Modus Hoperandi

In what seems to be a growing trend, Ska has joined the ranks of craft brewers packaging exceptional products in cans. Modus Hoperandi comes blasting out of Durango, Colo., tossing around massive amounts of hops while still remembering it is a beer rather than hop soup. The beer pours an inviting deep gold, almost tending toward amber, and it throws a prodigious, creamy-white head that lingers to the very end of the glass. An initial whiff of grapefruit in the nose is quickly supplanted by a firm resinous, almost pine-like aroma. Nick opined that this beer’s aroma is the very definition of resinous, while Tom praised the interplay of lightly caramel-accented malt and resiny, woody hop aromas. The flavor does not deviate one bit from the initial aromatic assault – there are hops everywhere. Monster pine needle and Satsuma orange peel flavors drift over a refined malty sweetness, while traces of earthy grassiness lurk just below the surface. A firmly bitter beer, as is to be expected of the style, Tim gave it extra credit for deftly managing to blend the bitterness and hop flavors with provocative dark fruit notes he likened to ripe, late-season plums. The panel members were unanimous in their assertion that this is a classic brew deserving of inclusion in any well-stocked beer pantry. If you’re a hop head, be sure you put Modus Hoperandi on your “Must Have” list today.