OnTap Magazine

I t is a rare beer enthusiast in South Africa that hasn’t heard of Banana Jam Café. Those who live in Cape Town likely frequent the place, whether it’s for the everyday superior selection of local and imported beers, or for the frequent beer- themed events. Those residing elsewhere in SA generally make a pilgrimage every time they visit theMother City. I knowonePretoria- based beer lover who, whenever he visits Cape Town, always stays in an AirBnB that basically backs onto Banana Jam’s kitchen. I remember the first time I visited. It was early 2011 and we were saving for our wedding, so ferreting out bargains was a key part of daily life. We regularly walked past Banana Jam heading to the pub next door, where R12.50 happy hour pints of Castle were the order of the day. Then one evening a sign outside the Jam caught my eye – “free craft beer tasting” it said, summing up two of my favourite things in life. I still rib Banana Jam’s co-founder and frontman Greg Casey to this day about the meagre pours of those free tasters. Let’s just say they were worth what you paid for them. But back then craft beer was in pretty short supply so I suppose he had to make sure there was enough to go around. Indeed, finding enough craft beer was a problem for Greg in those early days. “We started with craft beer back in 2007,” he says. “We were the second place in South Africa to install a Jack Black tap after the Mount Nelson and by 2011 we had eight taps – all our own – but we couldn’t find enough local beers to fill them.” AN EVER-GROWING SELECTION Things in the South African beer scene were moving quickly though and by 2012, Banana Jam had 18 taps, only two of which poured SAB products. It was remarkable at the time, not just to have so many different beers on tap, but for an establishment to actually own its taps and to serve whichever beers they chose, rather than only being able to pour beers from SA’s biggest breweries. Greg’s inspiration came from the world’s leaders in craft beer – the Americans. He discovered IPA on a surf andbeer trip up theUSWest Coast in 2011 and instantly began to seek out craft beer in South Africa. And when he couldn’t find enough local beers, he started importing, with beers from America’s Rogue, Cisco, Peak and Caldera breweries starring on earlier iterations of Banana Jam’s beer menu. But despite serving various imports from the US, UK, Belgium and the Czech Republic over the years, the Jam, as it is almost always referred to by its regulars, is best known for championing local beers. By 2013 there were 30 taps, almost all pouring South African craft beer. It’s a place where many new brands first launched, a place that offered a route to market in a country that makes it difficult for craft brewers to get their beers into the hands of drinkers. Devil’s Peak’s official launch was held on the deck here, with head brewer JC Steyn delivering the country’s first keg of King’s Blockhouse IPA to the Jam in 2012. It has, for more than a decade, been considered the spiritual home of the Southyeasters – Cape Town’s homebrewing club. And indeed, both Greg and I completed our first brew together on the deck a decade ago. It was a hot mess that we served anyway at that year’s Southyeasters Summer Fest, but it set in motion perhaps the most crucial change in Greg’s career since Banana Jam first opened in 1999. A BREWERY IS BORN After importing beer, launching beer, pouring beer and pairing Banana Jam’s Caribbean cuisine with beer, there was only one thing left to do: brew some beer. It began in Greg’s garage with casual Sunday afternoon brewdays led by his long-term brewing partner (and my even longer-term matrimonial partner), Shawn Duthie. But beer-filled carboys in the bathtub soon threatened Greg’s matrimonial bliss and so he could see only one option – to create a second floor in his restaurant and install a microbrewery and pub above the Jam. In early 2015, Afro Caribbean Brewing Company was born. The ACBC crew at Woodstock Winter Beer Fest Greg with brewers TJ and Jake at Banana Jam's Oktoberfest Umqombothi brewing demo on South African National Beer Day, 2020 Belgian Beer Day at Banana Jam ontapmag.co.za | Summer 2022 | 21