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We have a first look at one of the first Maui Brewing meets Modern Times beers.
It is an imperial stout aged in Bourbon barrels with cocoa nibs, black sugar and Hawaiian vanilla beans. We will be seeing these two logos on labels more and more, I expect.
Native Son Bar DTLA joined the family this month. It is now a trio with Santa Ana and Rancho Cucamonga already settled in the beer and cocktail mode. But the former Modern Times Dankness Dojo will be different because it will have house made beer.
The Head Brewer JP Boudwin comes from Modern Times and has worked this brewing equipment as assistant and then head brewer in the skinny location in DTLA.
To start there will be a Mexican Lager, a West Coast and a Hazy IPA for both sides of hop aisle as well as small batch and seasonal beers as well to complement the guest taps.
The interior seems to be just a toned down Modern Times. I understand the idea of paying homage to the previous tenant but MT is not MT now. Why tie yourself to the baggage of the past and the promise of the future version of Modern Times led by Maui Brewing. A complete overhaul with maybe an Easter Egg or two would have been a better choice.
A 1st Visit review will be coming on this blog.
For those who wondered what would happen when Modern Times shuttered locations, well, one space will see new life. Actually a third regeneration, when Modern Times PDX (formerly The Commons Brewery) will become Living Haüs Beer Co.
Founded by former brewers at Modern Times Beer and the highly regarded pFriem Family Brewers. Now wait to see if the other locations can find new brewing life as well. Most notably for my purposes, the narrow DTLA space that could serve a brewery with some rent money nicely.
Modern Times is halving their West Coast footprint as they seek a less perilous financial footing.
Portland, Oakland, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles will be closed. Not coincidentally, those are the furthest away from HQ and in the case of Los Angeles and maybe the others as well, the smallest outposts.
The San Diego brewery bolted out of the gate when they opened and followed that with ambitious plans but the last two to three years have brought lots of challenges and a new leadership team which did not like what they saw and hit the re-trench button.
Hopefully, Modern Times can navigate back with a leaner company.
Got a triple collab of hazy coming your way and it has a question for you…
How You Doing? Hazy IPA has an interesting ingredient list of Galangal, lemongrass, orange, coconut, and citrus peel that was brewed by cohorts Modern Times Beer, Highland Park Brewery and Green Cheek Beer Co.
You can probably tell by the label that this beer was canned by MT.
Once of my pet peeves are label designs that use unreadable fonts but I like this beer name, How’s Your Day. The collaboration between Modern Times and Highland Park Brewery is another West Coast-style IPA, this one “loaded with Strata & Mosaic for a wildly successful intermingling of passion fruit, mango, citrus, and piney notes.”
If the failing to provide for sick people was any more starkly shown than now, then it never will be. I do not care if you are a good person or bad but you, and all of us, deserve a way better system of healthcare. The beer above from Modern Times ain’t gonna solve it but if enough people post photos of the sub-title of this special beer, maybe, just maybe we can continue a discussion that this virus has started.
This label design goes a little Oregon settler but any time a coffee IPA hits town, I will mosey to a bar stool to try it. Especially since Modern Times does have a bit of bean roasting experience. And Stone has brewed a few hoppy beers. The only issue that exists is that this sub-style can drift too far to coffee or too far away when a happy medium needs to be found.
The Modern Times Dankness Dojo drops a lot of cans and bottles. They are busy people in this brewery chain. But of special note is a Double Dry-Hopped version of their opening beer, Finally Open in LA!
It has Cryo Citra and Strata during the ferment and then more Citra, Strat and some Centennial later.
Modern Times dropped a Foeder-Aged version of their Ice Pilsner and now they have brand extended to a gin barrel version and loyal readers will know that, when gin is mentioned, I go searching.