SKA Modus Hoperandi IPA

Brewed by SKA Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Durango, Colorado USA

Thanks Chibbyman. Amber pour with an off white head. Piney hop aroma. Nice hop and malt flavor. Well balanced. Hop flavor lingers on in the mouth. Nice creamy mouthfeel. Laces the glass. Very good beer from a can.

retty good IPA and it come sin a can... Poured a hazy reddish orange color with some head that stayed a bit. Smells citrus with some pine. Medium body with a crisp carbonation and a smooth finish. Very hoppy taste but remained balanced. Some grapefruit notes but little sweetness.. Nice IPA

33.5 cl can, Fargo, ND, USA. Hazy amber colour, creamy thick head. Pronounced citrus and coriander aroma, refreshingly light and crisp on the first sip, with some building pepper and heat. Long spice finish.

Can at Green Eye. Pours a nice looking copper with a foamy head. Nose is a very clean hop character, citric and resiny at the same time with a little crystal malt showing through. Taste is actually quite good, very standard IPA notes, nothing putting it over the top, but it is quite dry and like a smaller cousin of Decadent. Plenty of C-hop character and resins to keep it interesting. Would make a really good session beer. Good.

Bottled February 2009; Sampled June 2009
A soft’ish pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a three finger thick, light tan colored head that has some staying power to it. The beer is a dark copper, amber color that shows an almost clear, full copper color when held up to the light. The aroma has a herbal and citrus note to it, though it doesn’t jump out of the glass. Notes of Meyer lemon, a touch of lychee as well as some grapefruit zest notes seem to be drowned out at times by a dusty, cracker like malt note. The aroma is not bad, but it certainly isn’t remotely brash like a decent IPA should be.

The beer is fairly dry, but does have some malt body to it that makes it cling to the palate just a bit. Herbal and menthol hop notes define the up front flavors and there is a biting bitterness here as well. The citrus hop notes take a distant backseat, but provide some just noticeable orange flavors. The malt character here is defined by the crystal malt which contributes a touch of toffee, some caramelized grain character and some biscuit like grain notes.

In many ways this seems a bit like a mildly hop focused Amber Ale, it does have a biting bitterness to it, but other than that the hop character is severely lacking.

Draft @ Falling Rock. Deep copper color. Taste and smell are mainly pine hoppiness. Good straightforward IPA and an easy drinker - just not a lot in the way of complexity.

Bottle. Amber with no head. Pretty nice nose- a HUGE improvement over the decadent iipa. Some tropical fruits, some citrus, pine, a light caramel malt backbone. More one-demensional flavor with lots of piney bitterness. Drinkable and slightly oily palate. Solid and the best offering I have had from Ska.

12 oz can into a nonic. Appearance is slightly hazy amber/copper. Pours with 2+ fingers of creamy off white head, which fades slowly to a thin cap; excellent retention. Tons of sticky lacing. Smells of pine/grapefruit hoppiness. Slight malty notes hide behind the onslaught of hops. Tastes of grapefruit and pine resin hops, combining for a superbly bitter finish. Fairly solid, sweet caramel malt provides good balance. Alcohol is well blended. Moderate carbonation with a medium feel. Slightly slick and coating oiliness. Rock solid. Looks, smells, and taste are all excellent....goes down easy. This is good stuff, and I certainly wish I had another in front of me.