Buffalo Beer Week can be overwhelming, I get it. Trust me, I know. There’s dozens and dozens of venues holding over 100 events jam packed into just 10 days. There’s plenty to see and do, and more importantly, drink, over the next week plus, so I felt it necessary to point out a few of the events that I am most looking forward to, events that you should try and plan to be at as well.

I scoured all of the events that are planning around the area during Buffalo Beer Week and came up with a selection of 11 events that you should think about hitting. I plan on attending most of these, starting with the Opening Gala at Flying Bison. I wrote a feature on the gala, so be sure to scroll down on the homepage and check that out. Beyond that, there’s tastings, plenty of beer releases and other beer-related parties to keep your glass full and to fully wet your appetite. Read up on the events, then plan accordingly.

September 14 – Buffalo Beer Week Opening Gala: The event, which is ticketed this year, will feature beers from all Western New York breweries, as well as food trucks and live music. Tickets are $20 at the door and include a special Buffalo Niagara Brewers Association tasting glass as well as tasting tickets. The Leroy Townes Band and the Panfil Family Bluegrass Band will provide live music and food comes courtesy of Lloyd’s and Lomo Lomo food trucks. 5-9pm.

September 15 – Buffalo IPA Palooza at Pizza Plant Canalside: All IPAs, all the time. At least 15 local IPAs will be on tap at Pizza Plant as brewers from all over Buffalo will be chatting about beer, talking about beer, listening while you talk about beer, tasting beer, and doing various other beer related things. 12pm.

September 15 – SATO One Year Anniversary Party: Their anniversary party will feature food, drink and merchandise specials, live music from Gravy, contests for prizes and a trio of anniversary beers, Momotoro, a 5% Brut IPA with Peaches, the latest in their J-Pop sour series, Ume Plum Gose, and Lil’ Peachy, Momotoro dosed with glitter. Yes, glitter beer returns to Buffalo! The event also marks the launch of SATO’s official spirit made in collaboration with Lockhouse Distillery. 4pm-2am.

September 17 – Buffalo Beer Week Brewer’s Social at Buffalo Cider Hall: What better time to go and check out BlackBird Cider Works’ new location, the Buffalo Cider Hall, than during Beer Week? Visit the new location, check out the new digs and see the new Cider Hall and the BuffaLocal beer and cider draft line-up. 6:30-8:30pm.

September 19 – Steak, Cigars, Beer & Whiskey at Rusty Nickel Brewing: The name says it all, right? What else could you possibly need? Each ticket includes a steak dinner with Ebenezer Ale House, along with a cigar from a selection of Nice Ash Cigars, local whiskey and bourbon tastings with Black Button Distilling and Southern Tier Distilling Company and a flight of Rusty Nickel brews. Representatives from each business will be on site to discuss pairings and to present their products in depth. Tickets at EventBrite. 7pm.

September 20 – Pressure Drop Brewing / Thin Man Brewery Dog Birthday Party release: Pressure Drop continues their can release barrage with Dog Birthday Party, their third such 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.

September 20 – 4th Annual Tapping of the Pumpkin at Pearl Street: 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.

September 21 – Ballpark Brewbash: The 2018 Ballpark Brew Bash takes place at Coca-Cola Field and features over 50 breweries from local and regional favorites as well as other well-known national breweries, who will be serving their wares both out on the field and inside on the concourse. Tickets can be purchased at Tickets.com and at any Consumer’s Beverages locations. 6-9pm.

September 22 – Brickyard Brewing / West Shore Brewing Das Blep NEIPA Release: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Brickyard (White Bronco) and West Shore (Green Flyer) are brewing some of the best hazy beers no one is talking about, so Das Blep, their first ever collaboration, should be great. This Double Dry Hopped New England IPA features notes of over-the-top tropical fruit and white wine. Grab cans of this beer at Brickyard. 11am.

September 23 – Community Beer Works Funeral of Rutherford B. Haze: It’s that time a year again, the time when we say goodbye to someone who has been so good to us over the past few months – CBW’s beloved Belgian Witbier, Rutherford B. Haze. Start with a fabulous beer brunch pairing, 11am-2pm, at Hot Mama’s Canteen, immediately followed by HMC & CBW 2nd Line NOLA funeral parade. The 2nd Line Jazz Funeral will be led by Brass Pro and the Waterfront Revivalist. CBW will provide swagtastic items. Wear your finest black, bring a bright umbrella and just dance down the street. The band will lead in a group song of “When the Saints” feel free to sing. Then Brass Pro will perform for us in front of the bar and inside. 11am.

September 23 – Malt Madness Homebrew Competition at Rusty Nickel: It’s time to brew up your favorite malt-forward recipes for RNBC’s Malt madness Home Brew Competition! Rusty Nickel is approaching this homebrew comp a little different as they are splitting the categories in an unorthodox way – beers will be judged by SRM instead of style. Winners of each category will receive a medal, and the winner of the Best in Show competition will be invited to brew their beer at Rusty Nickel and have it on tap in the tasting room. And better yet, I’ll be serving as one of the judges for the competition, along with some other members of the Buffalo Beer League. Register at EventBrite. 3-6pm.

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.

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.