“Cans make you relevant,” Buffalo Brewing Company Owner/Brewer/Jack-Of-All-Trades John Domres says. “Canning, packaging in general, is so important in the craft beer industry.” The brewery will hold their first ever can release, 1932 Galaxy Oat Cream IPA, on July 6 at 1pm. The beer will be available in 16oz. 4-pack cans ($16, includes tax and deposit) with approximately 30 cases available.
A variant of their popular 1893 Mosaic Oat Cream IPA, 1932 Galaxy Oat Cream IPA is brewed exclusively with Galaxy hops, lactose, oats and a combination of Golden Promise, Caramel and Carapils malts, clocking in at a healthy 7% ABV.
“So this release has been building since we first opened our doors to the public on July 30, 2016. A lot has changed with our brewery we have expanded in both brewhouse and retail space. We are now getting ready to take the next step in our evolution of growing organically. We made the decision to purchase our own line so we can really have control over what & when we put our beers in cans.”
Domres’ wife Heather designed the beer’s unique art deco can art to mimic the peak of Buffalo City Hall. The beer is named for the year city hall was built. “We actually had a label that was already designed and then 42 North released Pre-Emption NEIPA, which looked almost exactly like what we had planned. Our original logo was an old 1860’s map of Buffalo with a star representing where our brewery is. It was very similar. We scrapped it and went back to the drawing board. Then my wife came up with the idea of mimicking the art deco tiles at the top of City Hall, drew it and I loved it. Not to mention that City Hall is the most iconic building in our skyline.”
The brewery decided to launch their packaged beer tenure with the 1932 Galaxy Oat Cream IPA because it was convenient and they wanted to make a big splash with it at the same time.
“We started with the 1932 Galaxy Oat Cream because we happened to have Galaxy hops laying around. And these hops are sexy. We wanted to make a big splash with this beer. I made the decision once we saw how popular the 1893 Mosaic Oat Cream IPA was, that a variant of that beer will be our first release. What better than 1932 Galaxy Oat Cream IPA? I can’t really think of anything better to lead off with so we pulled the trigger.”
Domres adds that canning the beer himself has a few side effects that he is able to pass along to the customer, one being keeping the costs reasonable. “When you buy beer out of our cooler, it should be the cheapest craft beer in Western New York and the best value around.”
According to Domres, after the 1932 Oat Cream canning run, 1890 Loganberry Ale, another new New England IPA and then core brands like the 1910 Czech Pilsner and 1842 Vienna Lager, are next in the pipeline to go into cans, 12oz. 6-packs for those latter two in particular. “The goal is to make a New England and an Oat Cream every month with different hops.” He says that Citra is next up in the Oat Cream series with (possibly) Simcoe following that. He adds that an Ekuanot/El Dorado New England is next up as well.
“I love being able to can my own beer because now I can just grab a 4-pack and bring it home. These are also perfect to take kayaking, just saying. Canning this beer ourselves was definitely the right decision for us. It’s all about control for me; it’s been that way my whole life. It’s stressful, but I’m excited.”
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 for Step Out Buffalo. 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) and Facebook (@thebuffalobeerleague).
