Modern Times - Portland / The Belmont Fermentorium

 

i have to start by saying that its sad that the commons doesnt exist anymore, they were maybe ahead of their time, but were one of my favorites in town here, and to come to this building and have it be another brewery will never seem normal, but what modern times has done with this place is positively special, different enough from the way it was laid out as the commons that its almost unrecognizable when you walk inside, and both my wife and i were thoroughly blown away by this place, beer, decor, vibe, all of it, its just awesome. i have to confess i was disappointed when i heard the news they were taking over the commons space, but one visit and i was sold 100%. it seems reoriented inside, like maybe you enter from the other side of the building or something, a guy carding people and making sure we werent exposed to coronavirus, get past him and its an expansive, colorful, festive beer hall with pinata sort of decorations covering the walls, bright, intricate, weird, its awesome and looks great in the big space. the bar was walk up only with the virus, but the beer list was absurd, maybe 30 or more on tap, a big bottle list too, if you cant find a drink that sounds appealing here, you arent much of a beer drinker. we had a time for a couple of rounds, but i immediately wished we had time to drink even more of them, so much of the cool and interesting stuff on the list here, tons of cool variants and things ive never heard of before, really diverse. some fermenters are visible as i walk around and take it in, look like decent capacity in here. we take our drinks and head to an impressive rooftop patio, where the bar there was closed and many of the tables removed for social distancing, but we found a nice shady spot and set up camp. some views of the city from up here, also some high rise apartments, its not exactly breathtaking, but its an amazing space to have a beer when the weather is nice like it was when we were there. tons of heady beers on the list too, that makes this place worth going to by itself, but the vibe is cool, the service solid, and the repurposing of the commons space is impressive. highly recommended, one of my favorite stops from our recent trip!

Taking in the old Commons brewery space, much more happening now. Includes bottle shop and bottle pours at the bar. Tap list is wide and varied, pours come in a variety of options. All around a nice experience.

 

as good as any of the locations yet. room plus all the coffee plus good service. nice area
a keeper.

What a contrast to The Commons. Loved the möbius comics lining the bathroom. Caprese salad was a let down, with flavorless tomatoes too far out of season. I did mention this to the server --he asked!--and his response was more like what do you expect ordering vegetables at the end of the season. Posole was nice but could have used more hominy. Big city prices here--nothing out of the normal from what I'm used to, but higher than what I expect in Portland. Smarmy attitude aside, love the beer and liked what they've done with the place.

 

 

The Belmont Fermentorium is a super fun spot in Belmont, which to be fair, was not lacking fun spots. Like the other Modern Times locations, the vibe is one part absurd, one part OCD, one part tongue-in-cheek, and one part earnestly awesome. Everything from the music—which like the Dankness Dojo and the Far West Lounge is composed of a well-curated playlist of latinfunkjazztropicaliabop—to the decorations—which include a massive, piñata-like figure of Macho Man Randy Savage hanging over about 1/5 of the room—is out of place and totally at home at the same time. It's just bananas, and transports you to Modern Times Land instantly.

The beer selection is comparable to the other locations, which is to say, it's outstanding (if you came there for what Modern Times likes to brew). What's different from the Dankness Dojo and the Far West Lounge is the menu is more limited, and I'm not sure if they serve hot coffee. Even so, what they have is delicious (and vegan). As always.

If you're in Portland, go ahead and pop into the Belmont Fermentorium if you need a Modern Times fix. If you're just perusing the breweries of Portland, there are so many good ones to choose from that you would excused for passing on the Belmont Fermentorium—but if you're craving what MT has to offer, it will definitely scratch that itch.