Every once in a while, the stars align, the pint glasses all fall into place and we get a day full of local beer events. One such day is June 21 – a true banner day for Western New York craft beer. Sure, it’s the result of our summers in Buffalo being so short, causing multiple events to be crammed into a brief window of ever-diminishing weekends. Still, I prefer to be a bit more romantic and grandiose about it all. But in all seriousness, Saturday, June 21 is a great day to be a local craft beer drinker.
In addition to the annual New York State Craft Brewers Festival: Buffalo returning to Canalside, which features craft beer from over 50 breweries, a pair of local breweries are celebrating anniversaries. Scene forefathers Flying Bison Brewing are celebrating a quarter century of helping fuel the local craft beer renaissance with throwback beers, cask beer and live music, while BriarBrothers Brewing is marking three years in business with throwback beers, new beers and live music.
Regardless of where you choose to spend your precious time this weekend, make sure you’re raising a glass of something local to this great craft beer scene of ours. I’ll see you out and about Saturday.
New York State Craft Brewers Fest at Canalside
44 Prime St, Buffalo
The New York State Craft Brewers Festival: Buffalo returns to Canalside on June 21 and a limited amount of tickets remain available. Produced by the NYS Brewers Association and WNY Brewers Guild, the event features craft beer from over 50 breweries, live music, food trucks, artisan vendors, and more. Participating breweries have been announced and you can find that list here. GA tickets are $45 (souvenir tasting glass, all samplings), GA+ is $65 (1-hour early entry, access to exclusive VIP beers, souvenir tasting glass, all sampling, $5 NYSBA merch coupon) and new this year is a special VIP upgrade ($100) that includes a beer and chicken wing pairing at Southern Tier Brewing.
You can purchase tickets and find more information here.
Pre- and Post-NYS Craft Brewers Fest Parties at Belt Line Brewery & Kitchen
545 Swan St., Buffalo
Show your ticket to the New York State Craft Brewers Festival and receive a “10% Off Friends and Family” discount on food at the taproom and beer to-go.
Flying Bison Brewing 25th Anniversary Party
840 Seneca St., Buffalo
Cheers to 25 years! Flying Bison Brewing, Buffalo craft beer stalwarts and forefathers, are turning 25 years old and will celebrate a quarter century in business, on June 21 (12 – 7 pm). The brewery will be bringing back some throwback beers. Several vintages of Barrel-Aged HERC Barleywine will be available, as will two specialty casks. Tom Stahl will perform at 4 pm. “We can’t believe it’s already been 25 years that we have been able to provide Buffalo with our beer. We want to truly thank everyone for enjoying our beer for the past 25 years,” the brewery said.
The anniversary party is free.
BriarBrothers Brewing Third Anniversary Party
50 Elk St., Buffalo
BriarBrothers Brewing Company is already celebrating their third anniversary on June 21 with live music, new merch, beer releases and more. In honor of the special occasion, the brewery is bringing back Crusher (Session IPA), Euphoria (Golden Ale), and Agora (Brown Ale), there will be a special variant of Agora and a trio of new brews, including Rooftop Sessions (7% IPA brewed with Whakatu Koura, a New Zealand hop blend of Wakuta hops and Phantasm Thiol powder), Coats on the Couch (7.5% IPA brewed with a New Zealand hop blend named Newzilla) and Tears on the Linoleum (7% IPA brewed with Motueka, Nelson and Rakau hops). There will also be live music from Vinyl Cocktails (5pm), new anniversary merchandise and more.
The event is free and open to the public.
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).
