Modern Times, opening production brewery in Portland (start of 2018)

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At the expense of Commons going away? Not solid at all, IMO.

Inb4 "Modern Times didn't force Commons out / Commons has not been sold." I know. Still a bummer.
Yeah surprised by the lack of care from the OP. Hoping commons come back!
 
Is there more of a backstory? The MT thing says that The Commons explicitly was unhappy in that space...
 
Is there more of a backstory? The MT thing says that The Commons explicitly was unhappy in that space...

They couldn't afford it.

My $.02 that I put in Random Beer Thoughts is that Sean Burke was the driving force behind The Commons, and he was forced out by ownership (Michael Wright?).

The Commons will never be what it was again in my opinion. Hoping Sean find something he can jump into (working at FatHeads in Portland now) sooner rather than later.
 
Yeah surprised by the lack of care from the OP. Hoping commons come back!

Based on Mr. Wright's comments on the brewpublic.com article I saw no reason to apply care to someone that basically gave up due to cashflow issues. Perhaps this is cold-hearted of me (and now that I type it out it most definitely is) but I have become increasingly desensitized to it due to similar issues happening here in San Diego. The only difference is that The Commons actually made good beer, but it is the same sob story that places down here have used to attempt to get the public on their side.

In case you missed it in the Portland thread...here is the link to that article, which I should have included as well. My mistake.

http://brewpublic.com/beer-news/the...s-modern-times-beer-will-take-over-its-space/


Edit: While it sucks that Commons is going away (hopefully only temporarily) since it sounded like an institution (I have only had beer brought back to me, have not been in the space) at least a brewery is taking it over and not some attempt to be high-end retail, a yarn store, and or some fotm trendy coffee shop (all of which are gripes of mine for another day, but a town here in san diego has done it as well while attempting to push out respectable breweries but instead be inviting to bros and hoes style bars).
 
Sad to see one of our locals go away but hopefully this move will help the business get back on track. I know that they were basically forced out of their old space when the landlord doubled their rent, I didn't realize that Mike had purchased the building where the Commons currently resides. Good luck to the Commons and to Modern Times.
 
I have been going to commons since the beginning and I love their beers and their space. I have absolutely nothing against Modern Times either, however, I am pretty bummed that a stupid California brewery is taking over a local favorite. I really wish it could have been a local spot. Oh well.
 
Sad to see one of our locals go away but hopefully this move will help the business get back on track. I know that they were basically forced out of their old space when the landlord doubled their rent, I didn't realize that Mike had purchased the building where the Commons currently resides. Good luck to the Commons and to Modern Times.

I have been going to commons since the beginning and I love their beers and their space. I have absolutely nothing against Modern Times either, however, I am pretty bummed that a stupid California brewery is taking over a local favorite. I really wish it could have been a local spot. Oh well.

These pretty much sums up how I feel. I am incredibly sad to see The Commons go. This is the first place to close that I have been upset about since moving here. My only hope is that MT bought the recipes and will continue to make them. Long shot I know but a boy can dream.

I doubt anyone from The Commons will read this but I am sad to see you go and hope everyone lands on their feet and maybe one day we will see you back.

:(:(:(:(:(:(
 
These pretty much sums up how I feel. I am incredibly sad to see The Commons go. This is the first place to close that I have been upset about since moving here. My only hope is that MT bought the recipes and will continue to make them. Long shot I know but a boy can dream.

I doubt anyone from The Commons will read this but I am sad to see you go and hope everyone lands on their feet and maybe one day we will see you back.

:(:(:(:(:(:(

Commons still isn't officially closed, they are merely ceasing operations. Whether they will start making beer again, only time will tell. It just wasn't making enough money, it was either lease out the brewery, or lose his house. It's a heart breaker all around, and the fact that it's a california brewery taking their place is a twist of the knife in the wound.
 
Commons still isn't officially closed, they are merely ceasing operations. Whether they will start making beer again, only time will tell. It just wasn't making enough money, it was either lease out the brewery, or lose his house. It's a heart breaker all around, and the fact that it's a california brewery taking their place is a twist of the knife in the wound.
It just suck in general. I am surprised they weren't doing well. It seemed like they were chugging along fine. I guess you never really know.

I was/am truly heartbroken over losing them. My go to beer was/is Urban Farmhouse. I really hope they come back, maybe in an underserved area(Deep SE?) and make it.
 
I mean, I love my Portland peeps and don't want to be picking a fight cause I know Portland is touchy about Portland but... it's clear to everyone that Commons was leaving that space on it's own because of internal circumstances right? Like, seems misguided to resent the people moving into the space. I mean my friend moved away in 5th grade and I threw dog poop at the garage door when the new people moved in so I get it, but c'mon now.

The thing I read said Commons was keeping their smaller system I don't expect the beer to become unavailable at least to locals. Might become draft only around town or something which would just make Portland an even lovelier place to life (and a lovely place to visit)! It's nice having those kinda things actually.

edit: I understand that Portland doesn't like outsiders and that if MT built to suit there would still be a lot of negativity around it. I get that.
 
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I'm not really a MT homer, have my fair share of complaints (JESUS those prices...) and am not from SD but I mean... it's really good beer. Its expensive, it's tacky stuff, but the quality is kinda unassailable. Great business practices too. Employee owned, robust benefits, flexibility... Their growth is kinda scary imperial stuff which I understand is anathema to Portland folk so you know, I expected this to ruffle feathers but in the aggregate its an ethical company making great beer. Keep an open mind.

....and best wishes for Commons to find a workable scale in the process...
 
My $.02 that I put in Random Beer Thoughts is that Sean Burke was the driving force behind The Commons, and he was forced out by ownership (Michael Wright?).

Based on Mr. Wright's comments on the brewpublic.com article I saw no reason to apply care to someone that basically gave up due to cashflow issues.

I don't have any inside info, but I have read the articles and met Sean and Mike earlier this year. I think when cash flow became a problem, Mike had to have tough conversations with his two highest paid employees. You can call that "forced out" but I think Mike was trying to keep the ship afloat even if it meant sacrificing valuable assets.

Saying Sean was the driving force behind the brewery ignores that it started in Mike's garage, Mike bought the building for the new location, and is the one still running things now.

I don't know how anyone with any experience working for or observing a small business could say Mike basically gave up. Giving up would be shutting the doors immediately rather than continuing payroll till the end of the year, selling the 7bbl system rather than keeping it, or having no comment for the people writing articles instead of being forthcoming about what went wrong. What he's chosen to do sounds like a lot more hassle and expense than throwing in the towel and walking away.
 
I don't have any inside info, but I have read the articles and met Sean and Mike earlier this year. I think when cash flow became a problem, Mike had to have tough conversations with his two highest paid employees. You can call that "forced out" but I think Mike was trying to keep the ship afloat even if it meant sacrificing valuable assets.

Saying Sean was the driving force behind the brewery ignores that it started in Mike's garage, Mike bought the building for the new location, and is the one still running things now.

I don't know how anyone with any experience working for or observing a small business could say Mike basically gave up. Giving up would be shutting the doors immediately rather than continuing payroll till the end of the year, selling the 7bbl system rather than keeping it, or having no comment for the people writing articles instead of being forthcoming about what went wrong. What he's chosen to do sounds like a lot more hassle and expense than throwing in the towel and walking away.

Nailed it.
 
I don't have any inside info, but I have read the articles and met Sean and Mike earlier this year. I think when cash flow became a problem, Mike had to have tough conversations with his two highest paid employees. You can call that "forced out" but I think Mike was trying to keep the ship afloat even if it meant sacrificing valuable assets.

Saying Sean was the driving force behind the brewery ignores that it started in Mike's garage, Mike bought the building for the new location, and is the one still running things now.

I don't know how anyone with any experience working for or observing a small business could say Mike basically gave up. Giving up would be shutting the doors immediately rather than continuing payroll till the end of the year, selling the 7bbl system rather than keeping it, or having no comment for the people writing articles instead of being forthcoming about what went wrong. What he's chosen to do sounds like a lot more hassle and expense than throwing in the towel and walking away.

Extremely well said and probably closer to the truth than my initial take.

Still makes me sad that they couldn't make it work, and that places like Corridor Brewing in Chicago (where I first met Sean when he did a collaboration with those guys) change their business model to sell NE IPA's instead of farmhouse styles as it concerns me about the future of my favorite kind of beer.
 
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