Friday, August 28, 2009

A BRIEF CATCH-UP AND SOME SKA BREWING IPA




okay. so i've been lax in my beer reviewing. which is a damn shame because i've been tasting some great beers and also having some fantastic drinking experiences. allow me to mention the names of a few beers i've failed to review, along with a quick numeric rating out of top level 10 to quantify each ale. please feel free to ask for more detailed notes on any of these ales. i'm always up for writing or retasting beers.

- Great Divide Chocolate Imperial Stout (10/10)
- Stone 13th Anniversary Ale (7/10)
- Stone Russian Imperial Stout (9/10)
- Otter Creek Imperial Stout (5/10 - needs at least a year cellaring)
- Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter (7/10)
- Allagash White Ale (10/10)
- Delirium Tremens (10/10) 
- Avery The Reverend (8/10)
- Avery Salvation (8/10)
- Avery Maharaja (10/10)
- Leffe Blonde (8/10)
- Shiner Smokehaus Series (6/10 - unique, but barely drinkable)
- Bristol Brewing Company Laughing Lab Scottish Ale (9/10 - best scottish ale i've had yet)
- Flying Dog Imperial Porter (10/10)
- Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale (8/10)
- Flying Dog Horn Dog Barleywine Style Ale (8/10)
- Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel (9/10)
- Dogfish Head 120 Minute (4/10 - not drinkable, i don't care how "delicate" or "rare" it is)
- UFO Hefeweizen (3/10)
- UFO White (4/10)
- LeftHand Polestar Pilsener (2/10)
- Full Sail Session Lager (8/10 - this is a very good lager and totally worth the money)

- not to mention, ben and i had a side-by-side tasting of Boulder's Mojo IPA and O'Dell's IPA. amazing. the tasting deserves a full review. we nearly lost ourselves on the front porch.

but i'm not drinking those beers tonight. tonight i'm sipping some Modus Hoperandi India Pale Ale (from a bottle) by Ska Brewing Company (Durango, CO). i feel like i should be listening to the Supertones, but i do not own any. instead, i have access to this

Modus Hoperandi IPA weighs in a 6.8% ABV and 65 IBUs. tons of pine grove. a nice wash of grapefruit. i taste more citrus than anything. overall, Ska Brewing's Modus Hoperandi is big. i've had three, and i'm losing words. the hops are larger than life - great for a tasting, not so much for longevity drinking. after the several here, i'm relying on the "delete" key to revise nearly every sentence. 

also, i drank these Modus Hoperandi while writing a review of A PERFECT GETAWAY. 

find some Modus Hoperandi. buy it. consume it with zero regard. 

and bless your brass section.

Modus Hoperandi is surprisingly good. very citrusy. big, big, big grapefruit hop flavors over a light biscuit lay. i finished the third bottle with an intense desire for Dos XX Amber or Miller Lite. somethings, like japanese instrumental rock, are too big for words.

1 comment:

  1. nice review. I have little time to comment at this point but will say a few things.

    first: i agree on the 120 minute. not worth anything, i also don't particularly enjoy the 60 minute, but will sink my mouth into a 90 minute every now and again.

    second: it bothers me that there are so many breweries that you can get your hands on and i can't. It really doesn't make sense because at any given time i have about 3 states at my fingertips.

    third: how do you have the money to be tasting so many different beers.
    i must confess i haven't reviewed in awhile simply because i haven't had anything to review.

    Baker

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