BANKS BREWING ALLTIME
To ensure you're ready when the call comes, share one of these with a mate and together get your hours up in the flight simulator, so to speak!
Origin – Seaford, Victoria
ABV – 3.5%
Size – 355mL can
Style – Mid Strength
We've recently learnt that the banks have been charging us – and plenty of dead Australians, too – fees for no service. Standing around quoting Wolf of Wall Street like the bible, our bankers have watched us lose our life savings because of advice they knew was inappropriate. They've faked our signatures, lied to our regulators, ripped off the elderly and refused to make changes that would protect us because doing so would put them at a 'commercial disadvantage'. While the so-called 'top 4' have so neatly ignored the most basic principles of right and wrong, decency and immorality, another 'bank' has been hard at work to do good.
Indeed, every detail about Banks, from the quest to make beer better to the family-friendly beer garden, serves as a reminder to Chris & Penny Farmer's altruistic motives. The husband & wife team started the brewery with Chris' life at a crossroads. He could either take over this father's family business that Chris himself had been running for the past decade or branch out on his own and do something else. He followed his passion for homebrewing and chose the latter option. Opening in 2016, it wasn't long before the small brewery couldn't keep up with demand. So, late in 2017, Banks (then Mr Banks) expanded into a new one, complete with a bar and beer garden on the same site. What was previously a brewery and small cellar door turned into a serious beer destination in Melbourne’s south-eastern fringe.
Since its inception, Banks' reputation for creating high ABV hazys, and oat cream IPAs in particular, has made them one of the most sought-after brands for the country's beer chasers. Yet, in the understated and straightforward offerings like this mid-strength, Chris's talent shines. With nowhere to hide imperfections, such a style it’s all about nuance, drinkability and the right amount of character. Lightly dry-hopped with Centennial & Cascade, this Alltime ticks all three boxes, layering citrus and melon on a mild malt base.
An all-time beer for all times, unlike CBA, with this Banks you'll vaporise something other than your life savings!
