OnTap Magazine

Like Rochelle, TJ started as a server – in this case tending bar downstairs. “I started working behind the bar towards the end of 2017,” says TJ. “A year later I applied to intern upstairs. I think the main reason I wanted to learn more about beer was because I never liked beer and couldn’t understand why people drank it!” These days, I think it’s fair to consider TJ a convert. Indeed, a number of the beers on tap – including one that’s become a flagship, Lagerfarian, are TJ’s creations. A BEER FOR EVERY PALATE As I write this, I am sitting at the Jam, sipping on a Session 157 – a low ABV IPA that has become one of Afro Caribbean’s most popular beers. The usual soundtrack of Bob Marley, peppered with a few lesser-known reggae hits and the occasional Latin tune, plays in the background. But while the music remains much the same as it has for years, the landscape of the downstairs bar is slightly different to when TJ first started here in 2017. These days more than half of the 30 taps pour beers brewed at the upstairs brewery. Some local craft beers remain, including the one that kicked it all off: Jack Black’s Lager. But for the most part Banana Jam operates as the plus-sized taproom for Afro Caribbean, the upstairs only being open for special events and private functions. I go to the bar and spend a few minutes perusing the latest special brews. There’s always something new on tap, whether it’s a delicate Italian pilsner, the latest in a long line of hazy IPAs, a full bodied stout, flavoured with coffee or orange or coconut, or something brewed specifically for the season. And I’m happy to add that the pours are certainly a little more generous than on that Monday evening when I popped in to see what the South African craft beer scene had to offer a little over a decade ago. IPA DAY Banana Jamwasoneof thefirst SouthAfricanestablishments tocelebrate IPADay, anAmerican initiative takingplaceglobally on the first Thursday inAugust. Fromthe first celebration in 2012, whenGreg struggled to fill six tapswith local IPA, the annual event has become a mustn't miss party featuring a line-up of in-house iterations of craft beer’s favourite style. 420 If there’s something Afro Caribbean is known for, it is their love of hops. On 20 April they celebrate the “other hop” with a range of special beers… OKTOBERFEST Litre steins of festbier, platters of wurst and pretzels, oompahmusic on the speakers and silly costumes all round – Banana Jam’s Oktoberfest party is a stalwart on the local scene. BELGIAN BEER DAY Following the success of this first-time event in 2022, it looks set to be an annual addition to the calendar. Look out for special beer releases, bitterballen, waffles, mussels and frites in late September. SOUTHYEASTERS XMAS PARTY Open to all, this festive celebration is identical each year, with a secret Santa gift swap, a best-dressed competition, charity drive and of course the hotly awaited raffle….raffle…raffle… There’s always something new on tap FIVE BANANA JAM EVENTS TO PUT ONYOUR CALENDAR With the Red Dot team in Singapore Greg is the well-known frontman of both Banana Jam and Afro Caribbean, but when he is gallivanting around the country en route to beer festivals, or boozing around Cape Town entertaining visiting brewers, someone has to hold the fort. Shannon McGovern is Greg’s partner in both business and life, and while she tends to prefer to stay far from the limelight, a feature on Banana Jam would be incomplete without paying homage to the calming influence behind Greg’s sometimes frenetic creativity; the woman Greg simply refers to as “The Boss”. THE BOSS ontapmag.co.za | Summer 2022 | 23