You know the old saying, โcoffee before beer, youโre in the clear, but beer IN your coffee, will set it off-y.โ Youโve never heard that? Weird. I say it all the time as a justification for my breakfast beer; it helps grease the wheels of creativity. And clearly there are more than a handful of like-minded souls up in Vancouver, British Columbia because the Hopwired Festival is back! Now in its thirdโAND FINAL!โyear, Hopwired is a festival of coffee and beer and coffee beer, and tickets are on sale now!
Returning to the Croatian Cultural Centre on Saturday, February 29th, Hopwired will feature over 30 brewers and roasters who will be sampling their fine wares for the public, including the likes of Counterpart, Mischief, and Transcend on the coffee side as well as Blind Enthusiasm, House of Funk, and Wild Ambition bringing up the beer.
And of course, the twain shall meet with Mean Mugginโ, the official coffee beer for Hopwired 2020. The coffee stout is a collaboration between Prototype Coffee and Nickel Brook Brewing (NOT Nickelback, the Canadian heartthrobs who just so happen to also reside in the โCouv).
For those in need of a palate cleanser between all the big flavors swirling around them, Hopwired has quite a few โpalate cleansersโ on offer, including lagers from Chuckanut Brewing, nitro kombucha, and a variety of fruit beers from the Fruit Beer Festival, Hopwiredโs sister fest. And if youโre preferred palate cleanser isnโt more alcohol, you can take a quick five at any of the panel discussion being held this year. You can learn from industry professionals about wild beer, foeders, malting, or you know, drink more at a wild beer tasting.
Tickets for Hopwired 2020 are currently on sale, with a few early bird spots left for just $45 CAD. After that the price will jump to $65 CAD for advanced tickets and $75 CAD for regular tickets. Admission includes all the coffee and beer you can (responsibly) consume as well as an official Hopwired glass, access to the Award Show hosted by Sprudgie Finalist Vancouver Coffee Snob, and so much more. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit Hopwiredโs official website.
Zac Cadwaladerย is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas.ย Read more Zac Cadwaladerย on Sprudge.
Top image by Dave Upshaw of Canoe Coffee
