Ska Modus Hoperandi

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I chatted with one of the owners, Bill, today. He gave me some ratios for the Modus Hoperandi.

The malt bill is simple:

88% 2-row
7% Caramel 120
5% Red Wheat

OG: 1.068

The hop bill is rather complex.

90 minute hop: Centennial 20% of the total bill.
30 min hop: 2/3 cascade 1/3 centennial 20% of the total bill.
5 min: 1/2 cascade 1/2 Columbus 25% of the total bill
0 min: 2/3 cascade 1/3 Columbus 35% of the total bill
Dry hop: 2/3 cascade 1/3 Columbus "Pretty Heavily"

IBU: 70

I'll be playing around with this in Beersmith for awhile. I hope to give it a try within a couple of weeks.

I love the beer but don't care to spend $9.00-$9.50 a six when store owners don't take care of it.
 
For a 5 gallon batch. What is the exact breakdown per ounce of hops at those additions? Sounds like I need to make this beer.
 
Halaster said:
For a 5 gallon batch. What is the exact breakdown per ounce of hops at those additions? Sounds like I need to make this beer.
Click to expand...

I don't know.

Bill gave me these rather detailed instructions. He is allowing me to share this with others. Beyond what I have posted he suggests you work it out on your own. That is what I am planning to do.
 
Wayne1 said:
I love the beer but don't care to spend $9.00-$9.50 a six when store owners don't take care of it.
Click to expand...

How do store owners not take care of it? We get it in cans out here. It's rather hard to abuse an opaque package. And I can take it about anywhere!
 
z987k said:
How do store owners not take care of it? We get it in cans out here. It's rather hard to abuse an opaque package. And I can take it about anywhere!
Click to expand...

Storing it warm on a shelf instead of in the cooler. Not rotating stock.
 
I'll have to look for it at the Friar Tucks next time I pass by Savoy, IL. Alot of the liquor stores though keep most beers on the shelf in limited quantities and hope they sell quickly.
 
Wayne1 said:
Storing it warm on a shelf instead of in the cooler. Not rotating stock.
Click to expand...
Nothing at all wrong with storing it warm, hot wouldn't be good.
Halaster said:
I'll have to look for it at the Friar Tucks next time I pass by Savoy, IL. Alot of the liquor stores though keep most beers on the shelf in limited quantities and hope they sell quickly.
Click to expand...

It's there. Bottom shelf in the warm isle.
 
z987k said:
Nothing at all wrong with storing it warm, hot wouldn't be good.
Click to expand...

I disagree. There is a significant difference in flavor, to my palate between packages correctly stored cool at all times and those that are allowed to warm up and must be chilled again.

It is my money and my tastes. I won't buy beer that is stored warm on a shelf.
 
Mr. Nice Guy said:
Prost for a Ska thread!

But I thought the hoperandi was just fermented fress pressed hop juice?
Click to expand...

It's a damn good beer.... but not that hoppy. You do bring up a good idea though.... I got to do something with these 6lbs of hops that showed up on my door today.
 
Anyone have a report and/or recipe on this yet (how much dry hopping does it really take)? This has become my favorite beer, especially in cans. "Pretty Heavy" late hops, indeed. Mmmmm.
 
Since no one is offering their interpretation, here is the start of a partial mash I'm planning to try based on the info Wayne provided above. Any comments? It should get me around 1.068 OG and 70ish IBUs and most importantly lots of late hop taste.

7 gal boil, 5 gal finish:

Malts:
3.5 lbs. US 2-row malt
1 lbs. Caramel 120°L malt
0.75 lbs. Wheat Malt
6 lbs. Pale or Gold LME

Hops:
1 oz. Centennial Pellets (9%) - 90 min
0.33 oz. Centennial Pellets (9%) - 30 min.
0.66 oz. Cascade Pellets (5%) - 30 min.
0.66 oz. Columbus Pellets (12%) - 5 min.
0.66 oz. Cascade Pellets (5%) - 5 min.
1.0 oz. Columbus Pellets (12%) - 0 min.
2.0 oz. Cascade Pellets (5%) - 0 min.
1.5 oz. Columbus Pellets (12%) - dry
3.0 oz. Cascade Pellets (5%) - dry

US-05 Yeast
 
GearJammer said:
Anyone brew this? I just had my first taste, and I love to try to duplicate it. It's a great Colorado beer.
Click to expand...

I'm about to bottle a variation of the recipe I posted above, but with more of the malts from Jamil's West Coast Blaster. I'll keep you posted.
 
Here is the stovetop partial mash I did in early January, and popped open the first bottle last night. Very good - it's purposely more Amber Ale than I originally targeted in November, since the recipe mutated to be heavily influenced by Jamil's West Coast Blaster. Likely more representative of Ska's Seasonal Red Ale (which is also tremendous). The hop aroma and taste is there - not bitter at all. I had a big bag of Cascades, so used a lot of them for a citrus-ey finish.

7 gal boil, 5.5 gal finish:

Malts:
5 lbs. US 2-row malt
1.25 lb Munich
0.75 lbs Crystal 40°L
6 ozs. Crystal 120°L malt
0.5 lbs. Wheat Malt

Extract:
5 lbs. Light LME

OG = 1.063
FG = 1.016

Hops:
1 oz. Magnum Pellets (14.4%) - 65 min
1 oz. Cascade Pellets (6.4%) - 10 min.
1 oz. Centennial Pellets (9.7%) - 10 min.
4 oz. Cascade Pellets (6.4%) - 0 min.
2.5 oz. Cascade Pellets (5%) - dry

American Ale II (Wyeast 1272) Yeast. Fermented at 64°-67° degrees.

^^ The only thing I screwed up is that I forgot the late boil Irish moss, and it's still a little murky. :(
 
Could any of you get the recipe break down for the heavier Decadent Imperial IPA. I grew up drinking Ska but I don't get down to Colorado enough anymore. Just thinking of the decadent makes my mouth water.
 
I'm interested in the recipe results. I had this beer for the first time last week.

I was told this beer can erase your mind!

8.6% ABV. Makes it easy to get >> :drunk:
​
 
Hey guys,
I just received this recipe from another member with hopes that I would put it into a hop pack. The recipe is more hop intensive than the ones posted on here, it is around 15.5oz. I will post the recipe soon but just wanted some feedback on the demand fo a MH hops pack.

Thanks
John
 
He said he got it from HBT, here it is

OG 1.068
FG 1.016
IBU 85.6
Color 12.1 SRM
...
12.75# 2 row
1# crystal 90
.75# red wheat
1.75 oz Centennial (9.10%) - 90 min
1.25 oz Cascade (5.4%) - 30min
.75 oz Centennial - 30 min
1.25 oz oz Cascade - 5 min
1.25 Columbus (13.2%) - 5 min
2.0 oz Cacade - 0 min
1 .0 oz Columbus - 0 min
3.0 oz Cascade dry - 7d
1.5 oz Columbus dry - 7d
yeast White lab WLP001
Mash temp 152 degrees
 
Steelers, my OG/FG and SRM is the same as the recipe you posted, my differences are: IBU's (68) and yeast (Dry English Ale Yeast) which is what Ska uses, also cystal 120 instead of 90. Another reason my hop bill was smaller was the fact that I think my Centennials and Columbus AA% was about 12 and 15% respectively.

I would be very interested in the hop pack for a Modeus clone!
 
Steelers77 said:
He said he got it from HBT, here it is

OG 1.068
FG 1.016
IBU 85.6
Color 12.1 SRM
...
12.75# 2 row
1# crystal 90
.75# red wheat
1.75 oz Centennial (9.10%) - 90 min
1.25 oz Cascade (5.4%) - 30min
.75 oz Centennial - 30 min
1.25 oz oz Cascade - 5 min
1.25 Columbus (13.2%) - 5 min
2.0 oz Cacade - 0 min
1 .0 oz Columbus - 0 min
3.0 oz Cascade dry - 7d
1.5 oz Columbus dry - 7d
yeast White lab WLP001
Mash temp 152 degrees
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the recipe I came up with several months ago. It comes from a bunch of other attempts to clone this beer (probably some from this board and from others). I've got maybe 6 bottles left and am about to make another batch but slightly modified. The original recipe I made:

Code: 
Modus Hoperandi Clone
---------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.068 SG
Estimated FG: 1.016 SG
Estimated IBUs: 93.0 IBU
Estimated Color: 12.1 SRM
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72%
Boil Time: 90 minutes

Grains:
12.75# Pale Malt (2-Row) US (87.93%)
1.00# Caramel/Crystal 90L (6.90%)
0.75# Red Wheat (5.17%)

Hops:
1.75 oz Centennial (9.20%) @90 min
1.25 oz Cascade (7.50%) @30 min
0.75 oz Centennial (9.20%) @30 min
1.25 oz Cascade (7.50%) @5 min
1.25 oz Columbus (13.20%) @5 min
2.00 oz Cascade (7.50%) @0 min
1.00 oz Columbus (13.20%) @0 min
3.00 oz Cascade (5.40%) (dry hop)
1.50 oz Columbus (13.20%) (dry hop)

Yeast:
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale)

Mash Profile:
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, 151F
Total Grain Weight: 14.50 lb
Mash for 60 min at 151F with 4.53 gal of water heated to 165F
Mash-out at 168F with 2.13 gal of water heated to 210F and hold for 10 minutes
Batch sparge at 168F with 4.44 gal of water heated to 186F

Notes:
ABV: 6.8%; IBU: 65; SRM: 7

And the one I will make next time (that I'm calling Soul Stripper IPA):

Code: 
Soul Stripper IPA
-----------------
Batch Size: 6.00 gal (8.39 gal preboil)
Estimated OG: 1.068 SG
Estimated FG: 1.016 SG
Estimated IBUs: 70 (Tinseth)
Estimated Color: 9 SRM
Brewhouse Efficiency: 73%
Boil Time: 90 minutes

Grains:
13.50# Pale Malt (2-Row) US (87.10%)
1.00# Caramel/Crystal 60L (6.45%)
1.00# Red Wheat (6.45%)

Hops:
1.50 oz Centennial (9.1%) @90 min
1.25 oz Cascade (5.4%) @30 min
0.75 oz Centennial (9.1%) @30 min
1.00 oz Cascade (5.4%) @5 min
1.00 oz Columbus (13.2%) @5 min
2.00 oz Cascade (5.4%) @0 min
1.00 oz Columbus (13.2%) @0 min
4.00 oz Cascade (5.4%) (dry hop)
2.00 oz Columbus (13.2%) (dry hop)

Yeast:
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) (California Ale)

Mash/Sparge Schedule:
Single Infusion, 152F; Batch Sparge

To me, the first was very close to Modus Hoperandi. I'm making changes for my palate.
 
I'm brewing this weekend and will make it a point to also sample my version side-by-side with the Modus Hoperandi (I obtained a 6-pack last weekend). I'll let you know what I think about the hop schedule.
 
Just received this from Ska:

OG.1.067
FG.1.015
68-70 IBU
Pretty much 7% abv. On the can it says 6.8% but above are our targets any time we brew it.
Malt Bill:
88% 2 row
7% Caramel 120
5% Red Wheat Malt

Because we are at close to 7000 feet elevation, we have to boil for 90 minutes to get the kind of evaporation we need, but anyway...
Hop Bill:
90 minute hop Centennial
30 minute cascade 2/3 and centennial 1/3
5 minute Columbus and cascades 50-50
0 minute Columbus 1/3 and cascade 2/3

Use a good English yeast strain. Right at the very end of fermentation dry hop with a combo of Cascades and Columbus. It's a surprising amount of dry hops, is the best I can tell you about dry hopping this beer.

Let the dry hops sit warm for a few days in the ferm, until fermentation is complete, and then just to make sure wait another day.

River: It's not that I didn't believe you I was jsut seeing if I could get any additional info.
 
Steelers77 said:
Just received this from Ska:

OG.1.067
FG.1.015
68-70 IBU
Pretty much 7% abv. On the can it says 6.8% but above are our targets any time we brew it.
Malt Bill:
88% 2 row
7% Caramel 120
5% Red Wheat Malt

Because we are at close to 7000 feet elevation, we have to boil for 90 minutes to get the kind of evaporation we need, but anyway...
Hop Bill:
90 minute hop Centennial
30 minute cascade 2/3 and centennial 1/3
5 minute Columbus and cascades 50-50
0 minute Columbus 1/3 and cascade 2/3

Use a good English yeast strain. Right at the very end of fermentation dry hop with a combo of Cascades and Columbus. It's a surprising amount of dry hops, is the best I can tell you about dry hopping this beer.

Let the dry hops sit warm for a few days in the ferm, until fermentation is complete, and then just to make sure wait another day.

River: It's not that I didn't believe you I was jsut seeing if I could get any additional info.
Click to expand...

Here's the recipe I'm making for this one this weekend. I'm adding Amarillo dry hops because I need to get rid of them and also using California Ale yeast (WLP001) because I have it ready to go. But the hop schedule I'm using is pretty close to the input from Ska. Same with the malt bill but I use Crystal 60 instead of 120.

Code: 
Batch Size: 11.00 gal (14.60 gal preboil)
Estimated OG: 1.068 SG
Estimated FG: 1.016 SG
Estimated IBUs: 66 (Tinseth)
Estimated Color: 9 SRM
Brewhouse Efficiency: 73%
Boil Time: 90 minutes

Grains:
24.75# Pale Malt (2-Row) US (87.61%)
1.75# Caramel/Crystal 60L (6.19%)
1.75# Red Wheat (6.19%)

Hops:
2.25 oz Centennial (9.1%) @90 min
2.25 oz Cascade (5.4%) @30 min
1.50 oz Centennial (9.1%) @30 min
2.00 oz Cascade (5.4%) @5 min
2.00 oz Columbus (13.2%) @5 min
4.00 oz Cascade (5.4%) @0 min
2.00 oz Columbus (13.2%) @0 min
8.00 oz Cascade (5.4%) (dry hop)
3.00 oz Columbus (13.2%) (dry hop)
1.25 oz Amarillo (8.6%) (dry hop)
0.13 oz Amarillo (7.5%) (dry hop)

Yeast:
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale)

Mash/Sparge Schedule:
Single Infusion, 152F; Batch Sparge
 
Good recipe J, you are going to be close, but a bit hoppier nose (not a bad thing!) I do think a Cali Ale/American Ale yeast would be a decent sub for the DEA yeast. FYI, I was advised by the brewers to dry hop on day 5 or 6.

Good Luck!
 
So I decided to do my side-by-side of the Modus and my first version (recipe posted elsewhere in this thread). Here's a pic of the Modus in the middle of two of my clones:

modus.jpg


Sorry about the crappy pic, but all I had was my cell phone's camera handy.

OK. Color is pretty close. Mine is obviously not filtered and seems a bit darker, but it's actually about the same. That's why I'm a bit confused at their use of Crystal 120. I used Crystal 60 at their recommended percentages and got the right SRMs.

Now aroma. It is dead on. And by dead on I mean I can't notice any difference at all. But if I had to be really really really picky, after sniffing for several minutes at intervals, I might have noticed that the Modus seems fresher (i.e. probably used fresher hops). And that makes sense since I can't pick the best hops like they can.

In terms of bitterness, my clone is a bit more bitter--by maybe 10 to 15 IBUs if I had to estimate it. Next time I might reduce that. But again, that has a lot to do with my extraction efficiency. And I also recall that I had my clone at 80 IBUs instead of Ska's 65. So that makes sense. My next batch will be at 65 IBUs.

Flavor is very close. Maltiness is the same and residual sweetness (almost none as it's a dry beer) is the same. The difference (although slight) is in hop flavor. I don't think it has anything to do with hop varieties or amounts more so than the freshness of the hops. I think if I had the same hops Ska used, it would be the same.

So basically, if I were to drink a Ska, take a break, then drink my clone, I would not really notice any difference at all. But doing a side-by-side, we get picky and notice smaller differences. Overall, I think it's cloned and I'll make some minor changes to reduce the IBUs (and maybe for fun) for this weekend's batch. Plus, it's kind of late to make changes now that I have all the ingredients. :D
 

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