We are a group of average beer drinkers coming from all walks of life. Keep in mind our reviews are not the opinions of one person but an amalgam of the members present for each tasting and merely a guide and not the definitive be a
ll end all. Feel free to post your beer related input, opinions, reviews, pictures and information on our page. If you run into us out and about this great city, pull up a chair, have a few pints and let’s talk all things beer. As always, remember to drink what you love and love what you drink!
09/07/2024
This week's Buffalo Beer Buzz podcast is here with Scott and Brian chatting all the news to know this week from Big Ditch Brewing, Nickel City BrewZ, Clarksburg Cider, Mystic Hills Brewing, Collabeeration Festival, WNY Brewers Guild, WNY Beer Week, Beer Kind Brewing and more.
What the guys are drinking:
- Scott - Hamburg Brewing West Coast IPA
- Brian - Thin Man Brewery Burning Money IPA
Read the Buffalo Beer Buzz every Wednesday at our site and Step Out Buffalo and listen to the BBB podcast every Friday wherever you consume your podcasts.
Listen to Buffalo Beer Buzz, September 6th, 2024 from WNY Brews. In this episode of the WNY Brews podcast, we cover a range of exciting updates and events happening in the Buffalo craft beer scene this fall. Big Ditch Brewing has extended its popular Inflation Buster Menu into the fall, offering dai...
09/06/2024
The crowler special (6 32oz. crowlers for $30) at Hofbrauhaus Buffalo is one of the best deals you'll find in local craft beer. We took full advantage for the release of their Oktoberfestbier by picking up a dozen crowlers of the good stuff. We look forward to cracking into these tonight and this weekend.
09/06/2024
Welcome back, Hofbrauhaus Buffalo Oktoberfestbier (from Munich)! It may not officially be , but this beer is drinking beautifully - floral notes of toasted bread, malt, and sweet honey. We enjoyed this beer so much that we bought 12 crowlers of it. Yes, that is a true statement. Find Oktoberfestbier on tap right now at the brewery.
09/05/2024
This trio of tasty beverages is keeping us company at Wayland Brewing. Up front is Respect, their new West Coast IPA, back left is Nimbus, their latest hazy IPA, and back right is Salt of the Earth, their house kolsch, which is our go-to order.
Respect features dank hops and ripe berry notes, and Nimbus is great haze with tropical and stone fruit with a soft and smooth finish. And Salt of the Earth is a damn fine beer - we suggest trying it if you haven't.
09/05/2024
Big Ditch Brewing has extended their Inflation Buster Menu, which features daily specials at relatively affordable prices, into the fall.
“Based on the overwhelming response and the positive customer feedback, it's safe to say that we were successful in doing that,” the brewery said on social media. “Join us and enjoy the same great experience at a great price, all season long.”
Read more about it here.
Big Ditch has also announced a new Summer Inflation Buster Menu, which features daily specials in the taproom to “provide Buffalo with a place to get quality beer, food, service in a comfortable environment, but also at a relatively affordable price.” From wings and pizzas, burgers and sandwiche...
09/05/2024
A post-kayaking Against the Grain Hefeweizen in the beer garden at Gene McCarthy's/Old First Ward Brewing on a beautiful night. Life is good.
09/04/2024
This week's Buffalo Beer Buzz at Step Out Buffalo has stories on Big Ditch Brewing extending their Inflation Buster Menu, the return of Collabeeration Festival, new Clarksburg Cider fall cider, Mystic Hills Brewing one year anniversary, WNY Brewers Guild WNY Beer Week, Allen Burger Venture new Sip & Slider flight, Nickel City BrewZ 1st Annual Golf Tournament and Beer Kind Brewing beer now available in cans. Cheers and thanks for reading.
Beer
09/04/2024
Mark your calendars, schedule your Uber or Lyft right now and prepare yourselves because Collabeeration Festival V had been announced for April 5, 2025.
Participating venues and ticket information will be announced at a later date.
If you don’t know, here’s the premise – the event features craft beer, cider and mead created by members of the Buffalo Beer Geeks community, who team up with over 50 Western New York craft venues to create one-off, small batch creations, many created exclusively for this event. They are involved in every step of the creative process.
Festival goers vote for their top collaborations, with the winners taking home the Buffalo Beer Geek Championship Belt.
Stay tuned for more info on this event.
09/04/2024
Van Gogh, a red wine barrel aged wild ale and the first entry into New York Beer Project Masterpiece Series, is one of the most approachable wild ales we've had. It opens with aromas of barnyard, lemon, and red wine with notes of funk, lemon, and strawberry on the palate before the beer dries out on the finish. We don't pick up much barrel note, but it drinks smooth and easy.
Van Gogh is on tap now at all New York Beer Project locations.
09/03/2024
We had such a great time at this weekend's National Buffalo Wing Festival that it could not be contained to one post. Good beer, great wings, and pure vibes were had by all. We saw a lot of friends, and the access to the field at Highmark Stadium was a true core memory for us. We'd love to see some more breweries next time, but we can't wait to do it again next year.
09/01/2024
Live look at how we're doing after the National Buffalo Wing Festival.
09/01/2024
Day 1 of the National Buffalo Wing Festival is in the books, and it was an absolute scene. Few things go together better than wings and beer, and we spent all day celebrating the heavenly pairing. Congrats to Steelbound Brewery & Distillery on taking home a first place trophy and thank you to all the breweries that kept us hydrated all day. We also spent as much time in the end zone as Josh Allen will this season. The VIP Craft Beer Fundraising Event was pure vibes, and we hope to be able to do it again next year!
There's still another day of the fest tomorrow, so get out to Highmark if you can.
08/31/2024
Happy 4th anniversary to First Line Brewing! Congrats on this milestone. From opening First Line Brewing during the pandemic (we were there!) to expanding their empire with Black Smoke Bourbon Bar and now Lassos Chicken & BBQ, we wish them nothing but continued success!
08/31/2024
Are you Team Flats or Team Drums?
There's perhaps no better way to properly pregame for tomorrow's National Buffalo Wing Festival than with a Resurgence Brewing Company Flats & Drums Pale Ale. This beer, a pale ale with honey, was designed to pair with chicken wings - it's light bodied and easy drinking with a touch of sweetness from the honey and a pleasant hop note.
Here's hoping we see a lot of familiar faces with beers and wings in hand tomorrow!
What wings are you pairing this beer with?
08/30/2024
Our friends at Ellicottville Brewing Company want to help stock your beer fridges for ! They are hosting a pop-up beer sale this weekend at their Elliocttville location with BOGO 4 and 6-packs and cases of their summer beer. Pallets will be set up in the street and inside the old brewhouse. There will also be free gifts with case purchases, as well as other apparel and merch on sale. Now is the time to load up!
08/29/2024
From West Seneca down to Ellicottville, there are nearly a dozen breweries positioned near exits of Route 219 in Western New York, making for a fun brewery crawl.
Here’s a rundown of seven exits that will take you to 10 breweries, including The Ridge West Seneca, Rusty Nickel Brewing, Wayland Brewing, First Line Brewing, NYBP Beer Lodge, Hamburg Brewing, Mystic Hills Brewing, Steelbound Brewery and Ellicottville Brewing, plus suggestions of what to drink while you are there.
There are nearly a dozen purveyors of craft beer strategically positioned near exits of Route 219, making for an easily planned brewery crawl or just places to stop along the
08/28/2024
This week's Buffalo Beer Buzz at Step Out Buffalo has stories on the new charity beer tap at Beer Kind Brewing, ProstFest at New York Beer Project, the return of Buffalo Brewing Company Simon Pure Beer at William Simon Brewery, new collab from Magic Bear Beer Cellar and Noble Shepherd Craft Brewery, new organic beer series at Buffalo RiverWorks/Pearl Street, Hofbrauhaus Buffalo Munich Oktoberfest release, National Buffalo Wing Festival Craft Beer fundraiser and Genesee Country Village & Museum Hop Harvest Festival. Cheers and thanks for reading.
Beer
08/28/2024
Tickets are still available to the National Buffalo Wing Festival VIP Craft Beer Fundraiser on Saturday, August 31 at Highmark Stadium.
This VIP experience will feature craft beer tastings from these 8 local breweries ⤵
🍺 - 42 North Brewing
🍺 - Big Ditch Brewing
🍺 - Ellicottville Brewing
🍺 - Hamburg Brewing
🍺 - Pearl Street Grill & Brewery
🍺 - Resurgence Brewing
🍺 - Southern Tier Brewing
🍺 - Steelbound Brewery & Distillery
Your $75 ticket includes:
🎟️ - All-day festival admission
🍻 - Craft beer tastings
🍗 - $15 in food tickets
🏈 - Access to Buffalo Bills Field
🎁 - Festival swag
❤️ - Charitable donation to Hope Rises and Bills Mafia Babes
If you’re a craft beer drinker, don’t skip this experience to drink for a good cause!
08/27/2024
Having a big hazy IPA and an even bigger hazy IPA at Other Half Buffalo. Motueka & Galaxy Imperial New England IPA, left, was soft and creamy with notes of grapefruit and citrus, and Shroomies Triple NEIPA, right, was boozy, hoppy and tropical. Both of these were great beers - classic Other Half.
08/27/2024
We didn't field a team for this year's WNY Brewers Guild annual golf tournament, but our friends at WNY Brews and Das Hausbrauers Von Buffalo did, and they couldn't have more great things to say about the event. They hung out with the teams at Buffalo Brews Podcast, Pressure Drop Brewing, WNY Beer Trail and more.
We are bummed we missed out on all the fun, but we're hoping to hit the links with the boys next year!
08/26/2024
Buffalo Olde Brewery in Lovejoy has released their first two ever canned beers, Lovejoy Lager and Iron Island IPA.
Lovejoy is a light, clean and crisp Helles Lager brewed with pilsner malt from Niagara Malt, as well as all New York hops, and Iron Island is a West Coast IPA with bold hop aromas and flavors of pine, citrus, and tropical fruit.
We talked to head brewer Tom Dargen about the beers and more. Both beers are available on draft and in cans at the brewery now.
Lovejoy’s Buffalo Olde Brewery has released their first two ever canned beers, flagship offerings, Lovejoy Lager and Iron Island IPA. Lovejoy is a light, clean and crisp Helles Lager brewed with pilsner malt from Niagara Malt, as well as all New York hops, and Iron Island is a West Coast IPA with ...
08/25/2024
Tasty lagers, late summer sun, and a refreshing pool - making the most of this beautiful weather with some Smoldered Society Strike Anywhere Czech Pilsner. The lager is crispy, the water is warm and the sun is hot. What else do we need? Oh wait, another beer.
08/24/2024
Not many pool days are left this year (closing day is Sept. 6), so we are making the most of this great weather by emptying everything on the arsenal. Resurgence Brewing Company Summer Ale and 42 North Brewing Company Solshine have been two of our go-to beers this summer (speaking of 42 North, we found a random Sif & Stave that was still drinking beautiful), Wildflower Beverages mead is a tasty poolside beverage and Buffalo RiverWorks Hop Water kept us hydrated. Here's to a never-ending summer!
08/24/2024
Thank you to our friends at Ellicottville Brewing for the today. These bad boys are already in the cooler, and we are ready for kickoff!
You can grab The Charge whereever great craft beer is sold.
08/23/2024
For the first time in a few weeks, the band is back together as Brian and Scott reunite to chat all of the weekly craft beverage news from WNY Brewers Guild, Bottle Rocket Beer Reserve, First Line Brewing, Shalooby Loofer, Gene McCarthy's/Old First Ward Brewing and more.
What are we drinking this week?
Scott - Big Ditch Brewing No Punts Intended
Brian - Open Bags #6
You can catch the Buffalo Beer Buzz article weekly on Wednesdays at our site and at Step Out Buffalo, as well as the Beer Buzz podcast Fridays on the WNY Brews podcast network.
Listen to Buffalo Beer Buzz, August 23rd, 2024 from WNY Brews. In this episode, we cover the latest happenings in the Western New York beer scene:- **WNY Brewers Guild Annual Charity Golf Tournament:** Mark your calendars for August 26 at Chestnut Hill Country Club. Enjoy a round of golf, local food...
08/23/2024
Four local breweries (Rusty Nickel Brewing, Eli Fish Brewing, Spotted Octopus Brewing, Pressure Drop Brewing) and one meadery (Lilly Belle Meads) have joined forces on Open Bags #6, a massive collaborative fruited sour.
They teamed up with a number of other area breweries and wineries on the new collab, which is brewed with banana, blackberry, grape, lime, mango, papaya, passionfruit, peach, plum, raspberry, rhubarb, soursop, strawberry, tangerine, vanilla, milk sugar, and ice cream powder.
We talked to a number of the participants to find out more about a collab of this size, their contributions, the beer and more.
Four local breweries (Rusty Nickel Brewing, Eli Fish Brewing, Spotted Octopus, Pressure Drop Brewing) and one meadery (Lilly Belle Meads) have joined forces on Open Bags #6, a massive collaborative fruited sour. They teamed up with a number of other area breweries and wineries (Stoneyard Brewing, Br...
08/23/2024
Getting ready to hop on the Buffalo Beer Buzz podcast with WNY Brews and needed to get in the right headspace to chat the week's craft beer news, so we reached for Brickyard Brewing Company. Luna Belgian Blonde Ale. It's delicate and refreshing with notes of citrus, floral hops, light spice, and Belgian yeast. Look for this new episode tomorrow on the WNY Brews podcast network.
08/22/2024
Starless is one of our favorites from Pod City Beer Labs. This saison has that classic farmhouse note - it's bright with earthy spice and clove, a touch fruity, and a semi-dry finish. This is another style we'd love to see more of locally.
Starless is available in cans and on draft at Pizza Plant Italian Pub - Canalside now.
08/21/2024
This week's Buffalo Beer Buzz at Step Out Buffalo has stories on the WNY Brewers Guild golf tournament, annual Bottle Rocket Beer Reserve Beer Mile, Shalooby Loofer's first anniversary, a triple can release at First Line Brewing, new beer pricing at Gene McCarthy's/Old First Ward Brewing Co. and the new Direct-to-Consumer Shipment Bill for New York cider, mead and spirits. Cheers and thanks for reading.
Beer
08/21/2024
As Ernie Banks famously said, "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame... Let's play two!" Soaking in the sun, the sights and sounds of Buffalo Bisons baseball and Resurgence Brewing Summer Ale at the ballpark for the last matinee game of the season. Few things go together like beer and baseball. The season is almost over - there aren't many chances to catch a game left!
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Tasty lagers, late summer sun, and a refreshing pool - making the most of this beautiful weather with some Smoldered Society Strike Anywhere Czech Pilsner. The lager is crispy, the water is warm and the sun is hot. What else do we need? Oh wait, another beer.
The New York State Craft Brewers Festival is a day we circle on the beer calendar every year. The beer, the people, the atmosphere, it all combines perfectly to make this the best beer event of summer and perhaps the entire year. And this year was no exception. The weather was great, the beer was cold, and vibes were priceless. We can not thank our friends at New York State Craft Beer and WNY Brewers Guild for having us down to Canalside to create some lasting memories. Their continued support means the freaking world. Let's do it again next summer!
Here's a sneak peak at the progress thus far at Farmcraft Brewery courtesy of Thompson Builds.
They hope to open this new 11,000 sq. ft. taproom in Strykersville this summer.
What's the best way to celebrate 12 years? With a few beers, of course. Congratulations on an even dozen years killing the game Community Beer Works. From Lafayette to Seventh to (soon) Bidwell, thanks for all the years of great craft beer and even better memories. Let's raise a toast to what the future holds.
The annual Habitat for Humanity Buffalo Hammer & Ales fundraiser returns to the Barrel Factory on March 21, and we’re teamed up with Habitat to give away a pair of tickets.
Visit the pinned post on our Instagram page to enter!
The giveaway closes on Monday, March 11.
Here's something we could all use right about now. If you're emotionally and physically exhausted after this weekend like us, this 'Burner is for you. We're all in this together.
Big Ditch Brewing Company
#billsmafia #drinklocal #drinkbetter
With the calendar now flipped over to 2024, it’s time to raise a glass to all of the exceptional beers that made 2023 such a memorable year for all of us here at the Buffalo Beer League. Join us as we relive some of our favorite beers of the past year.
Read more:
https://buffalobeerleague.com/the-buffalo-beer-leagues-favorite-beers-of-2023/
Playing catchup! Day 16 of our Consumers Beverages Advent Beer Calender was Ommegang Nitro Three Philosophers.
#Advent #AdventCalendar #adventcalendar2023
Playing catchup! Day 15 of our Consumers Beverages Advent Beer Calender was Thin Man Brewery Minkey Tango.
#Advent #AdventCalendar #AdventCalendar2023
Playing catchup! Day 14 of our Consumers Beverages Advent Beer Calender was Founders Brewing Co. French Toast Bastard.
#Advent #AdventCalendar #AdventCalendar2023
Playing catchup! Day 13 of our Consumers Beverages Advent Beer Calender was Rohrbach Brewing Company Scotch Ale.
#Advent #AdventCalendar #AdventCalendar2023
Playing catchup! Day 12 of our Consumers Beverages Advent Beer Calender was Fat Head's Brewery Head Hunter IPA.
#Advent #AdventCalendar #AdventCalendar2023
Playing catchup! Day 11 of our Consumers Beverages Advent Beer Calender was BrewDog It's A Beaut.
#Advent #AdventCalendar #AdventCalendar2023
Playing catchup! Day 10 of our Consumers Beverages Advent Beer Calender was Thin Man Brewery Pills Mafia.
#Advent #AdventCalendar #AdventCalendar2023
Playing catchup! Day 9 of our Consumers Beverages Advent Beer Calender was Bodingtons Pub Ale.
#Advent #AdventCalendar #AdventCalendar2023
Playing catchup! Day 8 of our Consumers Beverages Advent Beer Calender was The Genesee Brewery Citrus Pils.
#Advent #AdventCalendar #AdventCalendar2023
Playing catchup! Day 7 of our Consumers Beverages Advent Beer Calender was Foam Brewers Built to Spill DIPA.
Day 6 of Consumers Beverages Advent Calendar Beer Box is Bell's Brewery Oberon Eclipse.
#Advent #adventcalendar
Day 5 of our Consumers Beverages Advent Calendar Beer Box brings us another local in Ellicottville Brewing Company x Platters Chocolates Orange Chocolate Blonde. If you're a fan of orange chocolate, this beer us for you - big notes of orange flesh and milk chocolate, all wrapped in an easy drinking package.
We are posting each and every day on our socials, so follow along to see what we get each day from our Advent Beer Calendar.
The Buffalo Beer League was founded in August 2010 by passionate craft beer fans Brian Campbell and Scott McMillan, who were looking to expand their knowledge and understanding of all things craft beer, beginning with a blank notebook (aka The Grade Book), a six pack of Sam Adams Cherry Wheat and a liter of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum (don’t ask, they don’t really remember).
From there, things grew to include close friends Jesse Walters, Ryan Jablonski, George Ruffles, William Rogers, Dan Lohr and more, who would each bring a different beer to a weekly group tasting session to be sampled, reviewed and graded. Armed with a background in street team marketing and guerilla advertising in the music industry, as well as a love for all things local, the BBL grew into a powerful promotional tool as the Western New York beer scene began to blossom and take shape. Their scope now includes everything from event and festival coordination and management, volunteer staffing and social media promotion to beer blogging, podcasting and content creation.
“When we started the Buffalo Beer League, all we wanted to do was try something new,” Brian says. “That’s why we launching this thing - drinking good beer with good people, all while promoting local businesses and breweries and doing whatever we can do to help further the Buffalo craft beer scene. It’s all about having fun, drinking local and drinking better beer with our friends.”
The BBL attended more and more Buffalo beer events as they increased annually, outgrowing the Grade Book as they moved primarily to social media after the advent of Untappd (for beer grading and reviewing purposes). It was through these events that Scott, Brian and Jesse linked up with Mark Jowett (at Community Beer Works’ monthly Book Club meetings to be exact), who they’d see at pretty much every event they drank at. Mark quickly became a core member of the BBL and the four continue to fuel this Buffalo beer promotional engine to this day.
“We started the Buffalo Beer League almost 10 years ago with the idea of getting together, trying new beers and having a good time while we were doing it,” Scott adds. “It quickly evolved into promoting and enjoying the ever-growing local Buffalo beer scene. Although our focus has shifted a bit, one thing remains constant: beer should be fun, uncomplicated and is best enjoyed in the company of good friends.”
The most effective weapon that local breweries possess is local followers who drink their beer and support them right at the source where the beer is made. This is why the Buffalo Beer League exists – to help spread the good word of Buffalo beer, one pint at a time. And they aren’t going to stop until they finish every last drop.
When you #drinklocal, you #drinkbetter, plain and simple. Remember to drink what you love, and love what you drink.
Read and listen to us as we tell the story of Buffalo beer via our blog and podcast at www.buffalobeerleague.com. You can also read our weekly Buffalo Beer Buzz column every Wednesday at www.stepoutbuffalo.com and more of our local beer musings online and in print in the Buffalo News Gusto.
Contact us:
Twitter: @buffbeerleague
Email: [email protected]
Instagram / Untappd: @Buffalobeerleague
Feel free to post your beer related input, opinions, reviews, pictures and information on our page. If you run into us out and about this great city, pull up a chair, have a few pints and let’s talk all things beer.
