One of the most unique beer events in the history of Buffalo craft beer, not to mention one of my all-time personal favorites, TreBrewChet – A Brewery Trebuchet Competition, took place nearly seven years ago as the crow flies (Sept. 28, 2019 to be exact). Hosted by Community Beer Works at the Outer Harbor, the event featured eight local breweries and eight trebuchet devices launching pumpkins on the Buffalo waterfront. It was a celebration of community, local craft, and pure ingenuity that has yet to be duplicated. And I’d love to see that change.

What’s a trebuchet? It’s a gravity-powered catapult designed to hurl heavy objects over long distances, mostly in the olden days to lay siege during war. The heavy objects in this case? Flaming projectiles? No. Diseased animal carcasses? No. Pumpkins.

If this sounds weird, it is. What can I say – the world was a different place pre-COVID. This beer scene of ours sure was. And that’s what made this event great. It’s why I’m thinking about it nearly seven years on.

TreBrewChet participants included Community Beer Works, 12 Gates Brewing (RIP), Hamburg Brewing, West Shore Brewing (RIP), Windy Brew, Swiftwater Brewing, Lilly Belle Meads, and 1886 Malt House. They each designed and built trebuchets to compete in distance and accuracy competitions and even launched pumpkins at a giant cutout of Tom Brady’s face. That, in and of itself, makes TreBrewChet a memorable happening.

I asked Ethan Cox, formerly of CBW and a TreBrewChet co-organizer, what his favorite memory of the event was. With nearly no hesitation, he told me he remembers vividly Swiftwater owner Andy Cook showing up with a device that spewed fire. And despite Cox’s urging to the contrary, Cook deployed his device.

Not only was there punkin’ chunkin’, but there was something for the entire family down on Buffalo’s waterfront. Besides great local craft beer, there were miniature trebuchet demos, pumpkin carving, balloons, face painting, food trucks, bounce houses, and more. And, from what I can remember, it was a pretty picture-perfect fall day in Buffalo. The waterfront also provided a sensational backdrop for the festivities.

So my question is – why hasn’t there been another TreBrewChet? I would love to see this event make a triumphant return after nearly a decade. Why can’t we do this again? Despite recent taproom and bottle shop closures, our beer scene is as robust as ever. I don’t think we’d have any trouble getting breweries, cideries or meaderies to take part. There are nearly 70 across Western New York. And, not for nothing, but Western New York Beer Week is coming up. This could be a perfect fit. We could get food trucks, vendors, live music, and, of course, local craft beer. It also helps fall is the best season for beer here in Buffalo – a hill I’m willing to die on – so I have no doubt the beer list would be great. Festbiers, marzens, Oktoberfestbiers, pumpkin ales, brown ales, wet-hopped IPAs, bocks – there could be a really fun tap list if TreBrewChet were to ever return.

Like “Field of Dreams,” if they build it, I believe Western New Yorkers would come. I know I would. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. But hey, maybe I’m just screaming into the void here and maybe these words will ultimately go nowhere, but it doesn’t hurt to try, right? If nothing else, it’s fun to reminisce. Craft beer is supposed to be fun and another TreBrewChet would be just that.

***Photos courtesy of Community Beer Works

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).