The Buffalo Brewers Festival, summer’s marquee beer festival that takes place down on Buffalo’s scenic waterfront, is undergoing a bit of a facelift this year thanks to a fruitful new partnership with the New York State Brewers Association. The 2019 iteration of the annual fest will play host to over 30 breweries from across the state in addition to all of your local favorites, as well as a strong contingent from the Rochester/Finger Lakes region, making for one of the state’s largest, most diverse beer festivals. And it’s all happening this Saturday, June 22, at Canalside (2-6pm). The Buffalo Brewers Fest also doubles as a fundraising event for both organizations.

One of the unique qualities of this year’s festival is that the brewers, owners, and direct brewery reps will be the ones pouring your beer, not volunteers. So come hang out and chat with the people making the beer you love and feel free to ask any questions you’d like.

Tickets, which can be purchased right now at EventBrite, are $35 (Advance General Admission, $45 day of), $55 (Advance VIP, $65 day of) and $15 (Designated Drivers). VIP tickets include early entry (2pm) and access to exclusive VIP beers. There will also be food trucks and pint sales after the festival (5-7pm).

GA tickets include admission to the festival at 3pm, 7-ounce souvenir tasting glass, freedom to enjoy unlimited beer samples, the opportunity to meet the brewers making your favorite beers and local music by Gravy. DD tickets include free bottles of water (if you wish to have a glass, you can pick one at the end of the festival).

VIP tickets include all of the GA perks and an additional hour of drinking time (entry at 2pm), as well as access to exclusive VIP beers, including (subject to change) Binghamton Brewery – Xocokhan, WeBe Brewing – Passion in the Clouds Milkshake IPA, Anything But Beer – Blue-Calyptus, Wagner Valley Brewing – Chardemagne Barrel Aged English Barleywine, Brown’s – Apricity Wild Ale, CB Craft Brewers – CB’s Loganberry Sour, Five & 20 Brewery – Commiseration Barrel Aged Imperial Stout and Rhiskey Business Barrel Aged Rye Pale Ale, 42 North – Oak Borderland IPA, Silver Lake Brewing – Gentle Brute Dark Saison, Four Mile Brewing – Man on the Moon IPA, K2 Brothers – Imperial Red Velvet Stout, Saranac – Barrel Aged Sour, CBW – Bang A Uey NEIPA, Flying Bison – Helldiver Oatmeal Pale Ale, Labatt Brew House – Strawberry Milkshake IPA, Lilly Belle Meads – Bobby, Blackbird Cider Works – Lakeside Loganberry Cider, Froth Brewing Co – Fruited Sour, Brindle Haus Brewing – Pomegranate Passion Fruit Brett Sour, Big Ditch Brewing – 2018 BBA Towpath Imperial Stout, Hamburg Brewing – Blackberry Sauce (Sour).

Here is the (tentative) list of all breweries set to attend and pour this weekend:

Participating Western New York breweries:

  • 12 Gates Brewing
  • 42 North Brewing
  • Big Ditch Brewing
  • Big Inlet Brewing
  • Brickyard Brewing
  • Community Beer Works
  • Eli Fish Brewing
  • Ellicottville Brewing
  • Five & 20 Spirits & Brewing
  • Flying Bison Brewing
  • Four Mile Brewing
  • Hamburg Brewing
  • Labatt Brew House
  • MyCity Brew
  • New York Beer Project
  • Pressure Drop Brewing
  • Prosper Brewing
  • Resurgence Brewing
  • Rusty Nickel Brewing
  • SATO Brewpub
  • Southern Tier Brewing
  • Thin Man Brewery
  • Windy Brew
  • Woodcock Brothers Brewing

Participating New York State breweries:

 

  • Anything But Beer
  • Beer Tree Brew Co.
  • Big Slide Brewing
  • Binghamton Brewing Co.
  • Brooklyn Brewing
  • Browns Brewing Co.
  • Crossroads Brewing Company
  • Empire Brewing
  • Finback
  • Galaxy Brewing
  • Lake Placid Pub & Brewery
  • Newburgh Brewing
  • Rare Form
  • Reinvention Brewing
  • Rushing Duck Brewing
  • Sand City Brewing
  • Saranac
  • Singlecut Beersmiths
  • Sixpoint Brewery

Rochester Area Breweries:

  • Brindle Haus Brewing
  • CB Craft Brewers
  • K2 Brewing
  • Roc Brewing
  • Rohrbach Brewing
  • Silver Lake Brewing
  • Swiftwater Brewing
  • Three Heads Brewing
  • Wagner Valley Brewing
  • WeBe Brewing
  • Young Lion Brewing

For more information on the festival, please visit https://newyorkcraftbeer.com/events/new-york-craft-brewers-festival-buffalo/. In addition to purchasing tickets online, you can also purchase them in person at any and all Consumer’s Beverages location.

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).