Almost a year to the date since I wrote it, I’m taking stock of the past 365 days and looking back on my 2025 Western New York Craft Beer Bucket list – did I actually accomplish anything? Sure, I drink a lot of local beer, like a lot, and go to a lot of local breweries, damn near weekly, but there is still so much I want to do in the local beer space. So, at the beginning of last year, I gave myself a list, a bucket list (see what I did there?), and set out to accomplish those things, and hopefully more, last year.
So, what did I manage to check off my 2025 bucket list?
Maybe the easiest way to go about this is to just go right down the list and tackle this thing one by one. The first item was to drink more local lager, which I consider a win. From on draft and side pull at bars and brewery taprooms, in cans at home, on cask, and the beer delivery system goes on and on, one thing I did do in 2025 was drink more local lager. I vow to continue to do so in 2026.
Sadly, the next items on my bucket list I did not accomplish. I did not ride the Ferris wheel down at Buffalo Riverworks, and I did not manage to visit every brewery, cidery, and meadery taproom across Western New York. I am going to assign myself those same tasks for 2026 and will make sure they are included on my bucket list for this coming year.
Continuing, I am bouncing back with the next few items, which I ticked off. I drank a Hayburner IPA at both of Big Ditch Brewing’s taprooms, both in Buffalo and in Lockport. I also drank First Line Brewing beer at Cloud 9 Rooftop Bar at Black Smoke Bourbon Bar in the Village of Hamburg – I actually accomplished this task a few different times last year.
But from the top of the mountain, I went tumbling back down with my last three goals. I failed to visit Wayland Brewing’s new taproom down in Ellicottville for starters. I was in town for the Ellicottville Rodeo, but by the time I got out of traffic and back into town, they were closed. I did not drink New York Beer Project’s first-ever koelship beer either – when it was released, I was out of town. And continuing this stretch of losses on my 2025 bucket list, I, we, the Buffalo Beer League, failed to bring back Brewcation. I still hope to bring this annual tradition back in the future.
Moving right along, I did manage to attend all of my favorite beer events in 2025. From Barrel Jam, Brewer’s Invitational, Buffalo on Tap, CollaBEERation and Cask Fest to Bottles & Bites, Wines in the Wild, the New York State Craft Brewers Festival, Tap & Craft, and Rhythm & Brews, to everything in between, these events are truly the highlight of my year. And I will continue to look forward to them this year.
Rounding out my 2025 local craft beer bucket list are a pair of wins – I did, in fact, spend more time than I ever had in local beer gardens. Resurgence, Other Half, Riverworks, Buffalo Brewing, 42 North, The Ridge, Gene McCarthy’s, Mystic Hills, Brazen, Buffalo Olde, Hamburg Brewing, Gowanda Brewing, New York Beer Project Beer Lodge, to name a few. This is another thing I want to continue to do, and hopefully do more of, this year. And finally, I organized a boozy bus tour. We did it this past fall for a friend’s birthday, with stops at Belt Line, Hamburg, First Line, Wayland, and BriarBrothers. It was an absolute blast, and I hope to do it again this year.
Above all else, this bucket list made me get off the couch and out of the house, which is important. It also made me drink more local beer, which, to be honest, I would have done anyway, but still. This was fun, plain and simple. And I look forward to writing a 2026 bucket list. I’ll see you at a local brewery soon.
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).
