Modem Times

All of the rum variants on draft were really solid, although the coconut/cacao and coffee versions were my favorites. The vanilla version tasted a touch harsh on the vanilla character* - which I think will smooth out with time - and the plain Caribbean rum was just a bit thin. Still a good beer, no complaints, just not a standout the way the plain bourbon MP was. Two other quick thoughts:
1) I haven't been a fan of the barrel aged coffees most of the time, but I quite enjoyed the barrel aged coffee in Nicaraguan rum barrel MP. It seemed to meld better with the coffee than some of the other BA coffees I've had - both in coffee and beer form - and was quite pleasing.
2) I had another pour of the bourbon MP w/ coffee and it was night and day from what I had on release. I didn't enjoy it the first time around, but the pour I had tonight was a grear, smooth coffee character that was well integrated with the beer and had none of the objectionable/fecal notes I picked up last time. I'm glad that it was on tap to try again, as I'm quite looking forward to opening my bottle now. Whether the first time was the glass, my own palate, or something else, I don't know, but I'm quite happy to say it was a different story this time around.

* It's possible that I'm being a bit harsh on the vanilla as it reminded me of homemade vanilla extracts I have going in my pantry - and therefore not fully integrated, not a negative reflection on the vanilla itself - in a way that just didn't seem to quite meld with the beer. It improved a bit as it warmed up and I think it will really come together with some time in the bottle - weeks, not months - but the "throw vanilla at it until we're happy" strategy might have brought it just a bit over the top. A minor gripe, no doubt.

 

Another great release Modern Times! All the Monsters Park variants were pretty great. I agree with ^^^ the Nicaraguan Rum variants were absolutely sublime, pity one of the barrels couldn't be bottled (but I totally have more respect for these guys that they have an honorable QC system in place).

IMHO, The Caribbean rum imparted very nice fruity notes though the body of that version was fairly thin. I felt the vanilla variant was the weakest. (Though I am clearly in the minority here.) It had just enough vanilla to erase the tropical fruit from the rum but not enough to stand out on its own, also the alcohol was more prevalent. Now I need to decide whether to let the vanilla fade to get the heat to go down or just drink it now and hope the bottle has more vanilla than on tap.

Cheers Modern Times, keep them coming.

 

hhnnnggg

 

I hope the anniversary party is on a Sunday.

 

Last year it was 2 days and 4 sessions. One of my favorite beer events of the year. Very low key, easy lines and if you go with someone else you have enough tickets to try every beer and save one or two to try the standouts again !!

 

Picked up bottles and had the flight yesterday. All of them were very good, but the coconut/cacao and coffee ones stood out the most. I have a feeling my bottles won't last very long...

 

Anyone know if any of them kicked/will still be on today? Hoping to make it by tonight. I'll call before hand, just curious if anyone knows.

 

I should hopefully be there around 1, I'll report back if nobody else does.

 

I was there close to last-call and the 4 were still being poured. Obviously call ahead if you are concerned but based on the amount of ppl that were there from 3pm (update from my sister) and then when I got there around 5:30ish it was hopping but around 8, died down to the point where there were finally more chairs than people.

 

We're still pouring everything except the Nicaraguan Rum Barrel-Aged MP w/ rum barrel-aged coffee. For the flights, we've substituted it for the Bourbon Barrel-Aged MP w/ coffee.

Our 2nd Anniversary Party will be July 11th & 12th. We've got another event planned for August I'm really looking forward to sharing with you guys soon.

Cheers & thanks,
Jacob McKean
Modern Times Beer

 

Modem Tones Connection Party?

 

Regular Nicaraguan rum BA mp is gone too. For me I would say coconut cocoa is killing it.

 

Hoorah. 2nd anniversary. Four sessions. See you fellas on Sunday.

 

When in August?? If it's when I'm scheduled to be on family vacation, I'm cancelling everything

 

Counter programming to Comic Con?

 

Man and I'm going to heading back from comic con on Friday, could only get Thursday tickets

 

Haha, August 22nd.

Cheers & thanks,
Jacob McKean
Modern Times Beer

 

Dodged the bullet here...I was worried it would conflict with the Stone event. With 22nd we're all good, date saved!

 

Loving: the new batch of canned Oneida. Seems slightly tweaked for the better from last year's bottled version. This could easily replace Fortunate Islands in my summer rotation.

Not loving: the "new" (old) can rings. They completely fell apart on both 4-packs I've bought so far, resulting in dropped and super-banged up cans. Also, don't they strangle dolphins or something?