Beer Event: Buffalo on Tap

Buffalo on Tap yesterday was a four hour whirlwind of meeting brewers and distributors, enjoying the company of beer fans, and of course, drinking beer.  I had told myself that I would keep mental notes of some of the best beers and post a write-up on my findings.  But sometime around two hours into the event, I realized that would be impossible.  Not just because the beers were having their effect on my judgment, but because my palate was wrecked.  I did, however, take some very nice pictures!

My cousin "Hops Ryno" and I arrived around 11:55 am.  We had purchased VIP tickets, which meant that we would have a 1 hour head start on general admission participants.  Here is a picture of the line waiting to get in.  There were quite a few "VIPs" waiting to get in, but the line moved steadily once the gates were open.  We managed to get in right around 12:07 pm.

Waiting for entry to the event.

 

There were a few VIP area rare beers, but Hops Ryno and I decided that we could easily hit those later after the throngs of people were allowed entry at 1 pm.  So instead my plan was to hit all the local Buffalo brewers and marketers and introduce myself.

And of course my first stop was to say hi to Matt Kahn and Corey Catalano from Big Ditch Brewing.  I have to mention that Matt has been supportive of my blog from the beginning (thanks Matt!).  Must be the chemistry bond (see what I did there?) we share.  I enjoyed their Hayburner IPA early in the afternoon, and an experimental smoky beer late in the afternoon.

 

 Big Ditch Brewing Company

Next up was Southern Tier Brewing, and field sales rep Dave Giczkowski.  The Helles was my beer of choice here and to no surprise this beer was fantastic.

 Southern Tier Brewing Company

Ellicottville was next in line, where I met the cheerful and delightful Stephanie Crean.  My drink of choice here was the EBC Ski Bum, one of my new winter favorites.

  Ellicottville Brewing Company

Another of my favorite beer places was also in attendance, Woodcock Brothers from Wilson, NY.  I enjoyed the opportunity talking to Tim Woodcock and telling him in person how much I enjoyed Woodcock Brothers delicious beers and pizza.

 Woodcock Brothers Brewing Company

The folks at Hamburg Brewing were fun to talk to, and I can't wait to get down and visit the brewery for a review.  I tried the Irish Red and it was delicious!

 Hamburg Brewing Company 

Next in line was one of my local favorites, Community Beer Works.  I had a nice talk with Ethan Cox (not pictured, he was off hiding), but Drew was able to pour me an ABV IPA.  My co-drinker Hops Ryno proclaiming that the ABV was one of his favorites beers of the afternoon.

Community Beer Works

Resurgence Brewing was next, where Jeff Ware poured me a fantastic tasting sample of Resurgence IPA.

 

Resurgence Brewing Company

Tim Herzog from Flying Bison was also present, and I enjoyed a Scotch Ale at this station.

Flying Bison Brewing Company

Perhaps some of the rarest beers at the exposition were provided by Sarah Carruthers and Remarkable Liquids.  Here, we enjoyed such rare beers as Stillwater Classique, and Evil Twin Malatov Lite.

Remarkable Liquids

At this time Hops Ryno and I decided to relax and make some new friends.  I noticed this gentleman wearing an Untappd shirt so we decided to take a picture together.  We had fun talking to this crew about beer.

One other exciting development worth mentioning: I was excited to see that Rusty Nickel Brewing Company will be opening right next to Ebenezer Ale house.  This will be a fun place to check out soon!

Consumer's Beverage also provided a nice spread of some quality beer selections.

The afternoon rolled on, and we were happy to sample some other fine beers.  We were delighted that the lines really were not that long, and you could get to just about any beer you wanted within a couple of minutes.  Despite having thousands of people, the event was run smoothly.  The concession food was provided by Ebenezer Ale House.  Hops Ryno and I each enjoyed hamburgers and they were very tasty.

In general, we left feeling as if we had sampled pretty much all the beers we had planned to try ahead of time.  We were thankful there were no tickets required to exchange or drink limits.  Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be too many overly-intoxicated patrons and the event ran smoothly,