There are many special local beers, a number of which hold a special place in my heart. Woodcock Brothers XPA is one of those beers, a beer that I would regularly drive all the way out to Wilson for and a beer that I would regularly wait in line for. In beer news I wasn’t expecting, XPA is back, albeit in a limited capacity, in cans and on draft.

“After years on hiatus, our XPA is making a limited-time comeback,” the brewery said of the new version of the 6.5% experimental IPA, which features Azacca, Warrior, Mosaic, and Citra hops, as well as a dry hop of Citra, Cascade, and Triumph. “Expect bright tropical notes with a subtle tangerine twist, balanced by a clean, slightly bitter finish.”

Here’s a bit of Western New York beer history for those that may not know – XPA, at one time, was the hottest, most du jour, beer in the area. Craft aficionados from across the land, myself included, would descend upon the tiny hamlet of Wilson, New York, head down to Woodcock’s little corner of town and stand in line awaiting its release. BBL co-founder Scott and I were often two of those queuers, waiting to get our hands on the latest version of XPA.

Early versions of XPA were the best beers I’ve personally ever had from Woodcock, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that thinking. I first fell in love with the beer with version 4 and it was off to the races from there. Version 5 was better, and then 6 was even better than that. Versions 6.1, 6.2 and Galaxy DDH were good and kept the line moving, versions 7, 8 and 9 were great, but it was version 10 that returned the XPA series to banger status. In my opinion, this was the best version since 6. But from there, 16 was the only other noteworthy version in my eyes and the brewery stopped releasing regular versions of XPA shortly thereafter.

I have great memories thanks to XPA – driving up to Wilson with Scott, parking lot tailgates, line beers, hanging out with then-head brewer Matt Redpath, enjoying an incredible wood-fired pizza at the taproom and everything in between. It’s a beer I am happy to have back and I am incredibly excited to taste what Woodcock has in store for me with this new version.

XPA can be found at Woodcock Brothers’ North Tonawanda taproom. If you remember, their Wilson taproom is still closed for the season.

Now for the self-promotion part: if you partake in some of the new Woodcock Brothers XPA, I’d love to know what you think of it. Call the Buffalo Beer League hotline at 716-486-BEER, leave a voicemail and let me know.

Brian Campbell is the 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).