"On the morning of 24 February, 2022, Russia occupied the small brewery in the town of Vovchans'k (right on the border to Russia). It took 14 hours for the [Ten Men Brewery] team and their families to travel from the far east of Ukraine to the far west, past Kyiv, and to the relative safety of Lviv.
“Recognising the vital role of small businesses in fostering resilience and community spirit, Ten Men have launched the ‘100 Collabs’ campaign bringing the international brewing community together to help rebuild the Ten Men brewery as a BrewHUB, and provide hope in their new settlement in Lviv.” – press release from Modus
Modus answered the call to be the first to partner with Ten Men. The two breweries collaborated via Whatsapp – the safest form of communication available to Ukrainians at the moment – and have created a hazy pale ale called Can It.
It’s based on a NEIPA recipe from Ten Men (One Day Closer To Victory) that uses a dry-hopping technique to increase the hop profile with fewer hops – a necessary adaptation for the team when brewing supplies became harder to come by. With full-on haze, Can It allows Mosaic, El Dorado and Citra hops to do the talking with a big waft of juicy stone fruit and mango. These hop characters then ease back as they join with a smooth mouthfeel and subtle cereal malt character in the mouth, making this an easygoing drinker with just enough bitterness to hold it all together.
The reason for the name Can It? While the Ten Men team are able to brew in a friend’s brewery in Lviv, they’re unable to package their beer. So Modus are donating $5 from every case of Can It (and $1 from every schooner) to help Ten Men rebuild, with a particular focus on buying a canning line so they can package their beers and grow their BrewHUB in Lviv.
Modus have also set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for Ten Men, where you can donate directly to the cause.
“We are deeply touched by the support from Modus and the global community,” Sergeii Sotnikov, founder of Ten Men Brewery says. “This solidarity gives us hope and strength as we work to rebuild our BrewHUB and our lives. We are immensely grateful for this lifeline during these challenging times.”
Mick Wüst
Published March 12, 2024 2024-03-12 00:00:00
