For as long as I can remember, I have been obsessed with fantasy sports – football and baseball mostly, but also hockey, basketball, college football and darts. Yes, fantasy darts is a real thing that I play quite often. And if fantasy darts is a thing, then why not fantasy beer?

Enter the Buffalo Beer Draft, a three-round draft from the mind of Jason Ettinger from the Buffalo Brews Podcast, featuring me, Brian Campbell from the Buffalo Beer League, Chris Budde, owner and operator of Lewiston’s Brewed & Bottled, Tom Whitmarsh from WNY Beer Trail, Emily Sorokes, aka the BuffaloBeerInfluencer, Morgan Culhane from Content on Draft, and Ettinger.

The idea is simple – three rounds, six teams, three picks each to put together the best possible local craft beer squad. Inspired by the 2026 NHL Draft, which recently took place at the KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo, Ettinger says it led him to ponder what a local beer fantasy draft would look like. He called upon some beer friends to make it happen.

“This had been on my radar ever since [I found out that] Buffalo was going to be hosting the NHL Draft,” Ettinger said. “I thought, in the hype, why not draft some great Buffalo beers. The participants are a mix of influence and knowledge – experts, historians, influencers, and business owners. All in all, beer adventurers! And I consider them all friends.”

As part of my obsessed fantasy sports fandom, I always love reading fantasy draft recap articles. So I thought to myself, now that the Buffalo Beer Draft is complete, why don’t I take a look back and expound a bit on why I selected the beers when and where I did. I might also have a few takes on other draft picks. Let’s see where this takes me.

Round 1

  • Brian – Big Ditch Brewing Hayburner IPA
  • Chris – Griffon Brewing Tasty Waves
  • Morgan – Thin Man Brewery Minkey Boodle
  • Emily – Hamburg Brewing Lil’ Guy IPA
  • Tom – Brickyard Brewing White Bronco IPA
  • Jason – 42 North Brewing Borderland IPA

The draft order was selected at random and I got the first overall pick. To me, there was no other surefire top pick than Big Ditch Brewing’s flagship IPA, Hayburner. It’s a beer that belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Western New York craft beer, and one that you can find at just about every dive bar, corner store and gas station you walk into. It’s also one of the very best local beers, fresh. And that’s all to say – it’s a great beer. It truly is Buffalo’s beer.

Elsewhere in the first round, Budde tossed a monkey wrench into things by taking Griffon Brewing’s Tasty Waves, a summer wheat ale, second overall and Emily followed suit at number 4 with Hamburg Brewing’s Lil Guy Session IPA, a newer offering. I love to see how different our mindsets were. The rest of the round is what I’d consider chalk – Minkey Boodle (Thin Man Brewery), White Bronco IPA (Brickyard Brewing) and Borderland IPA (42 North Brewing) are all deserving of high picks.

Round 2

  • Brian – Flying Bison Rusty Chain
  • Chris – Brickyard Brewing Magnetic North
  • Morgan – Resurgence Brewing Flats & Drums
  • Emily – Southern Tier Brewing Pumking
  • Tom – 42 North Brewing Asylum Porter
  • Jason – Wayland Brewing Jumby

At the top of the second round, I took Flying Bison’s Rusty Chain, a classic Vienna Lager now brewed by Hamburg. I was shocked that this beer didn’t go in the first round. To be honest, I considered taking it with the first overall pick. This is a very meaningful beer to be and to the Buffalo Beer League et al. Sharing pints of this beer with the godfather of Buffalo beer, Tim Herzog, at Flying Bison over the years helped shape what the BBL is today. I have learned a lot from this beer and have been pleased with what Hamburg Brewing has done with this beer since purchasing the rights and love seeing the reverence they have paid Flying Bison. Rusty Chain is great down by the water at Hamburg’s taproom. Oh, and to me, this one belongs right alongside Hayburner on the Mount Rushmore of Western New York craft beer.

The rest of the second round included a lot of surprising picks. Emily took Pumking (Southern Tier Brewing), a worthy pick, but Chris once again dropped a sleeper in Magnetic North (Brickyard Brewing), a beer I had recently and very much enjoyed. I loved Tom’s selection of Asylum Porter (42 North), as I believe this is a beer that doesn’t get its due in the grand scheme of things and Jason rounded things out with Wayland Brewing’s Jumby sour, another surprise pick.

Round 3

  • Brian – Resurgence Brewing Bridge Pilsner
  • Chris – Wayland Brewing Waylander
  • Morgan – Rusty Nickel Brewing Slice O’ Havens
  • Emily – Thin Man Trial By Wombat IPA
  • Tom – Brazen Brewing Ruff Morning
  • Jason – BriarBrothers Brewing Punch Bowl: Island Punch

I was torn with my final pick at the top of the third round. I even messaged Jason and told him I didn’t know what to do with my final pick. I ended on Resurgence Brewing’s Bridge Pilsner, one of my all-time favorite local lagers, which still rings true to this day. While Premium Pils has given it a run for its money as of late, Bridge Pilsner will always hold a special place in my heart.

This round of the draft was all over the board. Trial By Wombat is a solid pick and Slice O’Havens is a beer that doesn’t get enough respect, but was this round that makes something like the Buffalo Beer Draft so fun – craft beer is fun and subjective. It’s clear that everyone approached this draft in a different way. I essentially drafted some of my all-time favorites – beers, as I mentioned earlier, that I feel should have their labels carved into the Mount Rushmore of Western New York craft beer. That’s how I approached this draft, which was just one of many draft strategies utilized, which is great. No two drafts are the same and there are no wrong answers.

I had an absolute blast with the Buffalo Beer Draft. Thank you, Jason, for asking me to take part. Maybe next time we go longer than three rounds? Just a thought.

Brian Campbell is co-founder and Brand Manager of the Buffalo Beer League, and writes the weekly Buffalo Beer Buzz column. If you have beer news that should be included in the Beer Buzz, Brian can be reached at brian@buffalobeerleague.com, on X (@buffbeerleague), Instagram, Threads and Untappd (@buffalobeerleague), and Facebook (@thebuffalobeerleague).