Buffalo Beer Week & Ball Park Brewbash

    I know, I know, its seems like many of my posts have been about beer but there has been a lot to talk about lately. This week happens to be the best week for craft beer enthusiasts in the Buffalo metro area: Buffalo Beer Week!

Banner from Buffalo Beer Week(link below)

  The week which technically kicked off last Thursday and goes through next weekend. week and change? All the better. What Buffalo Beer Week is about helping to grow craft beer in the Buffalo metro area. So there's a week celebrating beer who cares right? Wrong. This week has many benefits to a variety of people, groups, and businesses.

Where is it located?
Everywhere. Buffalo Beer Week is not about focusing on a certain place. It encompasses all of the Buffalo Metro area to try and benefit businesses throughout the area and well as reach the greatest amount of people. Below is an example of a schedule posted for Monday, 9/23.

The events are spread throughout the area, downtown Buffalo, East Aurora, North Buffalo, Amherst, Cheektowaga. Map of events below.

What type of events are they?
   What makes it so much fun is the variety of events to attend. Some are as simple as tastings of products at local bars, restaurants, and stores which are no cost to you and a great way to try new with no investment in a bottle or six pack if you don't care for it.

   Some breweries will do tap takeovers, at a local bar or store all of their taps will be different types of a single breweries beer. A great way to try a new brewery or try new styles of a brewery that may not be available in bottles and often an employee of the brewery will be on hand to answer questions.

   Some breweries will do a meal pairing at local restaurants. Most require reserving a spot and for a fee allow you have food paired with a breweries beers, can be expensive but maybe more enticing to someone looking for a nice dinner to go with some sampling.

   Larger beer tasting/ festivals. There are a few scattered throughout the week and focus more on larger number of selections and likely require purchasing a ticket to attend. The cost is greater but there are more beers concentrated in one place. Early in the Week is the Ball Park Brewbash at Coca Cola Field put on by Consumer Beverages(9/21) which I'll discuss later on.

   Other not trying to group these but there is a lot of various types of events. Williamsville celebrates Octoberfest and has a Sam Adams Steinhoast Bar Crawl, East Aurora does a craft beer bar crawl, the movie played by Pan American Grill & brewery, demonstrations by local breweries as well as deals at local brewpubs and breweries. Here is the list of events for the whole week.

The Economic Benefit
   Putting on events like these bring people to local businesses and is beneficial whether they spend money or not. Many events bring people to spend money to buy beer they tried in tasting either there at the store/bar or in the future benefiting the business and the brewery. A store might also generate more sales from tastings just by bring people in and purchasing other products.  A restaurant/bar may make extra sales on beer and food.

The Local Breweries
   Beer Week has huge benefits to local breweries. Nano-breweries often are too small and donlt have the capital to bottle beer. Most rely on growlers and keg sales so often they aren't very well known even in there local community. Buffalo beer week helps get there brewery and beer out to the general public and help develop a following. Locally breweries often band together to help one another out and because of that we see collaboration beers between breweries during this week.

   The first beer week event I attended was the one of the largest of the week, Buffalo Brew Bash on Saturday 9/21. The event takes place as the name implies at the a ball park, at Coca Cola field to be exact. Coca Cola field is home to the Toronto Blue Jays.The event is put on by Consumer Beverages, a local beer retailer. For $35 dollars a ticket you get 20 tasting tickets and a 5 oz beer glass to try multiple beers from 58 breweries. Consumers had a great deal that me and my buddy Mike split. For 70 buck, the cost of two tickets, you get two tickets to the Brewbash, 2 custom pint glasses, and two tickets to any regular seasons game for the Bisons. For $70 bucks you can get a VIP ticket which gives you 20 tickets for the bash as well as sampling of 20 rare and expensive beers in the Pettibones restaurant. Below is the list they offered this year:
ITHACA - Brute (Golden Sour Ale / 6.5%)
Southern Tier - Warlock (Imperial Pumpkin Stout / 8.6%)
Ommegang - Take the Black Stout (Belgian Stout / 7.0%)
Ommegang - ZUUR (2010) (Flanders Oud Bruin / 6.0%)
Community Beer Works - Cherry Whale (Rye barrel aged w/ cherries / 5.9%)
Gordon Biersch - Imperial Pils on Oak (Imperial Pilsner / 6.5%)
Brooklyn - Mary’s Maple Porter (Maple Porter / 7.2%)
Roc Brewing - Li’l SIPA dry-hopped cask (American IPA / 5.1%)
Stone Brewing - Espresso Russian Imperial Stout (RIS / 11.0%)
Stone Brewing - Stone / Farking /Wheaton W00tStout (Imperial Stout / 13.0%)
Local Option Bierwerker - Morning Wood (Oak aged coffee ale / 7.0%)
Crooked Stave - St. Bretta (Witbier w/ brett / 5.5%)
Crooked Stave - Surette (Saison w/ brett / 6.2%)
Caldera Brewing - Old Growth Imperial Stout (Imperial Stout / 8.8%)
Goose Island - Bourbon County Stout (2012) (Imperial Stout / 15.0%)
Goose Island - Madame Rosé (2012) (Flanders Oud Bruin / 7.1%)
Captain Lawrence - Smoke from the Oak (Rum barrel aged porter / 10.0%)
Captain Lawrence - Rosso e Morrone (Sour brown blended w/ red grapes, Brett, aged in Wine Barrels / 10.0%)
Founders - Kentucky Breakfast Stout (Imperial Breakfast Stout / 11.2%)
Great Lakes Brewing - Aloha (Golden Ale / 6.0%)
Firestone Walker - Double DBA (Barley Wine / 12.0 %)

This is an amazing list and if I had more disposable income I would have got the VIP ticket.

The weather on Saturday was rather crappy(rainy/windy) but I have to give my props to Consumer Beverage on calling an audible and keeping the event alive.

The event has breweries set up in the concessions stand as well as stand throughout the concourse. When the weather is nice breweries also setup around the warning track out on the field. Because of the rain outside breweries moved to the second floor of the ballpark.

The vent is always a good time but I recommend having either a sober driver or a person wiling to give rides to prevent drunk driving.The event was well done, same as a the year before. Lots of delicious beer and beneficial  as a way to try both local beers and beers I had wanted to buy. Saves you money in the long run so you don't buy 6 pack of  some beer you ended up not liking. On top of beer the breweries also have lost of swag, coasters, stickers, patches, even a t-shirt or two.

Even with the bad weather it was packed. They offered lots of different beer including a California corner with 12 different beers and a international section with beer from 10 different countries. The local breweries did well. Hamburg Brewing was very popular.

A few other local breweries such as Big Ditch and Rusty Nickel made appearances, though unable to dispense beer while waiting on their licenses, were able to spread the word on their product and sell some merch.

From their facebook page

Even the view was awesome with the ballpark on one side and the cityscape on the other. Nothing beats drinking a beer and looking at progress of a booming downtown.

Toward the First Niagara Center and the cranes for the Harbor Centre

I was a lot of fun, great experience for everyone from people to breweries. One nice feature was Ringside Brewing dispensed their beer in one of the suites with seating, heat, and a great view to go along with good beer.

my goofy friends

All in all it was well worth the price and highly recommend to anyone craft beer enthusiasts as a great value. Can't think of a better way to spend a rainy Saturday with great friends and some good brews.

Kayaking Part 2: A trip through Buffalo's past

     Earlier in the summer I putzed around the area between the inner and outer harbor, past Buffalo's resident naval fleet, and out into Lake Erie. Today I did an about face and headed up river.

   I headed up river near the arena down towards Red Jacket River Front Park. While there is plenty of natural beauty to see the real reason to make this trip to see hulking behemoths of Buffalo's industrial past.

    Buffalo is the western terminus for the Erie Canal and because of this grew quickly. We were the access point to the great lakes. One form of our industrial past that still lives is the grain elevators. Massive concrete behemoths, they have stood the test of time and remind of us of the industrial juggernaut we once were lifetimes ago. Most are not in use or reused even partially for storage or other businesses. These remnants of better days provide an amazing kayaking experience few places can replicate.

   The Buffalo river as a whole is making a comeback. Left to rot like the elevators, people have finally began to take notice of the treasures we have. Millions have been spent to clean up the river through dredging of polluted sediments dumped into the river in the past and well as clean up the shore lines, not just removing garbage and industrial pollutants but removing invasive plant species and bringing back native species.

Father time has been nice to everything along the river. The Erie Freight House has been a point of fierce debate in recent years. Built in 1868 it is the last Freight house still standing but the elements have taken its toll and finally gave way to a major collapse of the structure. I has been condemned and will be demolished. Though historic previous owners have removed much of the historic nature of the building with sheet metal siding. Within the next year a residential structure will takes is place to the fan fair of many and the dismay of some.

 



















   I hate to see any historic structure demolished but this won't be missed. The benefits to the area are to great to not be excited about. This project is adding density and might be the signal of the building boom along the Buffalo river.

   Once you get into it, it's aw inspiring.





















The elevators is massive, some when built held the title as the largest in the world. They all are in different states of repair or disrepair. If the elevator is still in use or the owner cares for the structure. The more remote the elevator the more in disrepair they become. The more distant elevators are very cool but a little sad as they are left to nature some with little hope for a future beyond oblivion by mother nature.

Yet there is something still amazing about them. They stand out as nature continues to reclaim the area around them. They still do have use even if its not for their original function. They become a historical and cultural attraction. A must see on a trip to Buffalo and the cost? $15 dollars an hour to rent a kayak from Bflo Harbor Kayak. Shame is I don;t know much of the individual history of these elevators. Bflo Harbor Kayak does a tour with history that I have been meaning to take but will likely have to wait till next summer.

   

The largest cluster of silos is in an area dubbed "Silo City". Located fairly close to downtown and the waterfront, they have gained more attention from festivals and art exhibits as well as art installations.

  One elevator is finding new life as a indoor rock climbing facility,Silo City Rocks, is currently being built that will not only a massive indoor rock climbing center but other fitness center amenities. It will have the worlds largest indoor rock climb at 190 ft tall.

With improvements to the river adjacent parks, new residential projects in the near future even local youths and schools are getting into the act. A new rowing club building will soon grace the rivers bank. Used by not just the local rowing club but multiple schools have developed rowing teams or clubs bringing activity to the river to go along with the local boaters and kayakers. Call me a dreamer but I one day envision Buffalo river like rivers in Boston full of local schools and clubs training and

Charles River in Cambridge

Local club practicing

    The river is amazing in that it can feel so distant and calm and yet be so close to the downtown boom. What a difference a couple of miles can make.

Located just past Silo City area

Near riverfront park with downtown in the distance

"5 Things Living in Buffalo Taught Me About Life"

The best way to understand the people and the area of Western New York is to live here for a year or two. I know everyone is rushing to move to Buffalo, but why not?

Here is a blog of a woman named Elizabeth. She is not native of the area and came here for college to go to Canisius college and as her second choice and to say the least she wasn't excited. She eventually grew to love the area and ended up staying for about a decade. In her blog she discussed the 5 things living in buffalo taught me about life which also happens to be the title of the post. Below are the 5 things but the explanation and how Buffalo played a part in you'll have to read her blog. 

1. Always be a Good Neighbor.

2.What everyone else thinks doesn't really matter

3. Know your strengths & flaunt your best assets

4.A little bit of pride goes a long way

5. Never give up

To bring back an old favorite.

    An old mentality/marketing created in the 70's to combat a bad national image. History of this can be found here.