Community Beer Works isn’t just a clever brewery name – it truly defines who they are and what they are about. The West Side beer producers are showcasing why the C in CBW really does stand for community with EVA IPA, a beer they are brewing exclusively for the 2019 Elmwood-Bidwell Summer Concert Series. EVA IPA will only be available at the concert events this year (along with another CBW beer, possibly Rutherford B. Haze or The Whale).

EVA IPA, an easy-drinking IPA that will be available at the first concert of the summer on June 18, initially came about when Mr. Goodbar Owner Bobby Rabb approached CBW about possibly brewing a beer for the concert series earlier this year. Goodbar was CBW’s first retail account years ago.

“Bobby approached us about it in January or February and we wondered if this was something we would have the bandwidth for,” CBW President Ethan Cox says, “And with the new brewhouse, we definitely do. We were pretty excited that there was something on the table like this for us and we were actually able to do it. A big part of our start was having beer out at the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers Market, so it’s now cool to be able to return to the area with this beer and actually have people drink it onsite, instead of just buying it to go. It’s really gratifying for us to have people actually enjoy the beer.”

CBW’s Brand Manager Chris Groves says that EVA IPA is truly a beer for the West Side of Buffalo, a beer brewed for the area, by the area, as CBW has long called the city’s West Side their home. Groves adds that, beyond that, most of the brewery staff also live on the West Side.

“[EVA IPA] is a beer for the institution of the West Side of Buffalo,” Groves said. “We are supper happy about this. It is our neighborhood and our most favorite place. We could live anywhere we wanted to but the West Side is home to us. One thing that a lot of people might not know about us is that the majority of people who work for CBW also live and work on the West Side, so we all live and breathe our businesses here and where we sleep.”

The 22nd season of the Elmwood-Bidwell Summer Concert Series kicks off June 18 and runs through August 6 with concerts held Tuesday evenings (7- 9pm) in Bidwell Parkway between Elmwood and Potomac Avenues. Every concert is free and open for the public and donations and beverage sales support the Elmwood Village Association.

“The Elmwood-Bidwell Summer Concert Series is such a canonical event of the Elmwood Village summer scene,” Cox adds. “I think it is great.”

2019 Elmwood-Bidwell Summer Concert Series schedule:

  • 6/18 – The Struggle
  • 6/25 – RNSM
  • 7/2 – Coast Guard Concert Band
  • 7/9 – Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
  • 7/16 – Workingman’s Dead
  • 7/23 – Rabbit Jaw
  • 7/30 – Creek Bend
  • 8/6 – Buffalo Brass Machine

For more information, visit http://elmwoodvillage.org/.

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).