![]() Big time blackberry notes and lots of florals, with a light red wine-like mouthfeel in the neighborhood of Trousseau or Gamay. We’ve written about this coffee previously on Sprudge, but it’s still a resoundingly rare treat to get to try Takesi as espresso, from Intelli baristas, all dialed in and delicious. If there’s a coffee nutshell version Uppers & Downers, it’s probably this gem tucked away in Session Two. Takesi- the highest coffee farm in the world-served up as espresso at a coffee beer festival. A lot of Untappd users are earning their “Top of the Mornin'” badge on this one, which I assume refers to drinking beer at an hour not typically deemed appropriate. Complex, with notable coffee flavors, but quite unlike the typical coffee beer. If “coffee stouts” are the baseline for coffee beers, and this festival highlighted some pretty far out and funky Berliner Weisse / Kombucha / high acid takes on the trope, than Vivant’s beer kind of splits the difference. Here’s a beer I heard a lot of buzz around on the event floor, a Belgian-style strong ale blended with one of Madcap’s delicious Colombian coffees, from producer Lucas Melo. ![]() People freak out for this beer on its own, and its coffee twist was delightful, although at 10.5% ABV a little dab’ll do ya.īrewery Vivant “Melo Angst” w/ Madcap Coffee ![]() I’d be remiss not to mention that Off Color also offered pours of their “Coffee Dinos’mores”, an Imperial stout brewed with graham flour, marshmallow, and cocoa nibs. This was another example of the zingy, slightly tart, and wholly drinkable style of coffee beers on offer at Uppers & Downers, and very much the kind of beer I enjoy drinking. Their “Hyper Predator” is a fusion of the brewery’s popular Apex Predator farmhouse ale with some tasty Ethiopian coffee from Metric, also a popular local Chicago brand. Run by a bunch of Siebel Institute grads, Off Color Brewing is a Chicago-based brand with cool design and a strong local following. Off Color Brewing “Hyper Predator” w/ Metric Coffee Think huge acidity, matched with coffee aromatics and a natural yeasty funk-I want to drink this with pickles and meat. Goose Island Beer Company Kaffee-Weisse w/ Intelligentsiaĭefinitely one of my favorite beers at the event, this Berliner Weisse-style ale was brewed with Lactobacillus, a controlled bacteria used in many kinds of foods, from sourdough bread to yogurt, cheese, kimchi, and beer. The author, drinking beer (or possibly espresso?) at Uppers & Downers and trying not to lose his mind. Be forewarned: I’m a beer n0ob, so take these notes with an outsider grain of salt and direct any and all complaints about the content that follows to event co-founder Stephen Morrissey ( on Twitter). Last year’s write-up was a bit more slice of life this year I want to focus on the products that inspired me, tasted great, and stood out from the pack. With chalice in hand and smile on face, I took (progressively more ridiculous) notes throughout that beer-soaked day in Chicago, and today I’ll share 10 of the most delicious things I tried at Uppers & Downers 2016. Over two sessions and across one beer-packed day, I personally tried 30+ different beers-which for beer nerds isn’t even that much!-plus a dozen or so espressos, some Irish Coffee, assorted snacks, and a whole lot of water at regular intervals. Down to try some Gesha IPA? You came to the right fest, bro. Want some Green Chartreuse Pacamara infused into yer Blonde Ale? They had it. There was also a killer espresso bar throughout the day, featuring La Marzocco Home Linea Mini espresso machines and some of the best coffee roasters in the country, including Intelligentsia Coffee, Madcap Coffee, Goshen Coffee, Sump Coffee, Blueprint Coffee, Ipsento, Counter Culture Coffee, Ruby Coffee Roasters, Gaslight Coffee Roasters, Kickapoo Coffee, and Metropolis Coffee. The event, now an annual affair in its second year, happens at Thalia Hall in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, and is produced by Good Beer Hunting, creator of popular beer web content and designer of thoughtful beer brands.īeer, glorious beer, oh good Lord, so much beer. The choices at Uppers & Downers ranged from deep, dark, smooth and high ABV% stouts to clean, light, easy drinking, light on the liver Weisses and farmhouse ales, and everything in-between. It’s a match made in heaven, or at least in Pilsen.Īnd so it was that on a weekend in February, in the Year of Our Lord 2016, I did travel to Chicago, Illinois to attend, document, and participate in the Uppers & Downers Festival of Coffee Beers. I consider this to be the world’s finest coffee beer festival, home to a wide-ranging series of unique collaborations between forward-thinking breweries and progressive new wave coffee companies.
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