I, we (the Buffalo Beer League), drank a lot of great craft beer in 2024. It was a year not without its warts and certainly not one without its peaks and valleys, a year in which brewery closings outpaced openings, sadly, which is a trend I sincerely hope does not continue. But it was a great year for beer releases and we drank a lot of them.
I say it time and time again; my memory is not what it used to be. Blame beer, blame age, blame whatever, but thank goodness for my unending need to photograph every single beer I drink and thank goodness for an app like Untappd, because I’m able to keep track of, and therefore remember, all the beer I drink, which makes year end lists like this possible.
Like I said, we drank a lot of great beer in 2024 and here are a few, well, outside of Big Ditch Brewing’s beloved Hayburner and Thin Man Brewery’s flagship Pills Mafia, the two beers I probably drank the most of last year. New York Beer Project Imperial Hazy Crush and The One V.62 were absolute bangers (John at NYBP OP Beer Lodge is making some of the best beer around right now), Resurgence Brewing/Old First Ward Brewing/Pressure Drop Brewing More Greener IPA is a beer I wait all year for, Frequentem Brewing Dark Mild was fantastic (I also loved their Do A Kickflip Light Yuzu Lager, a collaboration with Smoldered Society), Buffalo Olde Brewery Lovejoy Lager is one of my current favorite local lagers and a staple of my beer fridge and Smoldered Society Mass Delusion (Riwaka, Simcoe Cryo, Mosaic Cryo) was everything you want in a hazy IPA. Smoldered Society was one of my favorite breweries in 2024.
And the list goes on and on – Buffalo Brewing Company Simon Pure Beer, Froth Brewing House Black Lager, BriarBrothers Brewing Evolution 005 New England IPA, Mortalis Brewing Barrel Aged Pomona (Copper Wax), Wayland Brewing Jennings Hazy Pale Ale, Tree House Brewing Trail Fresh Hop Strata, Autark Brewhouse Cozy Dark Mild, Resurgence Brewing 10th Anniversary IPA, Belt Line Brewery Fresh Coat Double IPA, Meier’s Creek Something, Something Haze IPA, Ellicottville Brewing French Connection Saison Aged in Cabernet Barrels, Thin Man Brewery Friends with Boats, Other Half x Equilibrium Lab Nightmare Triple IPA, just to name a few more.
In addition to my favorite beers of 2024, I also asked fellow BBLers Scott, Jesse and Mark:
Mark – Pressure Drop Brewing Sticky Icky, Brazen Brewing Edelbrau, Other Half Mylar Bags, Big Ditch Black Light and WNY Eclipse, Resurgence Brewing Old Neighborhood Irish Red, Old First Ward Brewing Not A Pale Ale, Flying Bison Blackbird Stout, Community Beer Works Pride
Jesse – BriarBrothers Brewing 8 Hour Custom New England IPA, 42 North Nocturnus, Brazen Charlatan, Big Ditch 9th Anniversary Yuzu Rice Lager, Frequentem Italian Pilsner (Contessa), Schenker Dunkelbier, Bent Run X-Files IPA, Rohrbach Brewing Totality Black Lager
Scott – Broadway Brewing Batch 600 Double IPA, Hofbrauhaus Buffalo Pils, Burdock Deluxe Helles, Mortalis Brewing We Know Steve Imperial NEIPA, Frequentem Dark Mild, BriarBrothers 8 Hour Custom, Peacemaker Brewing 1000 Yard Stare, Vasen Brewing Smoldering Phoenix, Autark Czechy, Woodcock Rosetta Stoned
Here’s to more great beer in 2025.
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).