The October Surprise, Snowvember, Knife and Aphid; we love to name our winter storms in Buffalo. The latest, Winter Storm Ebenezer IPA, would have made late iconic Buffalo Mayor Jimmy Griffin proud, as it’s named in honor of a flagship beer at West Seneca’s Rusty Nickel Brewing.
The name comes courtesy of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who came up with the name after an appearance on 103.3 The Edge’s Shredd & Ragan morning show.
“I have an answer to the question asked on @ShreddandRagan’s show: What’s the name of the storm. Our @ErieCountyDPW names them after storms. We are in the letter E for storms so it’s #WinterStormEbenezerIPA from @RustyNickelBrew in WS. Much better than Jaden and tasty too!” Poloncarz tweeted. “That is names them after beer!”
The name clearly resonated with the Town of West Seneca, who quickly tweeted out their approval: “Stay safe and warm throughout this winter storm as the snow has now arrived in #WestSeneca – and check it out, #WinterStormEbenezerIPA is named after a local West Seneca business, @RustyNickelBrew!”
Rusty Nickel also got in on the Twitter love, tweeting, “We LOVE it,” and although they are closed today due to Winter Storm Ebenezer IPA, they are offering $2 off each pint of Ebenezer IPA sold in their taproom through Friday.
“Stay home, enjoy a beer indoors, & we hope to see you tmmrw … while enjoying a $2 discount on pints of Ebenezer IPA!” the brewery added in a follow-up tweet.
Named after the Hamlet of Ebenezer where the brewery resides Rusty Nickel’s Ebenezer IPA is a balanced and hoppy, yet drinkable American-style IPA that clocks in at 7% ABV.
Rusty Nickel will also debut their Bourbon Oaked Slice O’ Havens at 5pm this Friday in their taproom. This limited edition batch uses local Niagara Malt and is infused with Niagara Craft Spirits bourbon. The beer officially made its debut at this past weekend’s Brewer’s Invitational at New York Beer Project.
And as we suffer through Winter Storm Ebenezer IPA, it’s probably best we all heed the advice of late Mayor Griffin and “stay inside and grab a six pack.”
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.
