Modern Times Drops Massive New Craft Beer Project in the Heart of Anaheim

San Diego-based Modern Times Beer has been on a massive expansion path virtually since opening, with plans to dive into the Los Angeles market with a full-fledged brewpub in Downtown next year. And now, almost out of nowhere, they’ve decided to drop a massive location in the heart of Orange County as well, covering several stories of a downtown Anaheim building with tens of thousands of square feet of brewing and partying space.

The gigantic build is to be called Leisuretown, and is being done in conjunction with the folks at The LAB, who have put in high-density, forward-thinking urban developments like Anaheim Packing District and the CAMP in the past. The plan with Leisuretown is to work a sour-focused brewing and pouring program inside an old warehouse on site, while also expanding into a full cafe and restaurant space spread across two stories of an old Craftsman home, says a release from the company.

The best part: Leisuretown won’t just be all craft beer all the time. This being the LAB’s forte, you can also expect a bunch of cool stalls and vendors from different restaurants across Southern California, as well as a pool, poolside bar (awesome), and outdoor movie screen area. You can see a mockup of the layout being passed around by Modern Times below.

Of course, this is far from the first big Orange County expansion planned for craft beer names up and down the coast. Even LA's own Golden Road Brewing has been eyeing a massive site near Angel Stadium for their own standalone craft beer playplace.

As of now, there is no firm timetable for the Leisuretown opening, though the Modern Times team insists the announcement won’t push back the LA launch at all. Still, that Downtown LA location can’t come soon enough, as other recent entrants like San Diego’s Ballast Point in Long Beach prove the massive market for craft beer across the city. More details on the timing of it all sometime soon, but one thing’s for certain: Modern Times keeps making cool stuff, and they don’t plan on selling out any time soon.