Get with the Modern Times and try some beer straight from utopia … – LancasterOnline

A new addition to Pennsylvanias craft beer market is Modern Times Beer: A sunny, southern California native thats definitely hip to the craft groove.

Named after a utopian-minded community that once thrived on Long Island, New York, Modern Times is effectively snuggling its way into the Keystone States polyamorous arms with no gimmick needed.

Once a safe haven for progressives whose main desire was largely to break away from the rat race and slow down on their own terms, thank you very much, Modern Times residents were focused on social and gender equality. Unfortunately, there were outsiders who didnt understand the mentality of communal living, cohabitation and free love; others sought to take advantage of the communitys freedoms and bend it to their own sordid wills.

Modern Times was destined to have an expiration date.

Similar to its nearly utopian namesake, Modern Times Beer is unafraid to stretch conventional boundaries. Youll likely be pleasantly surprised with many of its offerings, which you now will find in many of your favorite local watering holes.

Most of its beers are named after other utopian communities, and discovering their stories is at least half the fun of drinking the beer, which is in itself an exercise in sensory pleasure.

Orderville, Utah, was an offshoot community of the Latter-day Saints; it had its beginning after Brigham Young proclaimed that his devotees form what he called united orders, or communities of like-minded believers.

Orderville the beer pours a light orange that grows in deeper intensity toward the bottom of the glass when held to the light. There are lazy particulates floating in the hazy body, and its all topped with an off-white head.

In aroma, a mingling of pine and resin blends with guava, passion fruit and pineapple. The flavor follows the nose, with loads of sticky pine and soft, juicy fruit. There is pineapple, mandarin orange and passion fruit, but plenty of bitter, dank earthiness to keep it from being a one-dimensional beer.

I loved the fine balance between juiciness and bitterness, like a tropical explosion in Pacific Northwest woods; this is supremely crushable.

Point Loma, a community within San Diego proper, was once the base of a utopian society formally named the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society, founded by Katherine Tingley.

The people here placed a strong emphasis on humanitarian efforts and raised their children in an environment away from parents, with a school system called Raja Yoga.

Lomaland the beer is the color of pale honey with an incredibly thin, off-white head.

Its aroma swells with spicy pepper, soft wheat, dry grass, apples and flowers. There are loads of floral notes, earthy funk and pepper in flavor. The play between gentle mouthfeel and high carbonation is sheer joy, and it finishes somewhat dry and crisp with promises of sunshine.

A few years ago, my husband gave me a bag of coffee that was barrel-aged. The complexity and depth of personality and flavor were memorable.

Modern Times is doing the same thing: Instead of creating a barrel-aged beer, its creating beer brewed with barrel-aged coffee.

The result is nothing less than singular and spectacular.

City of the Dead pours a pitch-black abyss from the glass and is topped with a tan head.

Heavy notes of roasted black coffee, molasses, caramel and dark, bitter chocolate reign in the nose. The flavor mirrors that, with boldly roasted yet smooth coffee thats full of a bourbon shine but with no alcohol heat. This beer is mellow and deep with light carbonation. On the tongue, youll likely find chocolate, tart cherries and sweet, creamy coffee.

Try these and other Modern Times selections soon, although I get the feeling that this brewerys life expectancy is much longer than your average utopian society.

Contact Amber DeGrace with questions and comments at adegrace@lnpnews.com and find her on Twitter at @amberdegrace.

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Get with the Modern Times and try some beer straight from utopia ... - LancasterOnline