They’ve long had a love for lager at Banks and if you too have a deep affinity for their cold fermented crispies, here’s some delightful news. The brewery’s recent expansion saw them bring in some design elements to allow them to get more traditional with their lagers, such as through step mashing. It’s an old-world process that sees the mash temperature progressively increased through a series of rests and Banks hasn't wasted a moment and used it on all three of their Oktoberfest beers.
Let’s start with the most Oktoberfest of them all, Festbier. It’s a beer that brings Bavarian tradition in all its glory too thanks to floral and herbal aromas and a lasting flavour that's akin to bread that’s just been pulled out of the oven. On top of that, there’s a slight note of lemon zest while it’s dry, crisp and has a gentle bitterness that make it effortlessly moreish.
Then there’s Extra Foam, a spin on the brewery’s much-loved core range pils that's travelled via Germany’s north. If you know and love Foam - raises hand - you’ll find a lot of what you love about it thanks to its dry-cracker character and herbal side. But in this instance, the bitterness is turned up to eleven and the beer finishes a little dryer (which I thought was impossible but here we are).
Finally, Schwarzbier takes a trip to the dark side with the lager just about as lean as the other two beers while packing in an impressive array of malty goodness. There’s dark chocolate, blackberries and roasted coffee which are at once rich and light-bodied enough to fade with each sip.
Will Ziebell
Published October 19, 2023 2023-10-19 00:00:00
