We had to say a very, very tearful goodbye to the heart and soul of the Modern Times Coffee program, Bartleby Bloss. He was quite literally the human embodiment of our motto, “be excellent to each other”; a passionate, humble, intensely kind person, artist, dog enthusiast, musician, Chicagoan, social justice advocate, and former treehouse resident.

The sun is currently kicking ass and taking names, but luckily, our resident mages of fermentation have graciously blessed us with a new form of IPA wizardry that will provide a momentary reprieve from the effects of global warming. It’s a tall order, and while we love an IPA as much as--if not significantly more than--the next guy, sometimes a fully fledged, big bodied murk lord isn’t exactly what the doctor ordered. Enter: Pool Zone.

July is shaping up to be quite a month: Not only are we on the verge of our 8th anniversary as a company, we also find ourselves on the precipice of an exceptionally exquisite exhibit of fermented wizardry with the July Part 1 special release sale. In lieu of a birthday cake, we have a truly spectacular lineup of beers, including MT8 (the newest iteration of our yearly celebratory brew), DDH Underworld Dreams (one of most original hazy IPA recipes), canned Nectarnomicon (a smoothie-style wonder you may recognize from fests past), and Static God (a collab with the caffeinated powerhouses at Fuzz Coffee Roasters).

Modern Times has recently started down a new path towards a safer, more inclusive work environment for its employee-owners. We feel that it's important to maintain the maximum level of transparency regarding these changes not just with the MT team, but with our supporters and community alike. While we’ve just begun to make the first moves towards reaching the goals we’ve collectively set for our company, we wanted to give everyone an update on how it’s going so far. 
 
Updated Reporting & Investigations Process

The reckoning our community is currently facing has exposed the culture of sexism, misogyny, racism, and otherwise abhorrent behavior that has long been overlooked in the beer industry. Modern Times is far from exempt in this. As Modern Times employees, we are hurt, angry, disappointed, and exhausted. We denounce the facade of transparency and equity constructed and implemented by leadership over the past 8 years. It does not reflect our values or experiences.