On Sunday the 8th of October I visited the Modus Operandi Brewery in Mona Vale, New South Wales. This brewery was started by Grant and Jaz, the owners, just over three years ago. The motivation for it came after they completed a motor home trip around America visiting craft breweries.
The brewery consists of a 12 hectolitre brew line feeding eight 24 hectolitre and two 48 hectolitre fermenters. The brewery also runs its own canning line and also has an old soup can sealer to seal the large one litre cans for fresh take home beer. The canning line is housed in the basement, as are bright tanks for keg filling, where the previous tenants of the building once carried out a hydroponic plant growing operation, until they came under the attention of the local police.
The brewery is running at very close to capacity production to keep up with demand from interstate and local sales. To do this they employ three full time brewers and one full time canning line operator. The cans are stored cold before shipping to help aid freshness.
They have won a great many awards for their beers over the time that they have existed, but the more recent ones include; Champion IPA, a Silver Medal for their Porter and Best Medium Size Brewery at the 2017 AIBA. They won Best Small Brewery in 2016 but an increase in capacity saw them move up a category. They also picked up the Best in Show Award at the recent Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Show.
Their focus is very much on American style IPAs using American hops and yeast strains imported from the USA. They are also in the process of ageing some of their beers in oak barrels.
On the 21st October the Modus Operandi Brewery will be hosting a Tinnie Party in the street outside the brewery that will also include Balter, Batch, Feral, Green Beacon and Pirate Life Breweries and their beers. I really wish I could be there, these are some of Australia’s top breweries and the beers on offer should be fantastic.
At the brewery they have a good food menu and also regularly have live music.
The beers that I sampled were:
Kite Flyer, 4.8% abv, this is a cream ale which is basically a lager made with an ale yeast. It is straw coloured and has a malt aroma. The flavour is of malt and then a gentle crisp bitter finish.
Lay Back, 4.5% abv, this is an Australian style Pale Ale with a golden colour and a tropical fruit aroma. It has a fresh fruity flavour and a mild bitter finish. This one is not available in cans and can only be had at the venue. Easy drinking.
Modus Session Ale, 4.1% abv, this is a golden coloured IPA style with an aroma of melon and citrus. It has a sweet fruity flavour and then a lovely full IPA bitter finish. Very sessionable.
Modus Pale Ale, 5.2% abv, this is an American style Pale Ale that was awarded Australian Champion Pale Ale in 2015. It has a golden colour and a pine and citrus aroma. The flavour is one of strong citrus to begin with and then a strong resinous bitterness on the finish.
Sonic Prayer IPA, 6.0% abv, this is a golden coloured IPA with a citrus and stone fruit aroma. It has a beautiful sweet fruit initial flavour and then a generous, resinous bitter finish. Nice!
Former Tenant, 7.8% abv, this is a Red IPA with an amber colour and tropical fruit aromas of mango and passionfruit. It has a wonderful big malt flavour of caramel that transitions into a resinous, fruity hop bitter finish.
Silent Knight Porter, 5.6% abv, this Porter won a Gold Medal at the Sydney Royal Show. It has a black colour and a roasted coffee and dark chocolate aroma. It has a smooth mouth feel and a complex malt flavour with hints of espresso, chocolate and caramel. Delicious!
Black Lab, 5.0% abv, this is a Milk Stout with a black colour and roasted malt aroma. It has a nice flavour of sweet malt with tastes of chocolate and coffee.
Cashella IPA, 6.1% abv, this IPA has a cloudy straw colour and a sweet citrus fruit aroma. It has a lovely sweet citrus fruit initial taste and then a huge hop bitterness on the finish.
McGavin’s Original AP Lemon Tea Ale, 5.1% abv, this unusual brew has a hazy straw colour and a strong zesty lemon aroma. It has a strong lemon sour flavour. Refreshingly different!
The beers on offer at Modus Operandi were all quite distinctive and all very enjoyable. This is a brewery with a very individual flavour to its beers and is doing a fantastic job of turning out wonderful craft beer. I really enjoyed my time at the brewery and would like to thank Lockie and Sarah for their hospitality while I was there.
