Modus Operandi, what can we say? Stunning range, delicious food, beautiful, beachy, chilled-out brewery. We’ll get to our top 5 but let us set the scene! Jaz and Grant are the husband and wife superstar founders of Modus who began this journey in 2012 checking out the US west coast craft beer scene in a motor-home for six months. Returning with buckets of beer knowledge – they collected one more souvenir, their head brewer, DJ. Since then they have turned an old industrial space into a welcoming and lively brewery, won all kinds of awards from Champion Medium Brewery to Champion IPA and won over the Australian public (if a top 10 pick on the 2015 GABs hottest 100 is anything to go by). SO our picks: No. 5: Sonic Prayer IPA A very approachable beer for the style. Classic hoppy, fruity smell and taste without any overpowering bitterness. With an ABV of 6% you might even call it a session IPA. No. 4: Silent Knight Porter A deep dark ale with a smell that’s equal parts chocolate and coffee which is reflected in the taste. Keeping to the porter style, it has a very smooth mouthfeel but has quite a clean finish. The brewers said they were aiming for a sessionable dark beer and they’ve done it. No. 3: Kite Flyer Ale MO said it all when they described the beer as “lager-like in character” however the light, fruity aftertaste and smell sets it apart with hints of peach. Clearly the brightest and most thirst quenching of the range, if we had to call it something it’d probably be a golden ale. No. 2: Layback Aussie Pale Ale Wow. This is possibly THE most fragrant beer we’ve encountered so far. Cinnamon, tropical fruit and an undeniable whiff of sweet mary jane (not that we know what that smells like..). The taste is very similar which is often the sign of top brewing skills. It’s actually like a party in your mouth. No. 1: Former Tennant Red IPA This is the beer that put Modus on our radars. B-e-a-utiful. Red red colour, sweet and fruity on the nose with notes of plum. Tastes exactly the right amount of bitter and sweet with hints of spice. This beer is dangerously drinkable – dangerously because it sits at 7.8% abv. For us there was no surprise when it turned up in 9th place on the hottest 100 beers (and at that time it wasn’t even being bottled or canned for sale, only on taps!) Awards: CBA Champion Australian Craft Beer 2014 CBA Champion Amber/Dark Ale 2014 | |
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thoughts & feelings - extended editionThis is where we at Sydney On Tap post all the things that couldn't fit into the paragraphs on each bar page, or the comments under each beer. Categories
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