To followers of the beer scene, it won’t come as any great surprise that Greg Casey – of Banana Jam fame – has opened a microbrewery at the long-running Caribbean-themed temple of beer. In fact, half of you are probably thinking ‘didn’t Banana Jam already have a brewery on site’?

Well no, it didn’t. But now it does. Afro Caribbean Brewing Company officially opens its doors this weekend (November 13th) and you’re invited to the party! Never one to do things by halves, Greg has added a second floor to the restaurant, and decked it out in a style that wouldn’t be out of place in any American brewpub. It was a trip to the States back in 2011 that sparked Greg’s interest in craft beer so it makes sense that his brewpub should reflect the style of the bars that inspired him.

But enough about soft furnishings and jealousy-inducing trips to Beer Central, I hear you cry – what about the beer? Well don’t expect the norm. Let’s face it, there’s not a great deal that’s normal about Greg. Along with bestest brew buddy/my husband Shawn Duthie, Greg has developed recipes for three flagship beers – a Coconut IPA (I didn’t even like coconut until I tasted this beer), a Bacon Chilli Ale and an English bitter. But the 120-litre system is ideal for experimentaletion (see what I did there?) and you can always expect to find something special on tap – so far this year there’s been an American Brown Ale, biltong beer, red IPA, juniper ale and “Drop it ‘n Hop it”, a beer brewed in collaboration with the Southyeasters, where each member turned up with 10g of hops and chucked them in the boil whenever they arrived (taste it at the Cape Town Festival of Beer later this month).

“Playing around with new recipes is the best bit of brewing and we’re lucky that we can experiment,” says Greg, adding that they’ve got plenty of “normal” beer on tap downstairs.

ACBC’s beers will only be available on tap at the brewpub, which take Banana Jam’s tap toll to 38. But if you want to continue the Caribbean party in the comfort of your own hammock, grab a two-litre growler from the bar and fill it with your favourite ACBC beer to take home. Growlers are R350 and the first fill is free.

Keep an eye out for the brew bar’s opening times. As well as private functions catering for up to 70 people, the bar will be open on brew days, with beer on tap and a menu of light snacks for nibbling on.

Join Greg, Shawn and an army of beer geeks for the official launch of the Afro-Caribbean brew bar on November 13th and 14th or catch them at the Cape Town Festival of Beer on November 27th, 28th & 29th.