The Official Modern Times League Of Partygoers & Elegant People Thread

[coldstorage]

Damn. I have to do the 6-8. My niece's birthday party is earlier that day and we can't miss it.

Ahhhh but wait it might make sense for a few reason to have my crew switch to the later one as well.... if MT can accommodate. Hang tight...

 

[coldstorage]

Ahhhh but wait it might make sense for a few reason to have my crew switch to the later one as well.... if MT can accommodate. Hang tight...

Now attending 6-8. Easier to check into our air bnb, easier to start the day with something more seasionable and hit the 15% beers during the evening.

Anyone know of the Portland tasting room will be open outside the party? I understand we are limited to 16oz at the party self but was hoping to spend more time at MT Portland than it takes to work through one sampler flight. No biggie either way, plenty of watering holes in the neighborhood.

 

[sdreaper]

I understand we are limited to 16oz at the party self but was hoping to spend more time at MT Portland than it takes to work through one sampler flight. No biggie either way, plenty of watering holes in the neighborhood.

This was from Steven in the League FB group -
"WELCOME PARTY UPDATE: We’re now offering you the ability to pay for extra pours at the welcome party. Limit 4 additional tickets per person. Last call will be 15 mins before the session ends, and we’ll be kicking people out right at the posted session end time to prepare for the next session. That means only purchase additional tickets if you’re sure you can use them in time, as there will not be refunds."

 

[ModernTimesSteven]

I have a reminder for 2017 members only. One of your League points rewards was the embroidery run. That's live starting today at the Fermentorium. Bring in up to 2 items and choose between the MT subscript or the Modern Times Beer script logo. The colors available are black, white, and yellow gold. Each item costs $4.25 (tax-inclusive). We'll give members until the end of January to bring their stuff in, at which point we will send everything off to get embroidered.

2018 Members: You have silk screening benefits that will come later this year. The embroidery run was a League points reward from last year that I promised those members and haven't been able to do it until now.

 

[chemman141]

I have a reminder for 2017 members only. One of your League points rewards was the embroidery run. That's live starting today at the Fermentorium. Bring in up to 2 items and choose between the MT subscript or the Modern Times Beer script logo. The colors available are black, white, and yellow gold. Each item costs $4.25 (tax-inclusive). We'll give members until the end of January to bring their stuff in, at which point we will send everything off to get embroidered.

2018 Members: You have silk screening benefits that will come later this year. The embroidery run was a League points reward from last year that I promised those members and haven't been able to do it until now.

Question, how exactly will the screening benifits work? We can bring in any shirt(s) and have a TOLC/MT's logo added to it? I assume that's the case and has me excited I will finally get to wear a piece of MTs merch (that isn't from one of the fests)

 

[ModernTimesSteven]

Question, how exactly will the screening benifits work? We can bring in any shirt(s) and have a TOLC/MT's logo added to it? I assume that's the case and has me excited I will finally get to wear a piece of MTs merch (that isn't from one of the fests)

Sorry to give you one of these answers, but details to come! There will assuredly be things of that nature though.

Cheers,

Steven Michael
Modern Times Beer

 

[chemman141]

Sorry to give you one of these answers, but details to come! There will assuredly be things of that nature though.

Cheers,

Steven Michael
Modern Times Beer

All good! Stoked to be a member this year.

 

[Xul1]

January 2018 Tasting Notes/Report

Preface:
Since there are a lot of new members, I figured it's worth providing a bit of context to these notes. I've been writing them since Modern Times began doing preview tastings for the League and somewhere along the way they became popular (if you're wondering, yes, I'm Xul on BA and TalkBeer). I still strongly encourage people to attend the preview tastings and try their beer on their own, and provide their own tasting notes if they feel up to it. I'd like to think I have a decent palate but I also have my own preferences and prejudices just like anyone else, and I love seeing other people's feedback to reconsider if I missed something in a beer. I provide numerical scores since I use Untappd and I'm going to score them anyway, but they're based on my own combination of scoring to style and personal preference - I know people will take them into consideration, but hopefully you also read the notes since a number is only meaningful if you know my personal way of scoring.

Assorted Notes:
1) Andrew and Steven handled tonight's tasting and did an excellent job as per usual. Great level of detail on this month's beers, lots of updates on expansion projects, and an assortment of teasers on upcoming beers and events. If this wasn't the highest attendance for a tasting ever, it was close, but the staff did a great job of distributing tasters quickly and efficiently.

2) LA will be having its soft opening imminently, just after the League welcome parties. Additionally, 2017 members who didn't renew will be entitled to a tour of the Dankness Dojo since that was a promised perk for 2017. Steven will be contacting people about that in the near future so if that applies to you, keep an eye out.

3) It was a pleasure to meet a few new members tonight after the tasting. Steven was 'kind' enough to point me out near the end of the tasting so if you didn't know who I was, you do now (spoiler alert - I don't generally wear glow sticks, but my FB profile picture is otherwise fairly accurate). If you enjoy, despise, or feel deeply ambivalent about my opinions and these reports, feel free to say hello, throw things at me, or casually ignore me as you see fit. And don't worry, Steven, I _will_ get you back. Count on it.

The Beers:
1) BA Modem Tones - 4.5 - For those of you who don't know, Modem Tones is a meme that began on Beer Advocate due to autocorrect changing "Modern Times" to "Modem Tones," spawning the idea of a 14.4% ABV BA stout. Modern Times was kind enough to act on this brilliant idea, and here we are. On first whiff, the nose opened up with a lot of charred oak and bourbon spice - not boozy, but great barrel character - followed by big doses of marshmallow and bittersweet chocolate and some light vanilla. The palate largely followed the nose, although the marshmallow was more prominent and the charred oak was dialed back to a supporting role. The mouthfeel is lovely, moderately viscous without being syrupy, with just the right amount of residual sugars to carry the flavor profile. Certainly not as dry than its brethren, Monsters Park, but not getting to the point where it's overly sweet. I'll need to spend more time with it to figure out how I ultimately feel about it compared to BA MP, but my initial reaction is that BA MP is my favorite when on its own, but BA Modem Tones seems like it will be an excellent canvas for adjuncts, as well as a great blending tool down the road. Wizard Blend 2017 was a big step up from 2016 and I expect subsequent iterations to be even better as they expand their arsenal of choices for blending components.

2) BA Modem Tones w/ Vanilla - 4.75 - Andrew said they used over 8 pounds of vanilla beans - 100% Madagascar this time around. I didn't catch the total batch size, but regardless, that's a _lot_ of vanilla, and it was well worth it. Massive waves of vanilla jump out of the glass and launch an all-out assault on your olfactory system, effortlessly conquering your entire nasal cavity and declaring it a colony of the Kingdom of Modern Times. I'm sure there's someone who thought it didn't smell strongly enough of vanilla, but their opinion is bad and they should feel bad. Once the vanilla is done stomping its way through your sinuses, it melds beautifully with the marshmallow notes from the base beer, taming the light bitterness of the chocolate to create more of a milk chocolate aroma than the base's bittersweet chocolate. The palate is slightly less dominated by vanilla, but it's still an inexorable force of flavor. The vanilla/marshmallow/chocolate combo is still in effect and some charred oak floats around the edges. The mouthfeel seemed just a hair thinner than the base, but that's in no way a detriment. As I said, I'm tremendously excited to see more BA Modem Tones variants, this is phenomenally executed.

3) Elf Quarters - 4 - A funky wit with kumquats, made in collaboration with Fair State Brewing in Minneapolis, MN. The nose is led by kumquats - not as rich and assertive as Delectable Mountain, but still strong fruit character - followed by soft funk and light phenols. The spicier side of the yeast comes out more as it warms, which I found to be a positive. Each sip is led by a wave of kumquat and moderate acidity, giving way to mellow to moderate funk and yeast character. The mouthfeel is incredibly soft, bottle conditioning really improved this from draft, although I still feel like there's a bit of a hole on the palate between the initial kumquat attack and the funk coming in towards the backend. Quite drinkable and I really like both the fruit character and the excellent mouthfeel.

4) Pescespada - 3.75 - Described as something akin to a mixed fermentation tiki IPA. A collaboration with Almanac, it was fermented with both breweries' house cultures and features Citra, Denali, and 462 along with coconut, mango, and pineapple. Tropical fruit hits first with more pineapple than mango for me, followed by moderate hop aromatics and light coconut. The palate opens with light acidity and a more even blend of mango and pineapple than the nose revealed, with coconut floating aorund in the back along with touches of light funk. A bit muddled overall. The Almanac house character is quite evident towards the backend and while I enjoy their beers, tasting it in this context made me realize how much I prefer MT's house cultures.

5) Northwest Kingdom - 4 - A tribute to our neighbors to the North, using all ingredients sourced from Oregon. For those who aren't aware - as I wasn't before this evening's tasting - Marionberries are a type of Blackberry that was developed at Oregon State. The berries lead the charge on the nose, not as overwhelmingly as they do in a beer like Shrine, but they create a nice, rounded aroma that integrates nicely with light funk and some herbal/spicy notes. Flavor opens up with acidic berries followed by light funk and saison yeast character, although the fruit really sticks through the whole sip, going from an acidic attack to a more rounded background character. Finish is incredibly dry.

6) One Million Tomorrows w/ Raspberries & Blueberries - 4.25 - Blend of second use fruit from Shrine of the Forsaken Gods and Symmetric Orchestra w/ Blueberries. The nose is a lovely blend of fleshy berries and fruity tartness, along with touches of funk. The fruit character isn't as prevalent as the first-use beers that featured these fruits, but they're still remarkably assertive. The palate is perhaps just a bit more fruit forward than the nose, with both berry types coming through but integrating into a lovely, almost jammy character with just a hint of sweetness to it. Light on the tongue, immensely drinkable, I'm a big fan of this one. It's neither the most complex nor most fruit-forward beer, but each sip left me wanting more.

 

[Tyrsis]

ow, my wallet

 

[litheum94]

January 2018 Tasting Notes/Report

Preface:
Since there are a lot of new members, I figured it's worth providing a bit of context to these notes. I've been writing them since Modern Times began doing preview tastings for the League and somewhere along the way they became popular (if you're wondering, yes, I'm Xul on BA and TalkBeer). I still strongly encourage people to attend the preview tastings and try their beer on their own, and provide their own tasting notes if they feel up to it. I'd like to think I have a decent palate but I also have my own preferences and prejudices just like anyone else, and I love seeing other people's feedback to reconsider if I missed something in a beer. I provide numerical scores since I use Untappd and I'm going to score them anyway, but they're based on my own combination of scoring to style and personal preference - I know people will take them into consideration, but hopefully you also read the notes since a number is only meaningful if you know my personal way of scoring.

Assorted Notes:
1) Andrew and Steven handled tonight's tasting and did an excellent job as per usual. Great level of detail on this month's beers, lots of updates on expansion projects, and an assortment of teasers on upcoming beers and events. If this wasn't the highest attendance for a tasting ever, it was close, but the staff did a great job of distributing tasters quickly and efficiently.

2) LA will be having its soft opening imminently, just after the League welcome parties. Additionally, 2017 members who didn't renew will be entitled to a tour of the Dankness Dojo since that was a promised perk for 2017. Steven will be contacting people about that in the near future so if that applies to you, keep an eye out.

3) It was a pleasure to meet a few new members tonight after the tasting. Steven was 'kind' enough to point me out near the end of the tasting so if you didn't know who I was, you do now (spoiler alert - I don't generally wear glow sticks, but my FB profile picture is otherwise fairly accurate). If you enjoy, despise, or feel deeply ambivalent about my opinions and these reports, feel free to say hello, throw things at me, or casually ignore me as you see fit. And don't worry, Steven, I _will_ get you back. Count on it.

The Beers:
1) BA Modem Tones - 4.5 - For those of you who don't know, Modem Tones is a meme that began on Beer Advocate due to autocorrect changing "Modern Times" to "Modem Tones," spawning the idea of a 14.4% ABV BA stout. Modern Times was kind enough to act on this brilliant idea, and here we are. On first whiff, the nose opened up with a lot of charred oak and bourbon spice - not boozy, but great barrel character - followed by big doses of marshmallow and bittersweet chocolate and some light vanilla. The palate largely followed the nose, although the marshmallow was more prominent and the charred oak was dialed back to a supporting role. The mouthfeel is lovely, moderately viscous without being syrupy, with just the right amount of residual sugars to carry the flavor profile. Certainly not as dry than its brethren, Monsters Park, but not getting to the point where it's overly sweet. I'll need to spend more time with it to figure out how I ultimately feel about it compared to BA MP, but my initial reaction is that BA MP is my favorite when on its own, but BA Modem Tones seems like it will be an excellent canvas for adjuncts, as well as a great blending tool down the road. Wizard Blend 2017 was a big step up from 2016 and I expect subsequent iterations to be even better as they expand their arsenal of choices for blending components.

2) BA Modem Tones w/ Vanilla - 4.75 - Andrew said they used over 8 pounds of vanilla beans - 100% Madagascar this time around. I didn't catch the total batch size, but regardless, that's a _lot_ of vanilla, and it was well worth it. Massive waves of vanilla jump out of the glass and launch an all-out assault on your olfactory system, effortlessly conquering your entire nasal cavity and declaring it a colony of the Kingdom of Modern Times. I'm sure there's someone who thought it didn't smell strongly enough of vanilla, but their opinion is bad and they should feel bad. Once the vanilla is done stomping its way through your sinuses, it melds beautifully with the marshmallow notes from the base beer, taming the light bitterness of the chocolate to create more of a milk chocolate aroma than the base's bittersweet chocolate. The palate is slightly less dominated by vanilla, but it's still an inexorable force of flavor. The vanilla/marshmallow/chocolate combo is still in effect and some charred oak floats around the edges. The mouthfeel seemed just a hair thinner than the base, but that's in no way a detriment. As I said, I'm tremendously excited to see more BA Modem Tones variants, this is phenomenally executed.

3) Elf Quarters - 4 - A funky wit with kumquats, made in collaboration with Fair State Brewing in Minneapolis, MN. The nose is led by kumquats - not as rich and assertive as Delectable Mountain, but still strong fruit character - followed by soft funk and light phenols. The spicier side of the yeast comes out more as it warms, which I found to be a positive. Each sip is led by a wave of kumquat and moderate acidity, giving way to mellow to moderate funk and yeast character. The mouthfeel is incredibly soft, bottle conditioning really improved this from draft, although I still feel like there's a bit of a hole on the palate between the initial kumquat attack and the funk coming in towards the backend. Quite drinkable and I really like both the fruit character and the excellent mouthfeel.

4) Pescespada - 3.75 - Described as something akin to a mixed fermentation tiki IPA. A collaboration with Almanac, it was fermented with both breweries' house cultures and features Citra, Denali, and 462 along with coconut, mango, and pineapple. Tropical fruit hits first with more pineapple than mango for me, followed by moderate hop aromatics and light coconut. The palate opens with light acidity and a more even blend of mango and pineapple than the nose revealed, with coconut floating aorund in the back along with touches of light funk. A bit muddled overall. The Almanac house character is quite evident towards the backend and while I enjoy their beers, tasting it in this context made me realize how much I prefer MT's house cultures.

5) Northwest Kingdom - 4 - A tribute to our neighbors to the North, using all ingredients sourced from Oregon. For those who aren't aware - as I wasn't before this evening's tasting - Marionberries are a type of Blackberry that was developed at Oregon State. The berries lead the charge on the nose, not as overwhelmingly as they do in a beer like Shrine, but they create a nice, rounded aroma that integrates nicely with light funk and some herbal/spicy notes. Flavor opens up with acidic berries followed by light funk and saison yeast character, although the fruit really sticks through the whole sip, going from an acidic attack to a more rounded background character. Finish is incredibly dry.

6) One Million Tomorrows w/ Raspberries & Blueberries - 4.25 - Blend of second use fruit from Shrine of the Forsaken Gods and Symmetric Orchestra w/ Blueberries. The nose is a lovely blend of fleshy berries and fruity tartness, along with touches of funk. The fruit character isn't as prevalent as the first-use beers that featured these fruits, but they're still remarkably assertive. The palate is perhaps just a bit more fruit forward than the nose, with both berry types coming through but integrating into a lovely, almost jammy character with just a hint of sweetness to it. Light on the tongue, immensely drinkable, I'm a big fan of this one. It's neither the most complex nor most fruit-forward beer, but each sip left me wanting more.

Modem Tones with vanilla was just marshmallow for days. So good.

I really enjoyed all of the beers at the tasting. Going to make a dent in my bank account for sure.

The event was fun if not bittersweet. Not going to lie, it was really weird to not be drinking an Urban Farmhouse in that building, but after tasting the beers and hearing the future plans for the location, I am really excited. The crew put on a nice presentation, even amidst all of the construction (and even though Matt is a Kings fan). Sounds like there are only around 60 members in the PNW, so these events will continue to be fairly intimate, which I am stoked on.

 

[jwacky]

Most intriguing thing for me was that MT now has a license to brew sours and already has some in a barrel.

Edit: ... now has a license to brew CIDERS...

 

[chemman141]

Most intriguing thing for me was that MT now has a license to brew sours and already has some in a barrel.

You don't need a license to brew sours (if you already have a beer brewing license), and they already sell them. #Confused.

 

[Tyrsis]

Most intriguing thing for me was that MT now has a license to brew sours and already has some in a barrel.

You mean ciders?

 

[jwacky]

You mean ciders?

Oops, yes. Ciders. Edited.

 

[jwacky]

You don't need a license to brew sours (if you already have a beer brewing license), and they already sell them. #Confused.

Meant cider. Coffee hasn't fully kicked in yet this morning.

 

[chemman141]

Meant cider. Coffee hasn't fully kicked in yet this morning.

Ah, I was like what haha.

 

[bathroomlaughter]

sorry if i'm missing something obvious, but the theory of leisure bottles should already be on sale right? when i go to the store and try to add anything to the cart it says "Sorry, this product's stock has all been reserved. Please try again later." i'm logged in and everything. anyone else having issues?

 

[sdreaper]

sorry if i'm missing something obvious, but the theory of leisure bottles should already be on sale right? when i go to the store and try to add anything to the cart it says "Sorry, this product's stock has all been reserved. Please try again later." i'm logged in and everything. anyone else having issues?

I am able to add to cart without issue. Haven't gone all the way for purchasing yet since I will do that later today.

 

[Xul1]

Successfully purchased early this morning and I'm still able to add both versions of Modem Tones to my cart. I'd try logging out, closing your browser completely, then starting over fresh. If that doesn't resolve it, email [email protected] and Steven should be able to help you out.

 

[bathroomlaughter]

got it working thanks

 

[coldstorage]

Maybe i'm blind but... does the email state how long the theory purchase window is ...? (or, more importantly, when the league window opens... in case I uh... need more Modem Tones....)

 

[sdreaper]

Maybe i'm blind but... does the email state how long the theory purchase window is ...? (or, more importantly, when the league window opens... in case I uh... need more Modem Tones....)

The email didn't state it but Thursday morning is the typical time when league presale starts. Typically around 10am or so.

 

[kristy7911]

The news about the cider is nice, I have a friend that doesn't drink much but when she does it is only ciders. Now I will be able to make her drink MT with us

 

[ModernTimesSteven]

sorry if i'm missing something obvious, but the theory of leisure bottles should already be on sale right? when i go to the store and try to add anything to the cart it says "Sorry, this product's stock has all been reserved. Please try again later." i'm logged in and everything. anyone else having issues?

Developers seem kinda stumped on this one, but this problem sometimes happens when people are connected to their work wifi network. Think it's some weird firewall thing, but just check out on your phone using cellular data, or try a different network.

Xul is correct though. Whenever you have an issue like this just shoot an email to [email protected] and we will help you out!

Cheers,

Steven Michael
Modern Times Beer

 

[DannyFullpint]

Guy guys check your TCP/IP settings.

 

[ModernTimesSteven]

Guy guys check your TCP/IP settings.

For those macOS users, sudo rm -rf? lol

 

[ModernTimesSteven]

For those macOS users, sudo rm -rf? lol

Damnit. sudo rm -rf /

 

[user 305778]

That's mean.

Also, depending how the website is setup, it could load most of it but the firewall could block external calls if the sales parts are other calls. It's a problem that can happen with the way frameworks work.

 

[Tyrsis]

Double dipped on the vanilla
IDGAF

 

[SanDiegoJoe2011]

Yezzir.