
Mashing-In News: Modern Times Rebuilds, Craft vs. Big Beer
GOOD MORNING, SOUTH PUGET SOUND!
Wednesday, July 9, 2025 — Tom Hanks turns 69 today!
From Portland’s taco-kissed beer fiestas to Vancouver’s cross-border collab jubilee, from Tumwater’s fizzy fruit revival to San Diego’s retro-futurist resurrection, today’s craft beer dispatch spans continents and contradictions. Czech exports rise as locals sip less. Texas bleeds taprooms. A new debate bubbles: Is great beer bound by size, or by soul? Pour a pint, clear your palate, and dive into the shimmering ferment of what’s happening now in beer.
Tacos, Tamales, and 26 Craft Beers: Portland Hosts Inaugural MXPDX Fiesta
The inaugural MXPDX Fiesta de la Cerveza takes place Saturday, July 19, at The Redd on Salmon in Portland, bringing together 13 Mexican craft breweries and 13 Oregon breweries and cideries for a day-long celebration of beer, food, music, and culture. The free, all-ages event features a ticketed beer garden with exclusive collaboration brews, an indoor craft mercado showcasing local vendors and restaurants, live music, luchador wrestling, and a full cocktail bar serving Mexico City-inspired drinks. (The New School)
Washington and Oregon Breweries Unite for Brewing Bridges 2025
On August 2nd, the Brewing Bridges Beer Festival returns to Vancouver, Washington, with over 30 Washington and Oregon breweries teaming up for exclusive collaboration beers. Now hosted at the spacious Heathen Estate Winery, the event features an expanded celebration of regional craft, community, and creativity. (Washington Beer Blog)
Triceratops Brewing Relaunches Hard Sodas
Triceratops Brewing in Tumwater has announced the return of its award-winning hard sodas—Strawberry Lemonade, Blood Orange, and Lemon Lime—crafted with real fruit extract and clocking in at 6% ABV, just in time for a summer of gluten-free, flavor-forward refreshment. (Washington Beer Blog)
Modern Times Brewing Rebuilds
Modern Times Brewing, once stretched thin and on the brink, is undergoing a creative reinvention under new leadership—shifting beer production to AleSmith, debuting a refreshed hospitality concept with the Modern Times Pub, and preparing to open a new downtown San Diego venue called Timestead, blending beer, coffee, spirits, and retro-futurist design into a bold new chapter for the storied brand. (San Diego Beer)
As Czechs Drink Less, Their Beer Goes Global
Czech beer production hit a 15-year high in 2024, mainly driven by rising global exports and surging demand for non-alcoholic brews, even as domestic consumption continues to decline amid economic pressures and higher taxes on draught beer. (American Craft Beer)
Craft vs. Big Beer Debate
A long-standing divide in the beer world is being reexamined, as industry voices argue that quality and consistency aren’t exclusive to small craft breweries. Many acknowledge that both macro and micro brewers can produce exceptional (and not-so-exceptional) beer, shifting the conversation from size to skill, intent, and character. (The Drinks Business)
Australian firm SKJ Capital acquires San Antonio’s Alamo Beer Co.
After a Chapter 11 filing earlier this year, SKJ Capital won the bankruptcy auction for Alamo Beer with a $3.75 million bid—beating out Saint Arnold Brewing—with the deal expected to close by the end of July, preserving the brewery’s legacy and seven jobs. (San Antonio Express)
Texas craft breweries in crisis
In a troubling trend, three Houston-area breweries—Copperhead, North Shepherd, and Elder Son—shut down within weeks, mirroring a nationwide shakeout where craft-brewery closures outpaced openings for the first time in decades. (Chron)
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