Other Half Brewing Buffalo Expands to New Taproom
Other Half Brewing Buffalo has opened their new taproom, located directed across from their former taproom at Seneca One. The new space offers more seating, both at the bar and tables, loads of televisions, including a massive projection screen, pinball, foosball, darts, 18 taps, outdoor beer garden, beer cooler featuring cans and bottles to go and a full food menu featuring vegan and vegetarian options. They also plan to host live music in the future. Plans for the space were first announced in 2022 after Other Half signed a 10-year lease with Douglas Development. The taproom originally opened in one of the exterior buildings in the plaza at Seneca One in June of 2021.
Beer Kind Brewing Releases Two New Beers
Beer Kind Brewing is fully embracing the winter season with a pair of new dark beers, Old Ben Barleywine and Brass Balls Barley Bomb American Strong Ale. Old Ben is 10.2% and rich and malty, a smooth and complex sipper perfect for Buffalo winter weather. Brass Balls Barley Bomb is a robust American strong ale with layered flavors and a smooth, warming finish. Both beers are available on draft and in cans to go at the brewery right now.
Ring in the New Year at Big Ditch Brewing
Ring in 2025 at Big Ditch Brewing on Dec. 31 (8pm) with craft beer, food, fireworks, live DJ, view of the Electric Tower ball drop and more. A trio of limited edition beers will be released – Superdelic IPA, Peach Hefeweizen and Czech Amber Lager, there will be buffet-style appetizers and entrees, featuring a special NYE food menu, and more. General Admission tickets are $85 and include open bar and all-you-can-eat food, and VIP tickets are $110, which also include access to the upstairs bar, lounge area and bathrooms, premium liquor upgrade, complimentary liquor samplings and more. You can purchase tickets here.
National Buffalo Wing Festival to Return to Sahlen Field
The 2025 National Buffalo Wing Festival will return to Sahlen Field, where the festival originated in 2002, on Aug. 30-31, 2025. The festival spent the last four years at Highmark Stadium. The 24th annual festival will feature more than 20 local and national wing vendors, live entertainment, family-friendly activities, U.S. Chicken Wing Eating Championship, mini local craft beer festival, and more. Ticket information will be available in early January. More info is available at www.buffalowing.com.
Mystic Hills Offers Homebrew Kit, Drops New BA Stout
Mystic Hills Brewing is now offering homebrew kits for a number of their flagships beers. Each kit includes whole grains, hops, Whirlfloc, yeast nutrient, dry yeast and instructions from the head brewer. These beer making kits are available in Full Circle Amber Ale, Midnight on Allen Oatmeal Stout and Dylan’s Brown Ale. They are available for purchase online or at the brewery.
The East Concord brewery has also released their first ever barrel aged stout – Bourbon at Midnight – Midnight on Allen Oatmeal Stout aged in a Buffalo Distilling bourbon barrel. The beer is 7% and features notes of chocolate, vanilla, bourbon and oak. Each bottle is hand-bottled and wax-dipped. You can purchase bottles right now at the taproom.
Rusty Nickel Releases New Bandits Themed Lager
Rusty Nickel Brewing are celebrating the start of the Buffalo Bandits quest to three peat as National Lacrosse League champions with the release of To The Box! Lager, a blend of German and pre-prohibition style lagers. The beer is crisp and clean with a subtle breadiness and noble hop balance. This is the second release in the brewery’s Buffalo LAX-themed series, which they will release more of throughout the 2024-2025 NLL season.
5-Course Beer Dinner to Benefit PBS Buffalo
The Buffalo chapter of the Pink Boots Society is holding a special beer pairing dinner fundraiser on Dec. 18 (6pm) at Brewed & Bottled in Lewiston. The dinner will feature 5 food courses, each paired with seasonal beers. Each course will dive into the science behind food pairing and why each drink pairs well with the provided dish. Dinner provided by Dudley Catering Company. Proceeds will benefit PBS Buffalo, a global non-profit focused on assisting, inspiring, and encouraging women and non-binary individuals in the fermented/alcoholic beverage industry to advance their careers through education. Tickets are free for members and $40 for non-members. They can be purchased here.
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 Twitter (@buffbeerleague), Instagram, Threads and Untappd (@buffalobeerleague), and Facebook (@thebuffalobeerleague).