New Brewery Grabs Modern Times/Commons Building
The third time’s a charm? Mat Sandoval, Conrad Andrus, and Gavin Lord are hoping so. The trio—a supergroup of brewers who formerly worked at Modern Times, Culmination/Modern Times, and pFriem—have an ambitious new project that will have them turning out beer by summer in the former location of the Commons and Modern Times Fermentorium at 7th and SE Belmont.
The brewery will be called Living Haüs Beer Company, and will focus on lagers. It’s basically a turnkey operation, and Mat confirmed that in addition to taking over the lease from Modern Times, they have purchased the 15-barrel brewhouse still inside the building. But wait, there’s more! In addition to the Living Haüs side of things, they’ll use a portion of the production schedule for contract brewing services under the name of the outfit’s parent company, Sin Marca Beverage. Gavin Lord, the longtime head brewer at pFriem who left unexpectedly a year ago, will head that piece of the business.
The nearly 100-year-old warehouse has seen a lot of action in the past seven years. In 2015, The Commons’ Mike Wright moved operations from mere blocks away, opening right as the Craft Brewers Conference arrived in Portland that year. Unfortunately, a series of unfortunate incidents hamstrung the brewery, which closed a couple years later. Wright still owned the building, though, and in a surprising move, San Diego-based Modern Times took out a lease there. Despite Portland’s famous parochialism, locals welcomed the Californians and Modern Times quickly became a fixture in Portland. That success didn’t matter, though, for a company running into hard times; two months ago, Modern Times suddenly closed four of its breweries and pubs, including Portland’s.
Despite the failures of the two previous occupants, the building is in a fantastic location at the east end of the Morrison bridge, just across the river from downtown. Light streams through the vast window arrays, and soaring ceilings create an airy, spacious vibe. Whether it featured the spare warehouse feel of the Commons days or the shimmering SoCal vibe of the Modern Times period, the building has always been a stellar place to have a beer. The founders hint at a high concept new use of the space. “The revitalized space will welcome guests into a lush, green environment reflecting the natural world outside the brewery walls,” the press release reads. Sandoval continues, “With some creative inclusions of the natural elements of light, earth, air, and water, we have designed an area that stands up to the quality and artistry of our beers…. You will find elegance mixed in with a hint of danger: high-quality beer, an airy and green environment, and thrash metal.” All right then!
I’m so happy to hear another brewery is going to give this building a shot. All three have done stellar work as brewers, and I expect excellent beer at the jump. It’s one of the nicest venues in Portland, and it deserves a great brewery—which this promises to be. They’ve targeted July for the opening, so we won’t even have to wait long.