The 2026 Western New York Beer Week, presented at the WNY Brewers Guild, will take place Sept. 25 – Oct. 4. The annual celebration highlights the strength and growth of the region’s craft beer industry, encouraging consumers to support local breweries by visiting tasting rooms or choosing locally made beer at stores, bars, and restaurants.
So what can you do to help? It’s simple – all you have to do is ask, ‘what’s local?’ Drinking local is so vitally important, now more so than ever, because, sadly, more places are closing nowadays than opening. And I, for one, am sick and tired of seeing my friends close their doors. I don’t like reporting on it, I don’t like writing about it. The premise is an easy one – when you spend your hard-earned money on a pint of local beer, you’re money stays here – in your own backyard.
WNY Beer Week is headlined by Harvest Fest at Rusty Nickel Brewing (Oct. 3), which features samplings of seasonal brews from 15 area breweries, as well as live music from Todd Mertens, Porcelain Train, The Funkensteins, and more, BBQ, seasonal beer releases, including the Apple Fritter Amber Ale, family-friendly fall activities, stein hoist competition, apple cider slushies, local vendors and more.
Highlights of WNY Beer Week include:
Big Ditch Brewing – Devil Chicken Hazy IPA Launch Party (Sept. 25) & Turkey Trotter Release Party (Oct. 1)
Brewed with Galaxy, Motueka, Mosaic hops and flaked oats to add stone fruit and pineapple notes, Devil Chicken will be on draft at both Big Ditch taprooms, as well in 16oz. cans to go.
Turkey Trotter is a refreshing blonde ale featuring crackery malt flavor and light hoppy fruit flavor. A portion of all proceeds will go to support YMCA Buffalo Niagara. It will be on draft at both Big Ditch taprooms, as well in 12oz. cans to go.
Resurgence Brewing – Oktoberfest / Pumpkin Chug (Sept. 26)
The 2nd Annual Pumpkin Chug is a simple concept – grab a cleaned-out pumpkin, fill it with beer and chug it. Resurgence’s Oktoberfest will also include seasonal beer, food, live music by the Polka Boyz, pumpkin smashing, Stein Hoisting competitions and kids’ pumpkin painting. The Pumpkin Chug is a ticketed event, but Oktoberfest is free to attend and open to the public.
Hamburg Brewing 13th Anniversary Party (Oct. 3)
Celebrate a baker’s dozen at Hamburg Brewing on Oct. 3 with beer, food and live music. Entry is $10 and includes performances by Gimmie Buffet, AllyKat and Mayday Buffalo.
Also throughout Beer Week, you can get $7 pints of 1927 Brew House Cream Ale and OktoberFest at Santora’s and a $25 special at Pizza Plant – two pints of any Pod City beer (or a flight) and a Pod City or Pizza Plant t-shirt.
“Craft beer in Western New York is alive and strong. There are many reports that the craft beer bubble is bursting – that already happened 25 years ago. Yes, there is a bit of a slowdown as markets hit certain levels of saturation, but here, we are going strong. WNY Craft Beer Week is our annual showcase for our industry and collaboration is the foundation of that industry. All the local breweries work together for the betterment of each other and the local beer drinkers in general,” WNY Brewers Guild president Rob Haag said.
Western New York is the 4th largest craft beer producer in the country and has contributed over $5.4 billion dollars of economic impact to the state’s economy. Additionally, the local craft beer industry employs over 1,000 Western New York residents and contributes significant dollars to local causes and not-for-profit organizations.
You can find more information at WNYBeerWeek.com.
If you’re reading this and asking, why do I need to drink local, think about it this way – when you spend your money on local craft, you help to create jobs, put food on tables of friends and neighbors, keep the lights on at local businesses and, above else, you’re buying a great product.
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).
