Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

A Modern take on amber ale

Point Loma’s Modern Times updates a semi-forgotten classic

Modern Times Blazing World
Modern Times Blazing World
Place

Modern Times Lomaland Fermentorium

3725 Greenwood Street, San Diego

Place

Modern Times Flavordome

3000 Upas Street #102, San Diego

Remember when the most popular style of beer was amber ale, AKA red ale? Not Irish-style red or West Coast-style red... just a nondescript red ale that looked pretty much the same color as those similarly vague amber ales? If you don’t, that’s OK. It merely means you’re younger than me.

Sponsored
Sponsored

So, look here, whippersnapper, back in the early- to mid-nineties, when the first wave of the craft beer renaissance was washing over San Diego, much of that fluid medium’s composition was amber in color. Even India pale ales were hard to come by — there simply wasn’t demand for them, as many found mostly malty ambers and reds to be far-enough out-there compared to the American adjunct lagers and similarly macro European imports that ruled store shelves.

Nowadays, amber ales and reds that aren’t "imperial" (high ABV and usually hoppier) are lesser-represented styles throughout San Diego county, a victim of local drinkers’ tastes gravitating toward more intense and outlandish creations. But hops make everything better, even an otherwise humble amber ale. Take, for instance, Blazing World, a “hoppy amber” produced by Modern Times Beer that's given round, dare I say “dankness” and a touch of fruity appeal from Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, and Simcoe hops.

Lower in bitterness than most hop-focused brews, it makes for a nice ‘tweener for when a big, SoCal IPA is a bit much but one doesn’t want to go so far down the IBU hillside that they land in Kölsch or blonde ale territory. Available in 16-ounce tallboys or on draft at a number of bars and restaurants throughout San Diego, it does a good job of preserving this style while providing the update it requires to stay relevant in an ever-evolving craft beer world.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Bob Long played piano for Tina Turner and Ray Charles

And he got the crowd shaking at InZane Brewery
Next Article

Barrio Logan’s very good Dogg

Chicano comfort food proves plenty spicy
Modern Times Blazing World
Modern Times Blazing World
Place

Modern Times Lomaland Fermentorium

3725 Greenwood Street, San Diego

Place

Modern Times Flavordome

3000 Upas Street #102, San Diego

Remember when the most popular style of beer was amber ale, AKA red ale? Not Irish-style red or West Coast-style red... just a nondescript red ale that looked pretty much the same color as those similarly vague amber ales? If you don’t, that’s OK. It merely means you’re younger than me.

Sponsored
Sponsored

So, look here, whippersnapper, back in the early- to mid-nineties, when the first wave of the craft beer renaissance was washing over San Diego, much of that fluid medium’s composition was amber in color. Even India pale ales were hard to come by — there simply wasn’t demand for them, as many found mostly malty ambers and reds to be far-enough out-there compared to the American adjunct lagers and similarly macro European imports that ruled store shelves.

Nowadays, amber ales and reds that aren’t "imperial" (high ABV and usually hoppier) are lesser-represented styles throughout San Diego county, a victim of local drinkers’ tastes gravitating toward more intense and outlandish creations. But hops make everything better, even an otherwise humble amber ale. Take, for instance, Blazing World, a “hoppy amber” produced by Modern Times Beer that's given round, dare I say “dankness” and a touch of fruity appeal from Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, and Simcoe hops.

Lower in bitterness than most hop-focused brews, it makes for a nice ‘tweener for when a big, SoCal IPA is a bit much but one doesn’t want to go so far down the IBU hillside that they land in Kölsch or blonde ale territory. Available in 16-ounce tallboys or on draft at a number of bars and restaurants throughout San Diego, it does a good job of preserving this style while providing the update it requires to stay relevant in an ever-evolving craft beer world.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Barrio Logan’s very good Dogg

Chicano comfort food proves plenty spicy
Next Article

City Lights: Journey Through Light & Sound, Hotel Holiday Tea Service

Events December 7-December 11, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader