Following a sold-out event in Bermondsey last September, Uppers & Downers is to more than double in size for its return on 19 May.
The festival will take place at Mick’s Garage in Hackney Wick, east London, and will run over five hours, giving more attendees the chance to experience some of the most progressive coffee and beer hybrids in the UK, created by some of its top brewers and roasters.
Uppers & Downers is a collaborative coffee-beer series of events created by Good Beer Hunting's founder and director Michael Kiser and World Barista Champion Stephen Morrissey.
The goal of the festival is to focus on coffee as a speciality brewing and blending ingredient.
Line up announced
The breweries taking part at this year’s festival include: Beavertown, Boundary, Brew by Numbers, Cloudwater, CRATE, Fourpure, Fyne Ales, Magic Rock, Moor, Northern Monk, Siphon, Siren, The Five Points Brewing Company and Weird Beard.
The following roasters have also been confirmed for next month’s event: Artisan Roast, Caravan, Clifton Coffee, Climpsons, Dark Arts Coffee, Dark Woods, Has Bean, London Grind, North Star, Or Coffee, Quarter Horse, Roasted Brown, Round Hill, Square Mile, Tamp and The Roasting Shed.
“Bringing Uppers & Downers to London for the second time is both an incredible outreach and homecoming for us,” said Kiser. “We've had people from all over the world venture to Chicago for the festival.
“Because of that interest and awareness, we're now able to bring the festival to them, which creates a platform for local brewers and roasters to showcase their own beer and coffee cultures, and experiment through collaboration. No place outside the States has been more important to us than the UK.”
Collaborative approach
Morrissey added: “People drink coffee and beer differently here in London than other cities, the line between the two is considerably more blurred.
“Coffee shops open later and seem to serve the community till it’s appropriate to have a drink, which happens far earlier in the day than in the US. Bars have coffee machines, coffee shops have beers and as evident by this year’s festival - the companies behind them are fans of each other, and work together often. I can’t wait to see the results of that work at this year’s festival.”
Uppers & Downers London will take place between 12noon and 5pm on Saturday 19 May at Mick’s Garage in East London’s Hackney Wick.
Tickets for the session are £45 (plus booking fee) with a discount available for members of Good Beer Hunting’s subscriber community, The Fervent Few.