of beer. They let me bring in my Homebrew (I lived about 400m from the pub), so I could cellar it at the right temperature. I remember once being able to present a bottle of my IPA over the bar to Doug O’Dell as the pub had beer industry people in all the time. I worked with Steve (now at Affinity Brew Co.) who is enthusiasm and drive personified, and who helped give me a push. The team there also included Mario (formerly of Orbit), Brendan (who now works for Founders), and Dan (who founded London Brewing Co.), to name just a few. It was a hell of a group! I remember the very first The Kernel beers in bottle landing in the cellar when I was there — great times.
I was just hassling the pub’s draymen for a while to see if anyone would take me for a day or two, and then Andy from Redemption showed up. At that time he was a one man band — brewer, salesman, drayman, etc. He gave me a job, showed me how to brew professionally, and paid for my Institute of Brewing and Distilling exams.
The food and brewing industries are similar in that they both require an understanding of the basic balancing of flavours, i.e. salt, bitter, sweet and sour. Both are rooted in a selfish desire to feed the inner glutton too I guess. But the people in brewing are way nicer!
DB: For some of the beers in this week’s Partizan takeover (Miranda, Lychee and Rose Saison and Table Juice), which kinds of meals would you pair with them, and can you show your working-out?
A: Miranda is big on citrus (although low on acidity), very delicate, and fairly bitter. I would think the bitterness would work with some seasonal cabbage leaves; so maybe 3-5 different cabbages braised quickly in orange and lemon juice, adding some hazelnuts, braised onions, and segmented, cubed tangerine. Toss all this together and add 2 or 3 light herbs such as coriander, parsley, basil, tarragon, even mint, just torn up over the top of everything.
The Lychee and Rose Saison is definitely good for an aperitif. It’s very moreish and fun with lots of bubbles, so a great way to start a meal. Anything small, fragrant and rich to give counterpoint to the drink’s delicate nature — and most importantly, fun and simple. Olives would be ideal on their own; as would almonds. Maybe some anchovies with a tomato relish if you want to push it out further.
Table Juice is quite bitter again, but has a ton of depth. The hops give it a slightly earthy, woody, almost umami taste profile, but there’s a lot of fruit in there too. I go with a salmon tartare, kimchi, and grapefruit.
DB: For those reading this in an office, which vending machine items might accompany these beers…?
A: Crisps and beer is a pretty classic combo. It’s fun to argue over the most suitable pairings while enjoying the beers with friends.
DB: Our featured beer this week is Partizan’s stunning Lychee and Rose Saison. Please could you talk a little about the brewing process for Saison types of beer? What interests you in particular about Saisons?
A: In terms of brewing, it’s very much the same process as any other beer — the main difference is the higher fermentation temperatures that the yeast prefers.
We like brewing Saisons as they have that third dimension of acidity (beer is inherently acidic, but not overly so). Most beer is bittersweet, but Saison has relatively prominent acidity too so lends itself much better to introducing other ingredients. It’s a very approachable style too, once you get past the name which for some reason has an odd association with farms. For us, Saison has nothing to do with farms. It’s generally a light, delicate and dry beer with a mouthfeel similar to pilsner but a little more character.
DB: Finally, what’s coming up at Partizan that DeskBeers customers should keep an eye out for?
A: Friday openings: THE best place to wind down after your working week, and slightly more laid back than the Saturday rush!
Thanks again to Andy for sparing the time to answer our questions — and thanks to everyone at Partizan for their awesome brewing!
Like the sound of Partizan and wanna try their beers? We’re offering 20% off your first Regular Delivery with the code PARTIZAN20. The code will be valid till we’ve sold out of these beers (about a week from the time of publishing) so get cracking.
