Magic Bear Beer Cellar Introduces OktoBEARfest Offering

Magic Bear Beer Cellar has introduced a new curated Oktoberfest beer pack just in time for the upcoming fall beer season. The OktoBEARfest Offering is essentially a fall beer advent calendar, featuring a mixed 12-pack assortment of Oktoberfests, Marzens, and Festbiers to enjoy throughout the Oktoberfest season, which takes place from September 20 to October 5. Pre-sale for the OktoBEARfest Offering begins August 15 at https://www.magicbearbeer.com. Beer boxes cost $39 plus tax. There is a limited quantity available.

Thin Man Drops Mafia Light For New Football Season

Football is officially back in Western New York for another season and Thin Man Brewery is releasing a new version of their flagship Pills Mafia to welcome the Buffalo Bills back to the field. Mafia Light is an ultra-light and crushable lager that clocks in at 3.5% and 80 calories. “Whether you’re mowing the lawn, ripping a day session, or making it to 8 pm for a prime time game, this beer is made for all scenarios,” Thin Man says of the new beer. Mafia Light is available now wherever great craft beer is sold.

Kölsch Fest Returns to 42 North Brewing

Starting at noon on August 16, 42 North Brewing will be pouring their Kölsch-style ale in traditional 7oz. Stange glasses for Kolsch Fest. Each pour is $3 and they will keep coming until you tell your beertender to stop. At 5 pm, Captain Tom and the Hooligans take the stage and you can pair your Kolsch pours with German-inspired eats from the Fat Bob’s @42 North kitchen — hearty and savory foods made to complement the Kölsch. The event is free to attend. Traditional dress is encouraged.

Frequentem, Smoldered Society Takeover at Moor Pat

Moor Pat is hosting a collaborative tap takeover with Frequentem Brewing and Smoldered Society on August 15 (12 pm). In addition to their latest collab, Engineered Hysteria Zested Pilsner, a 3.9% melon zested pils brewed with Saaz and Motueka hops and cold conditioned on oak spirals, Frequentem will have their Black Lager, Peak Amplitude NEIPA (Motueka), Just Fruit (Pineapple, Coconut, Banana) and Just Fruit (Strawberry Daiquiri), and Smoldered Society will bring Strike Anywhere Czech Pils and Chud Life, a fruited sour collab with Atrium Brewing, with strawberry, cheesecake, lemon, graham cracker and lactose. There will be some cans of Engineered Hysteria available to go.

Shalooby Loofer’s 2 Years of Magical Beers

Clarence’s Shalooby Loofer Brewing is turning two and they are celebrating two years of magical beers on August 23 (1 – 10 pm). There will be live music from Eric Weinholtz (2 – 5:30 pm) and Jordan Cohen 6 – 9 pm), the Loffer Tuber’s Fry Truck will be slinging food, and there will be beer flowing from the brewery’ 13 taps, as well as their Mixer Elixer beer-based cocktails, cider, wine, soda and NA options. And if you weren’t aware, Shalooby Loofer is donating $1 from each pint sold in the taproom to help build a school in Nepal through buildOn.

Would you fancy $50 to spend at Shalooby Loofer’s second anniversary party? You’re in luck, because Step Out Buffalo has partnered with the brewery to give away a $50 gift card to the brewery. To enter, all you need to do is click here, enter your name and email, and you are all set. You can also enter via SOB’s Instagram page (just search for the giveaway post). This giveaway runs through August 17.

Giveaways From Buffalo Pedal Tours, Big Ditch, Wing Fest, Seneca Sips

There are a number of great boozy giveaways right now to enter. Buffalo Pedal Tours has partnered with Resurgence Brewing, Frequentem Brewing and Hofbrauhaus to give away $50 off a holiday pedal tour, and $50 gift cards to each brewery. You can enter here. Content runs through August 15. Big Ditch and 1911 Established have teamed up to give away a custom YETI Tundra 45 cooler. You can enter here through September 5. Consumer’s Beverages are giving away a pair of tickets to the National Wing Festival (August 30-31). You can enter here. The winner will be selected August 15. SOB is also working with Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino to give away a pair of tickets to Seneca Sips Beer & Wine Festival (September 13) and an overnight stay. You can enter here through August 18. Good luck!

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).

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Tickets Remain for Bottles & Bites at Statler Buffalo

Combine the best of local food, craft, wine, cider and more at Bottles & Bites: Flavors of Fall, Nov. 14 (5pm) at the Statler Buffalo. Food will be available from The Hawk Bar & Restaurant, Trattoria Aroma, Arriba Tortilla, Fresh Catch Poke and more, beer will be available from Big Ditch, Genesee, Mystic Hills, Shalooby Loofer and Belt Line, mead from Bee Spit and The Mead People, live music from Busted Stuff – Dave/Cyn and more. VIP tickets are $60 and include early entry, sampling, $25 Santoras gift card, exclusive beer selections and complimentary tasting glass, while general admission is $35 and includes tasting glass and samples. You can purchase tickets here.

Stoutsgiving Returns to Big Ditch Brewing

It’s that time of year again, when Big Ditch rolls out the barrels for their annual celebration of all things dark beer – Stoutsgiving. This year, there will be 8 new beers and one vintage beer, including Aqueduct Reserve ‘24 (imperial stout aged in a single Russell’s Reserve bourbon barrel), Aqueduct Double Barrel ‘24: Grape Brandy (imperial stout aged in Hartman’s Distilling bourbon barrels), Aqueduct Rare ‘24 (imperial stout aged in a single 15-year Heaven Hill malt whiskey barrel), Wheatwine ‘24, Mudlarked Almond Joy Imperial Stout, Mudlarked Cinnamon Bun Imperial Stout, Tagalong: Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Stout, Imperial Vanilla Ice Cream Stout and BBA Towpath ‘20. All beer will be available on draft and most will be available to go and for pickup (order online Nov. 27).

Lighting of Fireplace, Beer & Cider Release at Hamburg Brewing

Hamburg Brewing will hold the annual lighting of the fireplace in their taproom on Nov. 20 (75pm). There will be live music from Sue Kincaid & Doug Yeomans starting at 7pm, as well as some returning beers, such as No Lux Black IPA, brewed with roasted malt, caramel malt, rye, and pale malt, along with Cascadian, Centennial, and Chinook hops, and Frosty the IPA, along with a new Pomegranate Hard Cider, brewed with locally sourced NY State apples. The event is free and open to the public.

Woodcock Brothers to Celebrate 12^th Anniversary

Woodcock Brothers Brewing is turning a dozen years old and is celebrating at their Wilson location, beginning at 4pm on Nov. 16. As has become customary for the event, the brewery will have free chowder available (while supplies last), draft specials all day and live music from Rockabilly Steve and the BR3 (5pm). Woodcock Brothers opened their Wilson location on November 17, 2012 and ever since, they have grown, including opening a second location in North Tonawanda at the Wurlitzer Building.

Steel Leaf Brewing Hertel Ave. Grand Opening

Steel Leaf Brewing has moved to a brand new home on Hertel Avenue and is celebrating their grand opening on Nov. 23 (12pm) with exclusive beer specials on their flagship beer, including Fellowship Pilsner, a crisp, light-bodied pilsner with balanced malt sweetness, and Hazy Dreams New England IPA, a hazy IPA with juicy hop flavors and tropical aromas, and live music all day, including a late night DJ set. They are also open  for business in the meantime – Sunday (11am-8pm), Monday – Thursday (4-10pm), Friday (3pm-12am) and Saturday (11am – 12am). For more information, visit https://steelleafbrewing.com.

The Moor Pat 10^th Anniversary Celebration

Williamsville’s Moor Pat is celebrating a decade of being one of the preeminent craft beer bars in Western New York on Nov. 16 with a number of special beer tappings and food specials. “Saturday, November 16 at noon and all day, we are celebrating 10 years of serving great beers, food and laughs,” Moor Pat says. “Come join us for a ton of special tappings, special food and more. Thank you everyone for getting us to this milestone. Cheers and thank you all!” Visit https://moorpat.com for more information.

New York Beer Project Tree Lighting, Beer Release

On Nov. 17, New York Beer Project will hold their annual Christmas tree lighting at both their Lockport headquarters and at the NYBP Beer Lodge in Orchard Park. Each tree measures 26 feet tall with more than 6,500 sparkling lights. In Orchard Park, the brewery will light their tree for the first time during halftime of the Buffalo Bills – Kansas City Chiefs game, while Lockport will light up their tree at 5pm. Each location will release their Hibeernation Winter Warmer for the occasion, which features notes of ginger, cinnamon, and orange peel .

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 Twitter (@buffbeerleague), Instagram, Threads and Untappd (@buffalobeerleague), and Facebook (@thebuffalobeerleague).

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Moor Pat, the standout Williamsville brewpub, will soon open a second location in the former Village Beer Merchant on Hertel Avenue, which recently closed its doors after seven years in business in order to concentrate on their flagship Elmwood Avenue location, which will remain open. Moor Pat hopes to be open early next year.

VBM Owner Brian Nelson says that the impending transition wasn’t exactly a sudden thing, all of the parties involved didn’t want to make the move public right away. He says the sale was in the works for a few months prior to it being fully executed.

“We just didn’t want rumors getting out there,” he says. “But we have sold it and Mike Shatzel and Peter Braun are putting Moor Pat in here. The timing was right and Mike and Peter want to do this, so it just worked for everyone involved and it was the right move. I almost didn’t want to admit I was doing this; this place is like a baby to me. This is what we do. It’s tough. We didn’t do this to make a lot of money. Small business is tough. We’re sad it came to this.”

He adds that a number of factors played into VBM Hertel ultimately closing down, including competition from neighboring grocery stores and a severe lack of parking.

“We opened here seven years ago thinking the neighborhood was going to be a lot like Elmwood. The parking up here is horrendous and that plays a huge role into it and especially now that within a quarter mile of us, there are three major grocery stores. People would come here on the weekends and have a pint, but I didn’t get the daily traffic of people grabbing their everyday drinkers, because when you have to drive around for ten minutes just to find a place to park to come in and buy some [Bells] Two Hearted or a six-pack of anything for that matter, that’s no good for anybody. Especially, like I said, when all of these other places that have parking are so close. Looking for parking all the time gets old. And thankfully on Elmwood I do not have that problem, which is why people stop by more often for their daily beer needs.”

“I love Hertel, I love the neighborhood and I love the people up here, but its hard for me to be at two places at once to run it. My parents are retired and moved to Florida and I was constantly drawn between both locations. Joe, who was our Hertel manager, moved to Denver almost two years ago and it was hard to really get a face up here.”

Shatzel says that he is excited to be joining the Hertel neighborhood with a second Moor Pat location, adding that he believes the Moor Pat model will be met with high praise from the area.

“Peter Braun and I are very excited to be bringing the Moor Pat to Hertel & Wellington,” Moor Pat Owner Mike Shatzel said. “The area is bustling and we think what Moor Pat provides in our draft & bottle list, atmosphere & wings will be accepted with enthusiasm.”

Shatzel hopes to have the location, which is equipped with 24 taps, open by February of next year. The new Moor Pat will also specialize in beer-brined wings, which have quickly become a staple of the original location.

Nelson adds that even though Hertel didn’t ultimately work out, he isn’t entirely opposed to opening another location somewhere else in the future. “I wouldn’t take that off the table if the opportunity came. I love this. I’ve been working in beer for 25 years. That’s why we opened up Elmwood. And since we opened there, look at how much the craft beer scene has exploded. It’s crazy. It’s everywhere.”

Again, the Elmwood Village Beer Merchant will remain open. “Elmwood is 12 years strong,” Nelson says, adding that some changes might be coming to the location, including a possible tavern license, though he says he wasn’t entirely sure about that. “We don’t bullshit, we keep fresh beer in stock and we have that hands on approach, trying to help you find something you’re going to like.”

For more information on Village Beer Merchant, please visit https://www.facebook.com/TheVillageBeerMerchant. For more information on Moor Pat, please visit http://moorpat.com/.

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).

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