USA, OR: San Diego’s Modern Times to occupy The Commons’ brewery in Southeast Portland

The Commons, the brewery behind one of one of Portland's signature beers, Urban Farmhouse Ale, will vacate their Southeast Portland home, making way for popular San Diego brewery Modern Times, according to a press release, OregonLive.com reported on September 5.

Modern Times will lease the space from The Commons owner Mike Wright, who owns the Southeast Belmont Street building. Modern Times plans to eventually add a coffee roaster and cafe, a full food menu and a canning facility in an adjacent space.

From its garagiste-roots, The Commons grew into one of Portland's best-known breweries, opening its high-ceilinged brewery and tasting room in 2015. In July, the Willamette Week reported that The Commons had lost longtime head brewer Sean Burke.

Meanwhile, Modern Times had entered the Pacific Northwest market with a force, releasing collaboration beers with Portland breweries and, starting in February, getting their tallboys and bombers into fridge cases everywhere good beer is sold. Quietly, owner Jacob McKean had been scouting Portland for a location to build a new annex brewery, or Fermentorium, in the company's parlance.

According to Wright, two years of "lagging sales and battling cash flow," forced him to "make some very uncomfortable decisions."

"This boiled down to simple debits and credits," he explained. "That's the sinister simplicity of a cash flow problem. Your debt is clearly defined, but revenue is a rollercoaster."

After taking over the space on January 1, Modern Times will close for a month to install new brewing equipment and artwork.

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