Modern Times Flavordome

The beer selection here is awesome and I like local breweries. Though you might have to search for it, it worth it. The ambience is amazing too! Talk about throwback?! VHS and floppy disk wall adds to the amazing feeling of the place as you chug your beer. They’re also «Family» friendly as the bar tenders are amazing to joke around with on how nostalgicly gay you can become at this place.

It’s a pretty cool place with lots of seating and good atmosphere. Not sure about the urinal-​looking water fountain though.

Modern Times had both good coffee and good brews. I was impressed with both that I had. I would like to have a chance to explore more of what they do but the small sampling I had made a big impression. I didn’t really care for the space — I know they tried to make it feel like it had an atmosphere but it was lacking a bit for me. In any case, it’s a great spot to check out if you’re in the area.

Very hipster, their ambiance is fun it’s a nice place to meet up w/​friends and catch up with some beer. The ladies at the bar were great help also. No complaints from me.

Modern Times does good beer.
However, figure out the ventilation please. There is an odd boys locker room linger.

Having worked in the beer industry for almost a decade, it pains me to write an unfavorable review.
I’m giving this location three stars because the beer is delicious and the décor and atmosphere are great. However, the customer service was horrible, to say the least. We walked in with smiles and sat at the bar, excited to try the menu. After not being greeted, we took it upon ourselves to say hi to our beertender and tell him it was our first time there. We didn’t get a «welcome» or «your first time, awesome, what can I get you?» not even a «do you have any questions about our beer?» It was a Saturday around 1pm, only a few people in the place, so the –It’s busy I can’t pay attention to all of my customers– excuse doesn’t apply in this case. He texted behind the bar the entire time and treated us like crap. Maybe he was having a bad day, nonetheless, paying customers should be provided with a basic, minimal level, of courteous service.
He poured our beers, never asked us if we liked them or what we thought, but to his credit when we were finished we got a «can I get you anything else?» No thanks, this is awkward, sorry we bothered you by coming into your establishment. Even if the beer sucked, customer service is everything. You can still have a positive, lasting impression and that person is more than likely to return just based on the friendly vibe. I’d rather spend my money where I feel appreciated. The 3 breweries we went to afterwards within a one mile radius were excellent, thankfully they made up for the crappy experience at our first stop.
If the owner cares at all about building relationships within the community, especially amongst fellow beer lovers, staff needs a basic «How to be polite to customers» tutorial.

Fun spot in North Park, I decided to spend my birthday here. They offer a great selection of local craft beers from their brewery a bit north. I love the décor as well, a lot of fun. They do not offer food, but there are a lot of local establishments nearby to get good food and they do allow you to bring the food in. (Or you could just eat before which is what we did). Seating is the only negative, it’s a little tight to come by so plan ahead if you have a larger group.

The last brewery tasting room for my trip, I was a relative newbie to Modern Times. Their cans were distributed in Northern California so I wanted to see the stuff that I can see in their «flavordome.»
First things first, I wanted to try their cold brew coffee first, a first time that I ever heard that they had their own branded coffee. It was only $ 3 and as I was about to add cream and sugar… well…it wasn’t there. Now at this point, I wasn’t sure whether their iced coffee to be drank black but since I was already leaving that day, I didn’t want to raise a fuss and I drank about half of it before I moved on to beer.
I tried the Black House with mexican chocolate and the nitro Black House. The nitro version was very smooth… tasting almost as smooth as the iced coffee that I just drank. The mexican chocolate version was a bit heavier with the spicy notes of the chocolate. It was this point that my stomach just put up the red light and said… no mas. Yes it was too much alcohol over the last few days and after drinking these tasters, I paid my tab and bolted out.
The décor was pretty cool… I couldn’t keep my eyes off the VHS tapes at the bar area. I think I have some to contribute to that if they ever need it. The lampshades on the ceiling were cool too. Also the beer pouring lady behind the counter was hospitable and accommodating.
I’ll make sure next time to ask about how I was supposed to drink their iced coffee…

WARNING: Poorly trained bartendress !!
(the one with pink hair, or was it purple? maybe both?)
Came in on a Friday night to relax and enjoy a beer. And I asked the lady about what she was pouring. And the woman pointed to the board and said ‘it’s all up there’.
Look. When you only serve one item, beer, you should know what you’re doing. At least have some knowledge of your product.
When I ask you for a session ale, you should know what beers have the lowest alcohol percentage. Or at least rattle off a few options.
A box of rocks has more personality than that gal. Seriously, Modern Times. Get with the times and modernize your staff. Thank god your beer is just ok.

Had a great time at this brewery. Love he indoor decorations but all of the lamps! The people are fun, helpful, friendly! They created a great experience for us. The beer was good too! This place was
Hoppin which really tells me it’s a great place! It’s super central and next to a lot of popular places! Definitely will be coming back here!!!

Pretty cool spot. It’s indoor /​outdoor. Dog friendly. Has cold brew coffees and several beer options. Inside was rather loud. So we sat on the patio. Lots of seating.

Cool space and good beers. Love the ambiance, warm lighting and big open space. I enjoyed most of the beers and prices are great. They have an interesting selection and even serve wine but my favorite was their BLACK HOUSE on nitro. Oatmeal stout + intense coffee flavor… Mmm.
Unfortunately my most intense memory from this place is their cherry beer. Thought it was a kriek lambic (Belgian style with sour morello cherries) but it was a fermented disgusting mess instead. Dear god. Even drunk, my numb tastebuds recoiled… Avoid!
Other than that, I’ll be returning soon.

Out of all the breweries in San Diego the one with a lot of hype lately has been Modern Times. Having already tried the selection at their flagship location it was time to check the taproom in North Park.
Walking in in the early evening hours, we found the «usual suspects» sipping on their Modern Times beers. It was busy but not crowded, and there was this weird vibe that they were winding down for the day. Regardless, we took two spots on the bar and put some sampler orders in. Enough has been said about the visual appeal and coolness of Modern Times so I won’t spend too much time on that.
The beer is okay and nothing really stood out as amazing, but more like solid all around. We tried everything that we haven’t sampled last year at Lomaland Fermentorium and I am still in search of that one memorable brew that I would go to Modern Times for. With so many options in North Park for beer, Modern Times would not be even in my top 3. But this place is very hip and has its own fandom, much more than any other brewery in the neighborhood. It’s a fun spot to visit and if you’re into what’s «in», you would probably enjoy it even more…

I love everything Modern Times does, from the quality and taste of the beer, to their marketing to their brewery and taproom design/​aesthetic. They are currently my favorite brewery in Southern California.
They are always coming out with something new and exciting. None of their beers disappoint. They have a fun, inviting and unique atmosphere in both of their locations. I encourage everyone to check them out!

North Park Beer Crawl!
While it’s been long-​established now that San Diego is a craft beer Mecca, a more recent development has been the emergence of North Park as a craft beer Mecca within the craft beer Mecca. On a recent weekend trip down to SD from NorCal, I made the rounds of North Park’s burgeoning craft beer presence.
Well into our epic North Park Beer Crawl, the Modern Times Flavordome was the 5^th stop for me & the homebrew partner. While only about ½ mile straight down 30^th from the previous stop, Bottlecraft, we decided to drive over since we had bottles to drop off at the car. We found street parking easily enough a block over & around the corner.
Walking in through the side door by their outdoor patio, what’s immediately most obvious is that it’s not a dome. It’s a 1^st floor flat sandwiched between eateries. But, then, I guess a Modern Times Flavorflat doesn’t sound as cool as a Flavordome. Anyhow, I digress. I really did like the Flavordome’s décor with VHS labels wallpapering the bar & lots of floppies everywhere as wall art (& drink coasters).
The place was about ½ full on an early Sunday evening. Bar seating was wide open, so that’s where we sat. Service was adequate, though not particularly engaging or attentive. Having been to the Modern Times Lomaland Fermentorium before, I followed my tasting M.O. & picked out beers I hadn’t already tried. Below are my notes from Untappd:
* Fruitlands: 3.5÷5, kinda cherry-​ish but not so sour not so salty
* Blazing World: 4.25÷5, on cask with Summer hops
* Aurora: 3.75÷5
* Oneida: 3/​5, ok flavor, big mouthfeel, though not particularly high abv, seems like there’s a healthy dose of dextrose
* Floating World: 3.25÷5, good flavor, huge mouthfeel, but really feeling like they’re substituting dextrose for malts
* Black House: 4.25÷5, on nitro
For the 6 tasters I had, by my personal scoring, it’s an average of 3.67 out of 5. Which is like déjà vu, all over again. 2 of 3 previous North Park taprooms on this beer crawl produced the same exact average. Conclusion: beers here were solid too. & while the Modern Times Flavordome had the coolest looking space of this entire beer crawl, service was the most apathetic here. Overall, 1 more great stop on an epic North Park Beer Crawl. On to the next…

I finally got to come here on Labor Day to have a beer with some friends. It was so nice to be in some air conditioning! I asked for their lightest beer when I came up to order and the bartender suggested the Lomaland Saison. It was light and bitter. My friends got the Fortunate Islands (tropical wheat) and the Gose (sour cherry). I’m still not accustomed to the sour beers but the Fortunate Islands I could order another time. It’s in that hefeweizen taste range so I like it.
Seems like a chill spot to come hang out at. Very eclectic décor, lamp shades ceiling and floppy disc wall art. They also use floppy discs as their coasters. Good to know they are still good for something! Ha!
I didn’t order food, but you an order tacos from next door and they will hand deliver it to you.

This place is awesome! I love the décor, vibe and location. Oh, and the beers!!!
They’re also brilliant because while they don’t offer food they allow you to bring in food AND you can order Tacos Perla online to get delivered right to you seat here. (The tacos are bomb!!!)

My boyfriend recently got into drinking Modern Times beer, and when I found out that we actually had a brewery in town, I knew we had to check it out.
First of all, this is NOT a brewery. It is a tasting room.
Their brewery is actually located in Midway, which I didn’t realize until I came here, but will definitely be checking out as well.
They do not serve food, so make sure you get something to eat beforehand!
They have indoor and outdoor seating. But it seems everyone prefers inside better because of the shabby chic décor and vibes. I think that their ceiling full of antique and classic lamp shades and VHS tape counters are really unique and cool to look at.
NOTE: This place is pretty small. They do have seating for small and large groups, but it seems to get really packed so finding a table or seat may be hard.
They have about 12 beers on tap.
Half Pours $ 3
Full Pours $ 6
Can/​Bottle $ 10
You can get a flight of four beers for $ 10, but only from a very small selected menu.
I chose not to get the flight because the ones I wanted to try were not on that selected menu.
They do also sell some Modern Times merchandise such as shirts and cups.
AND they even have their own coffee beans! And they have SOME snacks such as peanuts.
+ Oneida Hoppy Pale Ale
I didn’t really like this one. Just seemed bitter and no flavor.
+ Universal Friend Pinot Grigio
This one was my favorite because it tasted just like wine but in beer form. It was very tasty.
+ Mega Blazing World Hoppy Dank Amber
This one has some strong flavor. Very hoppy and semi-​dark.
Overall, it was a nice little short visit. Good place to go for some drinks.

It wasn’t too crowded when we went on a Friday afternoon. I ordered the Universal Friend Pinot Noir Saison ($ 6/​glass). I liked it initially because it tasted similar to a sour.
The décor is really fun and everything’s recycled. They have a small patio area that’s nice on warm days. Location is in a cute area of NP (by Underbelly), but parking can be troublesome since its on the street.

Another brewery spot in North Park! Located right next to Under Belly so you can eat and grab a bite too! Unfortunately, they don’t have their own food in Modern Times but you can order food from other places and have it delivered here! No parking lot of course but there’s pretty good odds that you can find a spot within 2 – 3 blocks since there’s mostly housing around the area.
There’s plenty of seating spaces both indoors and outdoors (dog friendly!) but it can get pretty packed so it might be hard to find a spot right away esp with a big party. Along with North Park comes the hipster décor-​lampshades of all colors sizes shapes decorate the ceiling. It’s pretty cool seeing all different kinds of lampshades. Their coasters are floppy disks! if you don’t know what that is, you’re probably too young to drink still… haha just kidding. I’m just old. Makes me wonder if there’s anything on them… The bar wall décor is made of TAPES. Not real tapes but the binding covers of tapes. Cassette tapes! It was a walk through memory lane seeing how many I actually watched/​recognized.
The beer is pretty good. Depending on size and what kind of beer you get it can range from $ 3-​$ 7. They also fill growlers for around $ 16-​$ 18. They also have this mix of pinot noir/​saison or pinot grigio/​saison called Universal Friend for $ 3/​$ 6. I know the beer lovers are secretly (or publicly) yelling at me but it’s actually pretty good!
They also have free wifi! Check out the board behind the bar for the wifi password. Not sure how often they change it. One thing they really need to work on though is the bathroom: ONE bathroom co-​ed. That’s right, not just one stall for girls and one for guys but one for BOTH. Being in the industry of «don’t break the seal,» this is pretty inconvenient.

I came here after reading an online article which mentions something about them roasting coffee for their Black House Stout.
Apparently they do because they even have their own coffee for sale.
So they had me at coffee, but guess what? Instead I went with one of their other beers, a hoppy one, of which I can’t remember. What I do recall is that it had an odd name.
I received my drink over a floppy disc coaster, what a clever idea. Then I just sat back and relaxed on a couch admiring the décor. The bar counter decorated with VHS movie cases and the upside down lamp shade ceiling make for a cool effect.
Modern Times Flavordome is a great beer stop for those planning a little brewery crawl in North Park. Check it out!