Hopwired Festival was a Fantastic, boozy good time

It seems like only yesterday we were complaining that there was a shortage of coffee related festivals in Vancouver. Grumbling baristas, uptight cafe fans and moronic coffee bloggers all at some point had a bit of a moan. Well, a fine fellow called Mike decided to step up to the plate and swing at the problem… by including booze. His creation was Vancouver’s first coffee beer event… and let me tell you, Hopwired Festival was a fantastic, boozy good time!

Mike and his team assembled a selection of brewers and roasters, paired them together to make fancy coffee beers, then let loose a bunch of the public in the Croation Cultural Centre for some midday Saturday drinking.

The event was masterfully laid out, with plenty of room for the 500 guests to travel around the venue. The attending roasters and breweries (of which there were loads, check out the list here) created some utterly incredible drinks for us all, with the army of volunteers (shout out to GoFindPatrick and his missus lugging around pails of beer every time I saw him!) making sure everyone was safe, clean and having a great time! Everyone involved in this event should be very, very proud of what they achieved!

Whilst beer was being poured, there was also a live vote on the Hopwired website, to pick your favourite espresso, filter coffee, cold brew and of course, coffee beer. If you didn’t catch the awards ceremony it was hosted by the most handsome, chiselled, Adonis of a man you’ve ever seen, the one and only… well, it was me… I hosted it.

Screw you, my mum says I’m handsome.

Here are the winners:

Espresso:
1. The Penny Espresso Blend (Smoking Gun Coffee)
2. Notch Espresso (Notch Coffee)
3. Top Shelf (Pallet Coffee Roasters)

 

Hopwired