Having never been a fan of Ska music, with it’s chequered suspenders and clean up stroked guitar lines, I’m happy to say that the same cannot be said for the wonderful beers that have been coming out of Ska Brewing over the past few years. Their award winning Decedent IPA is right up there with one of my favourite IPAs. However, that being said, I still approached the contents of this bright orange can with an err of caution.
Given that this is a play on one of their more successful beers, Modus Hoperandi, widely considered to be one of the best IPAs on the market today, I couldn’t help but be sceptical that tinkering with perfection would only spell disaster for this Colorado brewery. Thankfully this is not the case, as the first initial taste reveals that the unmistakable Modus taste is still present. This wave of relief is followed quickly after by subsequent waves of ‘mandarininess’.
One thing that should be clarified here is that you should not expect to find a sort of tang here that you might associate with miniature orange fruit. It is not the goal of the brewery here to turn their beloved beer into a sort of sour. Instead what can be found in this adventuress ale are ever-increasing undercurrents of mandarin.
What’s fantastically surprising here is that the citrus aromas and fruity flavour appear to amplify the more you carry on drinking and by the end of the glass you are left feeling like a sort of mandarin connoisseur, able to pick one out of any line up of clementines and satsumas. With the added bonus of being one of your five-a-day, this is one brew not to be missed.
Modus Mandarina is available at McHughs.ie from €3.30
Having previously devoted every ounce of his spare time to music, Tony is more commonly found these days in a kitchen than on a stage. With experience in writing on festivals and shows around the country he has recently turned his pen to more culinary exposés. With a particular penchant for craft beer he can often be spotted travelling from one bar to another in search of the latest brew to hit the market.
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