Ska's M.O

The brew crew in Bodo is marking off another milestone this week. Ska Brewing’s flagship IPA – and Colorado’s “OG IPA in a can” – Modus Hoperandi is 10 years old.

To celebrate, Ska – in addition to drinking lots of Modus Hoperandi – will be popping the top on custom label artwork, specialty merchandise and sudsy events in what it is calling the “Summer of Modus.”

A nod to its punny name, Modus Hoperandi was the first of many India pale ales that helped establish Ska as a skilled IPA house and one of the country’s original canned IPAs when it debuted in 2009. To date, Modus is one of Ska’s and Colorado’s most decorated beers, with awards in 14 national and international beer festivals – including the Stockholm Beer and Whiskey Festival and the European Beer Star. Modus will go down as the first canned IPA available in Sweden and a convert beer for many a macro fizzy lager drinker in Colorado and beyond. Earlier this year, USA Today called Modus “one of America’s most delicious beers.”

The accolades are not by accident. Modus Hoperandi is perhaps the beer that Ska has put the most effort into developing, said Ska co-founder and CEO Dave Thibodeau, including a rigorous and grueling blind tasting of every Colorado IPA they could get their hands on (the horror!) “We knew that we wanted pine and citrus, and Ska staff palates lead us toward Modus’ bold flavor and 6.8 percent ABV,” he said.

To start your summer of Modus, pick up a limited-edition combo 12er of Modus (six cans of Hoperandi and six cans of Mandarina) complete with the special anniversary artwork.

Modus fans are also asked to share their Modus memories on social media with the hashtag #mymodusmemories. That is, if you can remember.