Modus Beer

Brewer

Name
Modus Beer
Address

14 Harkeith Street
Mona Vale
NSW 2103

Phone
(02) 8407 9864
Open Hours

12pm to 10pm every day

Regular events

Wed: Trivia
Fri: Vinyl Nights
Sat & Sun: Live music (see website for lineup and times)

Tours

By appointment

The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s as true at Modus as it is anywhere.

If you’ve been following their journey since the beginning, you’ll have seen the evolution of the brewery.

You see it in the transition from the name Modus Operandi to simply "Modus".

You see it in the can design: from 500ml silver tubes with a sticker slapped on, to 375ml cans with colour gradients designs, to the current design of their tinnies.

You see it in the shift in focus when it comes to beer styles. For the first five years of the brewery’s life, Modus were known for American-style hoppy beers above all else. This wasn’t an accident; Modus was inspired by the beer scene in the US, with owners Grant and Jaz Wearin travelling to America on an extended vacation to work and drink at a multitude of breweries as R&D for when they’d return to Australia and open their own brewery.

They still revel in all things hoppy and hazy, and you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re still all hops if you only saw the Modus core range: Hazy 3.5, XPA, Pale Ale and longtime favourite Sonic Prayer IPA. But you only need to look at their limited releases to see otherwise. The brewery makes as many sours and malt-driven beers as hop-driven ones. And this is all before you even get to Modus’ sister brands: a Mexican lager called Cerveza stands on its own, the Nort range of non-alcoholic beers, and even the non-beery Perky seltzers fit in their portfolio.

You see it in the growth from one brewery to two breweries. The original site at Mona Vale on Sydney’s Northern Beaches is compact and cozy; every square inch of brewing space has always been squeezed for maximum efficiency, and the taproom is always abuzz with happy locals and travellers. The Merewether brewery in Newcastle brought Modus to a new scale of production with ten times the original brewing capacity, and includes a modern venue that won a nationally-recognised award for its architecture. It’s five times the size of Mona Vale and can welcome up to 400 people.

You see it in The Modus Hound - a refurbished 1970 Leyland bus fitted out as a sweet portable bar. Twelve metres of highway-ready Modus, all set to travel around the country and pour beer where it's needed.

Look at the beginning of Modus and where it is today, and you can’t help but notice the transformation. It’s been through quite the glow-up.

But this doesn’t mean everything’s different. There are certain values that Grant and Jaz hold dear to them, and they work their butts off to keep these at the heart of Modus.

From day one, they’ve sworn by their motto: “Beer first, no shortcuts.” It’s been a guiding principle for the way they operate from the start, and it runs deeper than the ingredients they use. On the production side, they’ve invested in equipment and processes that prioritise beer quality (“Our Merewether brewery is world class in terms of quality assurance and quality control,” says Grant). When it comes to storage and delivery, Modus insisted on full cold chain distribution right from the beginning. This philosophy led Modus to win an armful of trophies just months after opening in 2014; it’s seen Modus alumni strike out to start renowned breweries of their own; and it continues to serve Modus and its punters with every drop of beer they put out.

From day one, they’ve taken sustainability seriously, running their business on green energy. They included recycled materials in the build of their Merewether site, they use all recycled rainwater in their venues, and they work with a charity that repurposes spent grain bags into tote bags - and they’re constantly working to reduce their environmental footprint even further.

From day one, they’ve poured love into the hospitality side of things. The kitchens at their venues put out burgers and bowls, pizzas and pasta, fresh seafood and fried chicken, and have a variety of options for vegans as well as for carnivores.

From day one, they’ve supported local sports teams. They sponsor the Newcastle Jets (both the men’s and women’s teams) and you’ll see Modus and Nort pouring in McDonald Jones Stadium, Modus sponsors ice hockey and rugby union teams, and Nort sponsors the Sydney and Gold Coast marathons.

The list goes on. They still support local live music at Mona Vale, which has been vital in the Northern Beaches where live music was all but extinguished in the 2000s; they still offer CANimals for takeaway beer, which they’ve been doing since they brought the second CANimal machine in the world to Australia; their venues are still dog friendly…

Like I said: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Mick Wüst

This is a directory listing. To find out more, head here

Stories featuring Modus Beer

Core Range

Modus Tepache
Tepache
4.0%
Modus Beer Hazy 3.5
Hazy Mid-Strength
3.5%
Modus Operandi Cerveza
Cerveza
4.2%
Modus XPA
XPA
4.2%
Modus Sonic Prayer IPA
IPA
6.0%
Modus Pale Ale
American Pale Ale
5.2%

Limited Releases

Modus x Ten Men Can It
Hazy Pale Ale
5.2%
Modus x DoughHeads Pump Up The Jam!
Jam Donut Pastry Sour
6.0%
Modus Beer Premium Japanese Dry
Japanese Style Lager
4.5%
Modus X Lille Bräu East Coast Fest Bier
Festbier
5.5%
Modus Beer Bohemian Night
Dark Czech Lager
5.0%
Modus Beer Chrome Fury, Rip & Tear and Wastelander
Various Styles As Indicated
6.0% & 8.0% & 8.0%
Modus Beer Neural Network AI-Generated East Coast IPA
East Coast IPA
7.0%
Modus Beer Social Club & Outer Disco
Mango Wheat Ale & Milky Tea Beer
4.0% & 5.5%
Modus Beer Cluster Pucker Sour
Fruit Sour
4.8%
Modus Beer Pacific Dream
Hazy Pale
5.0%
Modus Mic Drop Strong Pale Ale
Strong Pale Ale
5.7%
Modus Operandi Future Factory IV
Hazy Double IPA
8.0%
Modus Operandi Neon Nectar Hazy IPA
Hazy IPA
6.5%
Modus Operandi Phantom Of The Calavera
Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout
6.5%
Modus Operandi Pacific Pulp Hazy IPA
Hazy IPA
6.5%
Modus Operandi Lost In The Fog 2.0
Hazy IPA
5.8%
Modus Operandi & Koko Black Choc Hazelnut Belgian Stout
Belgian Stout
6.9%
Modus Operandi Barry White Beer
White Beer
4.5%
Modus Operandi Wax Flower Sour
Geraldton Wax Sour
6.9%
Modus Operandi Sour 02: Margarita & Lost In The Fog
Margarita SOur & Hazy XPA
4.5% & 5.0%
Modus Operandi Sour 01: Apricot & Sea Salt & Hazy Espresso XPA
Coffee XPA
5.0%
Modus Operandi Hazy Series 07: Mixed Berry Smoothie
Fruit Cream IPA
7.0%
Modus Operandi Hazy Series 06: Apricot & Coconut Milkshake
Apricot & Coconut Milkshake IPA
7.0%
Modus Operandi Hazy Series 05: Cherry, Coconut, Cream
Hazy IPA
7.0%
Modus Operandi Doppelator
Doppelbock
7.6%
Modus Operandi Press Rewind IPA
IPA
6.5%
Modus Operandi MMXX Russian Imperial Stout
Russian Imperial Stout
8.5%
Modus Operandi Hazy Series 04: Azacca, Mosaic & Hort 4337
TDH IIPA
10.0%
Modus Operandi Modus Beer
Lager
4.2%
Modus Operandi Hazy Series 03: Mango Hazy with El Dorado & Mosaic
Hazy IPA with Mango
7.0%
Modus Operandi Hazy Series 01: Hazy Pale
Hazy Pale
5.0%
Modus Operandi Blueberry Imperial Sour
Imperial Blueberry Sour
8.0%
Modus Operandi Fizz Wizard Sour IPA
Sour IPA
5.6%
Modus Operandi Sonic Prayer Hazy IPA & DIPA
Hazy IPA & Double IPA
6.0%
Modus Operandi Beached Az Brew Trans Tasman Ale
Pale Ale
4.5%
Modus Operandi Dream Weaver 2019
Hazy IPA
7.0%
Modus Operandi Pangea International IPA
IPA
6.5%
Modus Operandi Silent Knight Porter (Core Range)(RETIRED)
Porter
5.8%
Modus Operandi Born To Rum Porter
Rum Porter
6.5%
Modus Operandi & RAS Show Stopper
Pale Ale
4.2%
Modus Operandi Wippa Snippa
Session Pale Ale
3.8%
Modus Operandi Future Factory IIIPA 2019
Imperial IPA
10.0%
Modus Operandi Tropic Haze Unfiltered Pale
Hazy Pale Ale
5.0%
Modus Operandi Pittwater Premium Draught
Beer
4.4%
Modus Operandi Southern Hemispheric Black IPA
Black IPA
6.9%
Modus Operandi Moon Tan Stout
Stout
6.8%
Modus Operandi Dream Weaver Unfiltered IPA
NEIPA
7.0%
Modus Operandi Majestic Leopard
Hazy Session Pale
5.0%
Modus Operandi Sunstroke IIPA & Twisted Melons
IIPA & Watermelon Gose
8.6% & 5.6%
Modus Operandi Future Factory IIPA
Double IPA
8.5%
Modus Operandi Gadzooks & Tropical Contact High IPAs
New England IPAs
6.3% & 6.8%
Modus Operandi Triple Deity IPA
New England IPA
6.4%
Modus Operandi & Wheaty Brewing Corps & Fixation Yeast Coast IPA
New England IPA
6.6%
Modus Operandi Cascadian Howl
Black IPA
8.2%
Modus Operandi Lost Key XPA
XPA
5.2%
Modus Operandi Haver IPA
IPA
7.4%
Modus Operandi Kiwi Kerfuffle In Brussels
Hoppy Saison
7.2%
Modus Operandi Lager
Lager
4.6%
Modus Operandi Whippa Snipa
Session IPA
4.1%
Modus Operandi Caribbean Queen
Dark Ale
6.7%
Modus Operandi MODJUICE
Health Beer
3.5%
Modus Operandi Escobar Stout
Oatmeal Stout
6.0%
Modus Operandi The Drupey One
Nut Brown Ale
4.5%
Modus Operandi Cream of the Hop #4
American Pale Ale
5.6%
Modus Operandi Summer Saison
Saison
4.0%
Modus Operandi Cream of the Hop #3
Single Hop Pale Ale
5.6%
Modus Operandi 3.30 Coffee Lager
Coffee Lager
5.0%
Modus Operandi Cream of the Hop #2
American Pale Ale
5.6%
Modus Operandi Total Eclipse
Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout
9.5%
Modus Operandi Cream of the Hop #1
Australian Pale Ale
5.6%
Modus Operandi Black Lab Milk Stout
Milk Stout
5.0%
Modus Operandi L90 Imperial IPA
Imperial IPA
9.0%
Modus Operandi Barrel Aged IPAs
Barrel-Aged IPA
Various
Modus Operandi / Royal Albert The Dopey One
American Brown Ale
5.0%
Modus Operandi Silent Knight Porter
Porter
5.6%
Modus Operandi Former Tenant Red IPA
Red IPA
7.8%
Modus Operandi Zoo Feeder IPA
US IPA
7.2%
Modus Operandi Pepper In The Rye Saison
Table Saison
6.2%
Modus Operandi MOFOS Saison
Saison
4.2%
Modus Operandi M.O.na Pale Ale
Pale Ale
5.8%
Modus Operandi Layback Aussie Ale
Summer Ale
4.5%
Modus Operandi Kite Flyer Ale
Cream Ale
4.8%
Modus Beer Hazy Pacific
Hazy Pacific Ale
4.5%