Banks Beer - Banks (Barbados) Breweries Limited

beertunes

Washington

3.26/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Rampaige for grabbing this for me on her recent visit to Barbados. Best by date of 5/13. Poured into 9oz pilsener glass. Poured a clean, clear, bright golden yellow color. An accidentally over aggressive pour got me just under 2 inches of bright white head that had very good retention and light-moderate lacing.

The aroma was about what was expected, grainy, a bit sweet and just some gentle hops. The flavors were basically the same as the scent, mildy sweet,decent base grains, and the hops were a bit crisper.

The body was the typical light and clean that you'd expect in a beach beer. Drinkability was good for what it is. I suspect if I were sitting on a beach in Barbados, I'd be pouring these down my neck at an alarming rate. Overall, nothing special, but worth a shot if the opportunity presents itself.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2013 00:16:10 | More by beertunes

eduardolinhalis

Switzerland

2.75/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 3.25

330ml bottle served in a Weizen glass.

A: Pours a standard Lager clear yellow golden color forming a medium white fluffy and soft head. Low retention and some few lacings

S: Sweet grains and adjunct grains with an honourable light smell of honey. That's all. Biscuity Lager style and some flowery hops

T: Follows the nose, sweet malts, korn, Lager yeasts, nuts and hops

M: Light body, good carbonation. Sweet grains and adjunct grains aftertaste

O: Medium drinkability. Well...

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2013 20:31:16 | More by eduardolinhalis

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.05/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 ounce bottle - $1.99 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.

"BBE JUL 2013"

Appearance: Pours a clear, light pale yellow body with an ample cap of white suds.

Smell: A sweaty scent of basic malted barley with some sweetish cereal notes, a slight graininess, and small kiss of hops.

Taste: Modestly grainy pale, pale malts with a touch of corn syrup sweetness. Again, though it's modest, the graininess is sustained well into the aftertaste. Slight spice hint from the hops, low bitterness. Dry, grainy, lightly bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Medium carbonation.

Overall: Banks for nothin'! Not nearly as good as some lagers, but, it's also not nearly as rancid as some lagers.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2012 21:18:42 | More by ChainGangGuy

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

2.48/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A 330ml bottle with a BB of April 2013. Picked up from a supermarket - a new summer import. The printed bottle says Banks Caribbean Lager, but the ABV is identical and I conclude that this is the same beer. 'The legendary Caribbean beer celebrated across the region' - we'll see...

Poured into a tulip pint glass. A clear golden colour with light carbonation. Forms a decent head of creamy white foam that lasts for a couple of minutes before dissipating. Aroma of faint malt with notes of corn, mild stewed hops and overcooked veg. Slightly sweet, with a stale character. Not particularly appetising.

Tastes of light malt with a mild, dry finish. A subtle sweetness pervades the flavour. Hints of stewed hops/veg and faint corn. A weak, slightly harsh bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly, with surprisingly full body. Could be a tad more carbonated, though it feels OK. Delicate aftertaste of sweet adjuncts and malt.

Meh - a rather crappy adjunct lager; is this really the best the Caribbean can do? I'm not sure even being there would help me like this more - bring on the rum! Lots of unpleasant notes in the aroma, though the flavour is cleaner. The mouthfeel is pretty good, but I don't like the sweetness. The ingredients include sugar and corn syrup - they could try toning those back. All said, it's not great. Grab one if you want to tick Barbados, otherwise avoid.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2012 21:30:42 | More by jazzyjeff13

thehyperduck

Ontario (Canada)

2.73/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

330 mL bottle from the LCBO; best before April 2013. Barbadian beer, you say? I don't mind ticking another country, I guess... but it'll take some convincing to get me to splurge on a six-pack of some Caribbean pale lager. One bottle will do fine however - I'll tick pretty much anything for the price of a single.

Pours a golden-yellow colour, bright and clear, topped with one finger of fizzy white head that vanishes almost as quickly as it arose. No lacing; its only remnants are some wisps of film on the surface and a thin collar. A familiar-looking brew for sure, and the aroma is equally unimaginative. Vegetal corn notes are annoyingly prominent, with some underlying grainy pale malts and grassy hop notes. I'll cut it a break here - not the most enticing aroma I've ever sampled, but the underlying non-corn elements are approachable enough.

Not particularly tasty, even by adjunct lager standards. The backbone is pale malts, crackers and corny sweetness, with some grassy, wet hay-like hops that remind me of an EPL. Dry finish with some solvent and musty cardboard flavour, but the aftertaste is mostly clean. Light-bodied, with heavy carbonation that gives it a prickly, lively mouthfeel. Fairly refreshing, and easy to throw back quickly like most pale lagers.

This is drinkable, but I can't think of any reason why you'd want to pick this specifically (unless you're at a resort and it's cheap/available). Better than Corona IMO, but not worth buying at import prices, and definitely not one of the better Caribbean pale lagers I've had in the past. The solvent-like note toward the finish is just too off-putting for me to want to drink much of this.

Final Grade: 2.73, a C- that would probably be accompanied with a red-ink frowning face if this were an academic exercise. Banks Caribbean Lager is a brew that I just can't find any reason to recommend. Finding cheap, serviceable pale lagers is a fairly trivial task regardless of the market you live in. This stuff is no better than your average domestic value brand - so if you're going to drink swill, you might as well save a few bucks and avoid this entirely. I'd say this probably isn't worth trying, unless it's on the resort menu, or (like myself) you happen to be a ticker with self control issues.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2012 02:54:00 | More by thehyperduck

metter98

New York

2.98/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: The beer is clear yellow in color and has a very slight amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a thin white head that died down and left large wispy patterns of bubbles on the surface.
S: There are aromas of corn and rice in the nose along with some hints of sweetness.
T: Like the smell, the initial taste Is a bit sweet and has flavors of corn. A light amount of bitterness becomes noticeable towards the finish and masks the initial sweetness.
M: It feels a bit more than light-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is easy to drink. Even though there is some sweetness, there’s enough bitterness in the finish to help balance things out.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2012 12:16:34 | More by metter98

dbrauneis

New Jersey

2.93/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Pours a crystal clear pale golden yellow in color. The beer has a quarter finger tall white head that quickly reduces to a minimal amount of very thin film spread over the surface of the beer. Light amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate sweet aromas of adjunct malts, specifically corn and rice.

T: This beer is quite sweet with flavors of corn/rice adjunct malts. There is also a light presence of grassy hops that contribute some bitterness as well as a lingering sweetness.

M: On the lighter side of medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly thin/watery.

O: I could see this beer really appealing to the flavor palate for Barbados but was a little too sweet for my tastes - probably too sweet to be sessionable from my perspective.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2012 23:54:13 | More by dbrauneis

mick303

Ontario (Canada)

2.33/5  rDev -15.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Pours a quite active carbonation, leaves a half-decent lacing. Colour is bright golden.

The aroma is mostly shallow, dry malt. Nothing else is defined.

Taste is first of maltiness, then a slight citrus. A sourness develops after.

Mouthfeel is just unpleasant. Watery and sour. Not in anyway a pleasure to drink warmer than ice cold.

Won't go back to get more of this.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2012 22:25:07 | More by mick303

flyingpig

United Kingdom (Scotland)

2.53/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Light straw coloured with hints of gold but it did have a thumb sized, bubbly white head that settled to about half that size after a minute or two.

Corn and hints of grain with some bread, a touch of citrus and some light floral notes although none of them strong enough.

Basic lager taste with some corn adjuncts and bread mixed with some grain and a touch of citrus. There is a little taste of sugary syrup in there too but not a lot else.

Light bodied, touches of sweetness throughout and a sticky sort of feel to it. It is probably more refreshing than I am giving it credit for but it is basic.

A fairly ordinary beer and nothing to adventurous, you imagine it would taste better sitting in the sun in Barbados but it's not that great on a rainy night in Scotland.

1001 Beer Blog: http://abarwithnoname.wordpress.com

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2012 20:31:01 | More by flyingpig

EmperorBevis

United Kingdom (England)

2.28/5  rDev -17.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

I got this coz it was on special offer, gave the majority to a lager loving friend and tasted a tiny bit.

his was light yellow and fizzy looking

Aromas of a freshly opened frosted cereal package.

sweet syrupy taste real sugary and nothing else.

Easier drinking because of the sweetness other than that nothing positive.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2012 20:06:40 | More by EmperorBevis

Portertime

Florida

1.93/5  rDev -30.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Appearance: normally I would enjoy a session lager straight out of the bottle with a light meal but I will sample this one correctly in a glass. Like most session lagers, I went ahead and enjoyed this one “as cold as the Rockies”, which does normally mute the complexities of most beers but I want to also let it warm up to compare tastes. It pours a crystal clear gold like the sun straight from the Bahamas.

Smell: the adjunct corn shows through with a sweet, cob fresh aroma complete with a buttery diacetyl presence.

Taste: liquid frosted corn flakes comes to mind. Grainy, thin, lacking structure.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2012 03:11:15 | More by Portertime

chinchill

South Carolina

2.63/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

12 oz. bottle with a best by date of May 2012, served in a pint glass. Diffeerent artwork on bottle than shown on BA: includes appropriate phrase, "Caribbean Lager".

An attractive beer, being crystal clear, golden-yellow, with a 1.5 finger white head. The head dissipates quickly, however, and the light coloration accurately predicts a light taste.

Lightly skunky in both aroma and flavor, this beer is thirst-quenching and easy to down. The light-bodied mouthfeel is amply, but not over, carbonated. That's about the best that can be said. In addition to the skunky off-aroma and off-flavor, this beer has a weak finish and very little aftertaste. The sweetness in the aroma is followed by a largely balanced (sweet-bitter) taste.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2011 02:29:21 | More by chinchill

beerthulhu

New Jersey

2.42/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

A: Brilliant buttery-gold with a feverishly rise of misty micro-bubble showers. The head is sea-shell white, creamy and slight, and weak on the hold. Lacing is kept to a minimal.

S: Some diacetyl, buttermilk, and buttery grains.

T: For flavor there is dry buttered grains, again some diacetyl notes. Sweet corn, lemon and honey combine to deliver a strange punch of flavor midway that is quite hard to describe and put your tongue on.

M: tingly from the active carbonation, tight and crisp with an oily buttery texture.

O: Overall not impressed, low level of drinkability even by style, and a very strange taste that is hard to describe, let alone swallow. A tough pill to swallow, but easy to drain pour.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2011 23:55:27 | More by beerthulhu

NightINgale

Quebec (Canada)

3.03/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

355ml bottle. Poured into my large Pilsner Urquell glass.

A - Pours a pale, clear golden body, with a fairly nice-looking fluffy white head. Some bubbles, some lacing. I'll definitely give it credit for its head retention, so rare in pale lagers!

S - Not much to the aroma. Corn, slight doughy notes, maybe a slight hint of lemon.

T - For its style, this beer is not that bad. Crisp, fairly refreshing. A slight tart/sour lemon note here and there. Some moderate sweetness from the corn malts. Finishes fairly clean. As I was drinking it, I started to get a bit of an off-flavour in the after-taste, as well as some surprising fruitiness (what an odd combination!).

M - Light body to it, but I was happy that it was not too watery. The level of carbonation is pretty appropriate too (moderate); not like in some other adjunct lagers.

O - This is a decent, refreshing and not very bland pale lager. I have a feeling it is good to have in the summer, perhaps on the beach. Better than the more mainstream beers of Central America, but not something I would buy again.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2011 00:32:29 | More by NightINgale

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

2.58/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A - Pours a very pale golden colour, finger f head with no retention or lacing.

S - Musty, sour apple juice and sweet corn.

T - The exact same as the scent with a bitter bready malt that lingers. Sweet corn and apple cider flavours are definitely the promnent notes.

M - A tad watery and a bit prickly. Not as refreshing as I was thinking for a Carribean Lager.

O - I would drink this on vacation on the beach, but when in North American there's better beer to buy.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2011 00:37:15 | More by andrenaline

bark

Sweden

2.95/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

The bottle is labled ”Banks Caribbean Lager”, although at 4.7 %, and presented at the same page on their web site, I suppose they are the same beer.

The colour is pale yellow (6 EBC), the liquid clear. The low white head sinks quickly, leaving very little lacing on the glass.

The smell got chemical hints. Quite strong artificial bitter notes and sweet notes of French loaf and cheap candy.

The taste is a bit bitterer than I expected. Bit it is a kind of chemical and sharp kind of bitterness. The sweetness is sharp and sticky, too. The aftertaste is extremely short with some passing bitterness and a sweet hint in the finish.

The carbonation is quite strong, the medium sized bubbles sharp. The liquid is light.

A decent exotic adjunct lager, but nothing more than that.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2011 18:17:51 | More by bark

Sunnanek

Sweden

1.78/5  rDev -35.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

A: Pour is pale golden, almost straw-colored. The large white airy head leaves decent lacings.

S: Mild smell that holds lots of corn and some sweet corn. Very faint citric notes.

T: Corn, sweet malt and a metallic off-taste. Bitter hops way in the back.

M: Watery and medium-strong carbonation. Almost no aftertaste.

O: This one is an Adjunct Lager that doesn't make anyone happy (at least not those who like strong flavors in their beers).

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2011 20:27:04 | More by Sunnanek

ktrillionaire

Florida

3.28/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A -Pours a totally clear straw-gold hue and is capped with a thin fizzy white head.

S - It smells, strangely, slightly of white wine in a buttery, sweetly tart way. Not much else there.

T - The taste shows the white wine nuance again. I am a bit perplexed by it, but it is nice. There is not much else to speak of, except a hint of grainy beeriness on the finish.

M - Too flaccid and yet prickly. Not enhancing.

O - This is a strange beer, better than the average macro lager, very light, but unusually flavored.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2011 18:20:30 | More by ktrillionaire

stjaernstoft

Sweden

2.93/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Banks (Caribbean Lager), ABV: 4.7%.
355 ml bottle, 15.50 SEK at Systembolaget.

Appearance: Pale, yellow colour, and a white, kind of weak head.

Smell: Only minor hints of citrus and butter, but there is something more than I expected, possibly vanilla.

Taste: Moderate, but a little more bitternes and body than I usually find in the style. Malt, a little bit of butter (not too much), and perhaps some grass and citrus tones.

Mouthfeel: Some body. Drinkable, but a bit fizzy.

Overall: An OK summer lager. No explosion, but a little more taste than I was expecting. Good enough for sipping while lazing on a sunny afternoon.

(My first BeerAdvocate review.)

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2011 01:15:12 | More by stjaernstoft

afksports

New York

1.35/5  rDev -51.3%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

So it's about time for me to review this beer from some notes I made. It's a couple weeks since I left Barbados. I was sad to go. It's a beautiful place. But the island's main beer is not very good.

In fact it's hard to drink.

Poured multiple times from tap, bottle, and _plastic_ bottle, Banks Beer is an American Adjunct Lager through and through. They use sugar and corn in this one for sure. They actually proudly talk on the brewery tour about how they use sugar as an adjunct to make Banks. It makes me wonder a little what they're fermenting.

The appearance is your standard Bud yellow, hardly any fizz to speak of after the initial pour settles in. It's pasteurized clear, smells bland, and tastes bad. The bitterness isn't cleansing, it's off-putting. And there's a rank finish to it, even on tap. Paired with flavorful food, it's a hard beer to get down. Paired without, it's even rougher.

So after many trips to beaches south of New York, I understand the appeal of a "beach beer". What I never understood is why - in almost any situation - anyone would CHOOSE a beer like this one to drink on the beach.

Just have a rum punch. It's way better.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2011 22:02:51 | More by afksports

rarbring

Sweden

2.13/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

The brew is clear pale straw colored, has a white head that settles unevenly, leaving some lacing.

The smell is sweet, corn flakes, boiled maize. A faint Alka-Seltzer whiff.

Starting somewhat sweet, wheat crackers, then a fruity flavor, faintly raspberries (or raspberry ester). A weak bitterness.

Medium low carbonation, a weak body, rather refreshing feeling.

A standard adjunct lager - 'nuff said.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2011 15:30:52 | More by rarbring

JISurfer

South Carolina

3.15/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This is one of the many Caribbean beers I am "tackling" this summer. I'm sure you're probably asking "why"? Well, it gets really hot down here, so I figured a Caribbean beer would be good yard beer for the summer. Anyway, this was a decent one, definitely a good one for the heat, maybe one to take fishing with me. Appearance and smell were ok, but nothing really jumped out at me. Taste was light and malty, with a tiny hint of hops. Since it was light and easy on the palate, it would be very drinkable in the heat. The only problem with this one though, is that we can't get it in Charleston. Maybe it'll show up here this summer.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2011 01:53:37 | More by JISurfer

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

1.1/5  rDev -60.3%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

First had: bottle at Blue Monkey Bar, St. James, Barbados

A pale yellow beer with a light, quickly dissipating white head. General grains and skunkiness in the aroma; light sweetness and corn. Typical pale lager, with a taste similar to any run-of-the-mill macro; taste follows the aroma more or less. Thin and watery mouthfeel. Easily drinkable I suppose, but no decent flavor. Just stick with rum when you're in Barbados.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2010 20:46:04 | More by Rifugium

Bouleboubier

Pennsylvania

3.18/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Found this at the local Total Wine. Here's what I thought:

One of the clearest beers I've ever seen - I'm only saying this due to the fact that I don't regular drink the adjunct lager. Keeping an eye out for beers I've never had, that's all. Uber-clarity noted, the beer had a pale, slightly suntanned, straw tint and a white, finger-width, short-lived head. Naught on lacing.

Smelled as you would expect - corn sweet and grain husks. Many other adjunct lagers - Rolling Rock, Bud, PBR - smell about the same when they're not ice cold. Aroma brought to mind that of Quilmes as well.

Probably didn't drink this as cold as one should. But with a warmer temp, flavors do emerge. That said, it tastes like a generic cheap lager, not that it's bad for what it is. Says "Bohemian" to me. Grainy mostly with a touch of breadiness upfront and little corn syrupy sweetness toward the middle and to the back. An edge heavier on the tongue compared to most in the style. Moderately dry finish.

I could really only see drinking this again ice cold under the scorching sun. Decent beach beer surely.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2010 20:25:55 | More by Bouleboubier

tone77

Pennsylvania

2.88/5  rDev +4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is mild, some malts and grains. Taste is crisp, an unusual flavor, a suppose a bit mettalic or plastic like flavor comes through mildly. There is a touch of hops present. Feels light in the mouth and has good drinkability. Overall this is a mediocre effort.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2010 14:33:12 | More by tone77