Hey we did it - we made it through another year of Uppers & Downers in Chicago, home to our annual festival of coffee, beer, and coffee beers held in collaboration with our friends at Thalia Hall. This time around, of course, we decided to make an entire week out of it, with a series of smaller events leading up to the festival featuring tours of local coffee roasters, espresso demos, tap takeovers, an incredible chef-driven dinner, an Irish cocktail competition with some of chicago best bartenders. It was a real haul, but we were thrilled to bring in so many new partners and collaborators this year to pull it off. So as we do every year, but especially this year, is we sit down for the Hangover party and reflect on what we learned and what we were inspired by from the festival with some of the brewers, roasters, and others who came to town. Our co-founder, world Barista Champion Stephen Morrissey couldn't be with us this year, he was off in London getting ready for our first major Uppers & Downers festival there this May 19th — he was doing a site visit and working with the brewers, roasters, and our London-based editor Matthew Curtis in the run-up to what will be a major international expansion for us with the festival. we've got some really exciting things to share. Tickets for the London fest are on sale now - on goodbeerhunting.com/events But to sit alongside me for the recap podcast was a very worthy substitute with Nick Kohout and Jen Hoverstad of Counter Culture Coffee based in North Carolina, but with a lab here in Chicago.