Former Tenant Red IPA by Modus Operandi
This week we rectify a significant oversight for this blog. I’ve been writing this for well over a year now, and have yet to write about one of my favourite breweries: Modus Operandi. And, for my money, the pick of their impressive range of beverages is the Former Tenant Red IPA.
The Modus Operandi name will certainly be familiar to many Aussie craft beer afficionados. I don’t think this post will be opening too many people’s eyes to the quality beers coming out of Mona Vale. But the point of this blog is to write about beers I love and Former Tenant 110% fits the bill.
As a bit of a bonus, there’s a pretty solid backstory to the beer as well. The story goes that police were chasing a criminal down an alley behind the building currently occupied by Modus Operandi’s premises. The tenant at the time apparently was engaged in moderately dubious agricultural pursuits. Though unrelated to their pursuit, the aroma apparently led the police to discover this illicit cultivation. Hence the hoppiness of Former Tenant red IPA is something of a tribute to the pungent aroma that let to the actual former tenant’s demise.
As far as I’m concerned, Former Tenant is the gold standard of Aussie red IPA’s. That’s not to say there are no better red IPA’s out there. But there aren’t many. And Former Tenant is the standard they’re measured against. Plus, there’s an ever-expanding stack of awards that this particular beer keeps accumulating that backs me up in that assessment. So I’m hardly the only one who holds Former Tenant in such high regard.
Former Tenant is heavily IPA in flavour. It’s definitely at the hoppy end of the spectrum for a red IPA. This isn’t a red with big caramelly malts and a bit of a hoppy kick. The maltiness here is very much a complimentary feature. It adds a really pleasant depth and warm background support to the dominant hoppy punch. But make no mistake, the hoppy punch has the starring role here. As I’ve alluded to many times previously, my descriptive powers largely fail me with this one. It’s just a hoppy, red can of awesomness.
I absolutely love me a red IPA. If I had to narrow it down to just one variety of beer, I’d probably have to go with red IPA’s as my favourite. For that reason, I do tend to drink a fair few of them. And I can say without a second’s hesitation that this is an absolute cracker of a red IPA. It’s brilliant, it’s one of my favourites, and you should go try one. If you’ve already tried one, you should go get another.