Buffalo Beer Week rolls on today as we inch closer to this weekend one day at a time. But don’t look past today just because it’s Thursday, because today is one of the busiest Beer Week days by far. There’s a lot of fun stuff happening tonight around town to fill your dance card, though you might be a little less enthused when you’re trying to stay awake in your office come Friday morning. But don’t let me deter you from not going out tonight.
The Buffalo Beer Mob is taking over! Habitat for Humanity Buffalo is teaming up with the BNBA for a city-wide local-beer tap take over with Women Build guest bartenders. Habitat Buffalo volunteers will be on hand at partnering bars, breweries, and restaurants to serve beer during Happy Hour to raise funds for Habitat Buffalo’s Women Build. Participating bars and breweries include Blackbird Cider Hall (Blackbird Cider Works), Colter Bay (Four Mile), Fat Bob’s Smokehouse (Community Beer Works), Pizza Plant Transit (West Shore Brewing), Pizza Plant Canalside (Resurgence Brewing), Rusty Nickel (RNBC’s FemAle launch), Schnitzel & Co. (Flying Bison), Aurora Brew Works (42 North) and Hamm & Fattey’s (Hamburg Brewery). 5:30-8:30pm.
Pressure Drop Brewing continues their can release barrage with Dog Birthday Party, their third collaboration with Thin Man Brewery. Cans and draft will be released at both locations. Dog Birthday Party is a Graham Cracker Stout with Cinnamon, Vanilla and Brown Sugar. Some vanilla extract and cinnamon were added in the whirlpool, chocolate and biscuit malt with a little bit of honey as well. $13.99/4pk. 5pm.
New York Beer Project are releasing their Vanilla Muffin Oatmeal Stout. This Oatmeal Stout is made predominantly with locally made malt from Niagara Malt and New York Craft Malt as well as hops from Vertical Vines in Lockport. Meet the farmers, malt producers, hops farmers, and brewers whose products and skill created this beer. 6-8pm.
Rusty Nickel Brewing are celebrating Buffalo Beer Week with the fifth release of their FemAle beer series, a Belgian Tripel named “Girls, Girls, Girls!” Proceeds from each pint will benefit the Haven House. There will be live music from Wacko Fest and guest bartenders from Women Build will take over the bar as part of the Buffalo Beer Mob (6-8pm). All tips that they collect while they are bartending will be donated to Habitat for Humanity Buffalo. Representatives from the Buffalo Chapter of the Pink Boots Society will also be on hand to talk about their organization. 6pm.
Hamburg Brewing are bringing back their Gary’s Wild Hops. This year they changed from a hoppy ale to a dark ale. All of the hops from this beer were grown and picked from East Prairie Hop Farms, right down the road in Collins. This dark wet hopped ale (brewed within 48 hours of being picked) has 3lbs of cascade hops per barrel and is weighing in at 6.5% abv with the perfect roasty, smooth finish. Stop in today and try one! 5pm.
Not only will a pumpkin be tapped, meaning you can literally drink beer out of a pumpkin, Pearl Street will be releasing their Pumpkin Spice Ale for the special occasion. This medium-bodied amber ale is brewed with 350lbs. of real pumpkin, spiced with pumpkin pie spices, and aged on vanilla beans. PSG then pours it through a real pumpkin to add to the fun of the season. Try it with a special brown sugar-cinnamon rimmed glass. Meet the brewers and grab something to eat at Brawlers Deli with special pint prices. 5-8pm.
Join the Buffalo Beer Goddesses for their sixth annual Buffalo Beer Week anniversary celebration at Mr. Goodbar. $10 cash admission ($5 for BBG members) includes 1 free pint of beer (first 50 attendees), samples of drinks from women-run businesses Young Lion Brewing and Lilly Belle Meads, plus Blackman Cider Co., Goodbar’s famous chicken wings and more snacks provided by BBG members, door prizes and fun times with the BBGs and friends. 7pm.
Receive a free Pod at either Pizza Plant location when you purchase a draft card, get half-off pints at Five & 20 (5-8pm), celebrate Halfway To St. Patrick’s Day at Flying Bison with live music from Emerald Isle (5-9pm), take your best shot at identifying the Local Mystery Beer On Tap at Hamm & Fattey’s (5-10pm), get $2 off growler fills at 12 Gates Brewing (4-6pm) and grab a pour of their weekly Randall beer – Marshmallows and Chocolate infused into their American Stout. There will also be a free Big Ditch tasting at Alchemy Wine and Beer (6:30-8:30pm).
Elsewhere during Buffalo Beer Week, as has become customary, Buffalo Brewing Company will be open every day and even have a new projection screen to watch Bills games on Sundays. Pearl Street and Lafayette Brewing are offering $3.50 pints all Beer Week long, and score $2 off pints at Pizza Plant and $4 pints at Riverworks Brewing with coupons you can find in the official Beer Week book.
Keep it locked to www.buffalobeerweek.com for more daily blog posts regarding all of the beers, all of the events and all of the happenings going on throughout Buffalo Beer Week. To see all the events that are happening over the next 10 days and to read the official Buffalo Beer Week book, visit http://www.buffalobeerweek.com. The theme this year is ‘beer education.’ For more information, please visit Buffaloniagarabrewersassociation.org and Facebook.com/BuffaloNiagaraBrewersAssociation.
These next 10 days are about beer yes, but above all else, drink responsibly and be safe. If you need a ride home, try Lyft, Uber or Liberty Cab’s Ride Local. There are plenty of options to both drink and get home responsibly.
Brian Campbell is a co-founder/Brand Manager of the BNBA’s enthusiast arm, 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 buffalobeerleague@aol.com, on Twitter (@buffbeerleague), Instagram (@buffalobeerleague), Facebook (@thebuffalobeerleague) and www.buffalobeerleague.com.
