The Tap & Craft Festival returns to Buffalo Riverworks on Friday, Oct. 23, a premier fall beer festival that features more than 30 craft breweries, cideries, wineries and distilleries, “designed to showcase both beloved favorites and exciting discoveries from across New York State and beyond.”
Sample beers, ciders, spirits and specialty beverages from Other Half, Grow Brewing, Mortalis Brewing, Strangebird, Frequentem Brewing, Big Ditch Brewing, Pearl Street, Hop Butcher for the World, Nomxd Brew, Troegs, New Trail Brewing, Downeast Cider, Black Willow Winery, Awestruck Premium Hard Ciders, BriarBrothers Brewing, Drekker Brewing, Barrelhouse 6 Distillery, The Cider Project, Imprint Beer, Arkane Aleworks, Hartman’s Distilling, Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery, Lincoln Cutting – East Aurora Brewery, Battle Rattle Spirits / Empire State Distillers, Talking Cursive, Notch Brewing, and Departed Soles Brewing.
There will also be craft vendors, including Touchstone Crystal, Vessel, TATRA creative, Blended & Baked LLC, Oma’s Kitchen LLC, Bottoms Up! & Dolci LLC, WNY Beer Trail and Window Nation, as well as live music from The Brass Machine.
“Tap & Craft: Buffalo brings together an intentionally curated lineup of craft beverage producers, live music, local makers, and the Buffalo community for one big night at RiverWorks,” festival organizers said. “Secure your tickets today and join us on October 23 for an evening featuring 25+ craft beverage brands, more than 60 individual styles, live music, local vendors, and plenty to discover. We can’t wait to raise a glass with you in Buffalo.”
Last year at Tap & Craft, I had a great time and drank a lot of great beer. First off, I love Riverworks as a venue for a beer festival. If you’ve been following the Beer League, then there’s a good chance you’ve heard me profess my love for Thawfest, which used to be one of my favorite beer events of the year. Perhaps the biggest strength of Tap & Craft is the beer list. This year, there are many breweries on the docket we don’t often get in Western New York – Grow, Arkane, Drekker, Notch, Departed Soles. The one I’m most looking forward to is Hop Butcher – I’ve only had a few beers from them at CollaBEERation. So I’m looking forward to more at Tap & Craft. Outside of beer, I’m also looking forward to spending more time with The Cider Project. I’ve heard so many good things, so I’ll be seeking them out often.
Tickets are on sale now – Tap Tier ($75, early entry, admission to both sessions, three 16oz. cans to go (an Other Half IPA, BriarBrothers Lock Tender Lager and Talking Cursive Lock Pickler Cream Ale, pretzel necklace, festival sticker), VIP ($60, early entry, exclusive VIP-only pours), General Admission ($50), and Designated Driver ($12, includes bottled water).
You can purchase tickets at Tapandcraft.com (no Eventbrite fees). There will be a limited number of tickets available at the door as well on the day of.
Tap & Craft is hosted by The Lock Tender Tap Room & Bottle Shop.
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).
