Modern Times Flavordome — Restaurant in San Diego

7/17/2018

Modern Times has always been a brewery I've suggested to my non-craft drinking friends. Simply for the fact that they consistently make great beer.

I recently went to Modern Times because I had friend who's international. That being the case, I didn't know what she would like so I looked at the Hazy IPAs - they're juicy and flavorful. I narrowed it down between two. It was then our turn to order. The man working the bar (named Scottie) ignored us for a minute, then reluctantly approached us after I made eye contact with him because I knew what he was doing. I then asked for the IBUs of the beer. Why would I ask that? Because I didn't want to overwhelm my friend's palate. I'll be the first to tell you I don't really enjoy West Coast IPAs because of their finish; however, being it between hazy's I still want to make sure we have the best experience for her. He then proceeded to talk about the philosophy of Modern Times and how they don't base their beer on IBUs. Great! That's fantastic! I applaud it! In fact you shouldn't. He did offer to pour us a few tasters, but his condescending tone and his reluctance to help us was something I coudn't stand. We immediately left.

Look, I created a profile to write this review. It's not that I'm angry (anymore). I'm just disappointed. Modern Times is a great brewery - having brewed two of my favorites: Order of Hermes and Finally Open in LA. It's just that the experience left me with an off-flavor I would have NEVER expected from a great brewing company. I don't know if I'll be back.

I've also worked in the industry and have done my share of helping people order beer. I've also recommended beer to my non-craft friends. I've learned that it's not about skin tone, class or knowledge about beer - it's about the craft! With that being said, I hope Modern Times continues to brew great beer and continues to acknowledge the history of the...

I love good beer. After hearing from my craft beer friends, I've learned that I may not be a craft beer purist, because I like creativity in this realm of beerdom that we call San Diego.

I frequent all of the many tasting rooms and craft beer bars that specialize in the best of what this SD beer Mecca have to offer and after tasting nearly all (at least half) of the beer joints, I have to say that this place deserves a nod. Why am I not a purist, you may be asking yourself... Well as I've heard from the brewer friends I know, it's because I like interesting beer. The purists will have you believe that good beer only has beer taste and NOTHING else. They want beer to taste like beer. Well I also like beer to have flavor. Interesting flavor.

Modern Times started out very blah for me. I tried them very early on in my beer tasting career and could really get into what they had to offer. This was very early on in their time as a brewery as well.

Fast forward to recent months... This place is totally on the forefront of breaking the molds from which the beer shackles have been placed. They are creative to the roof of the very word creative. They are not afraid of collaborating with any brewery and will genuinely create the next big thing. I do not doubt this.

Keep an eye...

Well, Modern Times lost a loyal customer today. I drove down over an hour to have some beer and get some growlers filled for a trip to Mexico. Lo and behold, they won't fill even one growler for you for roughly 16 of the roughly 20 beers they have on tap. They won't fill growlers for any of their NE IPAs. They will only fill growlers with 4 of their beers, none of which are IPAs. The rude manager tried to tell me growlers will only stay fresh a few hours (total BS...) and that I should buy cans instead. Of course the NE IPAs I wanted in the growlers are not available in cans, in other words you can only consume them in the tasting room. This is a stupid policy and combined with the unhelpful attitude of the guy who "served" me, I've happily moved on to one of the other fantastic San Diego beer brewers today and in the future. By the way, the website says "We happily fill blank 64oz. jug-style glass growlers" without any mention of the crazy...