GREAT HOPS BREWING BANSHEE
Share an honest convo over these GorBEERchevs rather than denying and diverting and offering excuses until we're all thoroughly cooked, and only the cockroaches survive!
Origin – Armidale, New South Wales
ABV – 5.4%
Size – 440mL can
Style – Dark Ale
Senator Jacqui Lambie reacted adversely to being told she couldn’t access the Qantas lounge, dropping expletives and screaming at the top of her lungs. The whole thing was captured on CCTV. It’s easy to criticise, but we've all been frustrated beyond compare and lost it. For most of us, though, there's not a camera in sight. I could have provided YouTube with several viral videos myself over the years. Particularly the one when I swiped all the books off the bookshelf in my daughter's bedroom, screaming like a banshee about the messy state of her room. Note to self: making more mess while complaining about mess is counterproductive.
However, as Lambie and many fellow parents know, sometimes a good scream is just what you need! Sam Martin, the owner and founder of Great Hops, also understands the importance of getting things off your chest. In fact, it was the reason why Martin launched a taproom in early 2020 as an antidote to the low morale in his hometown of Armidale. While Great Hops had been around for several years in a brewing capacity, creating a place for locals to come and share the ups and downs of life was his first customer-facing venture. ‘We had been through quite a tough drought, and along with the bushfires, the sentiment was quite low’, explained Martin, 'so it was nice to provide a setting where folks could come as they are’.
And over the past 18 months, locals and tourists alike have come to do just that. Be it sharing a quiet beer and chat about another hard day on the farm, or a need to shout out a bunch of four-letter words due to frustration at the most recent wave of lockdowns, the cosy and eclectic taproom is a safe space to talk. Be it talking, shouting, wailing or screaming like a… well, banshee, this Nitro Banshee is perfect to wet the whistle. As a lover of dark beers himself, the Black Mountain Banshee was Sam's first release. While it's been tweaked over time – with nitrogen added here – it's still based on that original recipe. Brewed using a combination of caramel-like and roasted dark malts offset by lightly hopped Magnum and Goldings, the result is a light mouthfeel with hints of chocolate, caramel and coffee layered atop of a solid malt backbone.
After being disturbed for the millionth time while writing this review, with a Banshee in hand, I screamed multiple expletives at the kids - yes, I know that's not good parenting, even THEY tell me that. Take that, Dad! – While it was regrettable, gee, I feel better!