Habitat for Humanity Buffalo’s Hammer & Ales at Barrel Factory

Habitat for Humanity Buffalo’s annual Hammer & Ales fundraiser returns to the Barrel Factory on March 26 (5:30pm) and will feature food & drink tastings of local craft beers, ciders, and non-alcoholic beverages, silent auctions, games, and more. Tickets for the event ($50) include admission and tastings and can be purchased here. If you spend $25 or more at either Buffalo ReStore location, you will receive a promo code at checkout for $10 off tickets. You can also bundle your ticket with a 2026 Craft Beer Tour Card, which is good for a free drink at 28 local breweries, distilleries and bars across Western New York, and get $10 off the Beer Tour Card.

 

New York Beer Project to Introduce Beer Project Lite

New York Beer Project is introducing Beer Project Lite, which the brewery calls “the freshest and most delicious lite beer to hit the taps (and coolers) since forever.” The new light lager will only be $4 a pint at New York Beer Project taprooms, and $12 per 4-pack cans to go.

CollaBEERation Announces First Round of Collab Beers

The first batch of collaborations for the sixth annual CollaBEERation Festival, which takes place at the Powerhouse on Saturday, Apr. 25, has been announced. They include 1927 Brew House Dunkle-Kong German Dunkleweizen, Brewery Ardennes Wumpa Fruit Sour (Tropical Fruit Sour), Bones & Barely Brewing Boom Shockalacka (Raspberry NBA Jam Sour), Bee Spit Meadery Galaxy Gumball (Lychee, Marshmallow & Bubblegum carbonated mead), Brazen Brewing Ms. Pacman Sour (Fruited & Pretzel Sour) and Buffalo Olde Qbert Quencher (Saison/Belgian Table Beer with Orange Peel). General admission tickets ($70, including unlimited pours and a commemorative glass) can be purchased here.

Hofbrauhaus Royal Export Barrel Tapping With Buffalo Beer League

Hofbrauhaus is tapping their Royal Export Lager on Thursday, April 2 (6 pm) with the help of the Buffalo Beer League, who will serve as the honorary Burgermeisters. There will be a traditional parade, barrel tapping with members of the Buffalo Beer League and The Sabrehood, as well as live music from Die Haus Band. There will also be a $20.26 Game Day Buffet and Buffalo Sabres puck drop at 7 pm, followed by a viewing party at the brewery of the game against the Ottawa Senators. Royal Export is a golden lager with fruity hop notes and a light bitterness. Reservations are not required, but are recommended.

7 WNY Breweries Win 10 Medals At 2026 NYS Craft Beer Competition

It was a banner year for Western New York breweries at the 2026 New York State Craft Beer Competition. New York Beer Project and Eli Fish Brewing led the way with three and two medals each, respectively. NYBP won gold for Hazy Train (Hazy IPA) and silver for Righteous Day Drinker (Hazy DIPA) and Hazy Crush (Experimental IPA). Eli Fish grabbed gold for The Red Ale (Strong Ales & Lagers) and a silver for Tiga Spon (Experimental). Rusty Nickel Brewing won gold for Pumpernickel Porter (Porters – Non-Imperial), Resurgence Brewing won silver for Bridge Pilsner (American Lager), Pearl Street Grill & Brewery won silver for Mangia, Mangia! Italian Pilsner (Light Lager – Modern and Contemporary), Brickyard Brewing won silver for Magnetic North (Belgian Farmhouse) and Griffon Brewing grabbed bronze for Oregon High Five (Pale Ale).

Resurgence Brewing Expands Citmo Family of Beers

Resurgence Brewing’s flagship hazy IPA, Citmo, is welcoming some new family members – Super Citmo, Lil Mo and Citmo Charged. Super Citmo is an 8.5% New England-style Double IPA that features notes of citrus, tropical fruit and stone fruit, Lil Mo is a 4.3% Mosaic hopped session IPA that features an earthly crispness, tropical fruit flavors and subtle bitterness and Citmo Charged is a 9% hazy imperial IPA that features bright flavors and aromas of fresh citrus, fruit salad and sweet malt. Super Citmo (16oz. cans, 4-packs), Lil Mo (12oz. cans, 6-packs) and Citmo Charged (19.2oz. cans) can be found at Resurgence’s taproom and wherever great craft beer is sold.

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).