> by brian campbell

Buffalo Beer Week will once again shine the spotlight directly on our local craft beer scene as the annual 10-day celebration returns for its sixth year. Running from Thursday, September 24th to Sunday, October 4th, the 2015 Buffalo Beer Week will once again feature dozens upon dozens of unique events at bars, pubs, restaurants, breweries and other craft beer destinations throughout the Buffalo Niagara region.

The 10-day lineup features dozens of events—from tastings at your local pub to ticketed special events and nearly everything in between. Things get underway Thursday, September 24 at Big Ditch Brewing Company with a shuffleboard tournament between eight different local breweries. The event will feature beer from Big Ditch, Community Beer Works, Four Mile Brewing, Gordon Biersch, Old First Ward, Pan-American/Pearl Street Brewing, Resurgence Brewing Company, Rusty Nickel Brewing Company, Woodcock Brothers Brewing and more. A part of proceeds will be donated to the Buffalo Niagara Brewers Association.

The 2015 Ballpark Brew Bash will take place Saturday, September 26 at Coca Cola Field (general admission, $25, 5-8pm, VIP, $75, 4-8pm). The event, sponsored by Consumers Beverages, will feature over 50 breweries from across the globe, including Allagash, Ballast Point, Founders, Oskar Blues and Stone as well as local favorites like Resurgence, Big Ditch and Pearl Street and New York favorites like Saranac, Southern Tier and Ommegang. Tickets are available at all 17 Consumer’s Beverages locations, the Buffalo Bisons Ticket Office and online at Tickets.com. For more details, visit www.ballparkbrewbash.com.

“Our Beer Week honors Western New York’s rich brewing history while showcasing the tremendous revival of our craft beer culture that’s currently sweeping the region,” said Willard Brooks, Chairman of Buffalo Niagara Brewers Association, which organizes the annual festival.

New this year is the Farm-To-Pint Passport Program, which promotes beer made with locally sourced ingredients, which will be available at participating bars and breweries around the area. You will receive one stamp on your passport for each participating beer you order. Breweries such as Southern Tier, Hamburg Brewing, Flying Bison, Four Mile, Resurgence, Pearl Street, Big Ditch, Old First Ward, Woodcock, Ellicottville, 12 Gates, Gordon Biersch, Community Beer Works, Five & 20 and Rusty Nickel are all set to take part in the program. Those who purchase these special one-off F2P beers will be rewarded as well—3 stamps will get you a BNBA bottle opener, 5 stamps—BNBA t-shirt and those who get their entire passport stamped will receive a Buffalo Beer League/BNBA branded stainless steel pint glass.

Also this year, Saturday, October 3 has been dubbed ‘Pub Crawl Saturday,’ a day that will see multiple pub crawls anchored by local breweries in Allentown, East Aurora, Williamsville, Black Rock, Elmwood and Downtown.

This year’s featured events include:

■ Ballpark Brew Bash Eve Brewers Welcome Party, Friday, September 25 at The Century Grill (318 Pearl St, Buffalo, Thecenturygrill.com)

■ Bourbon, Beer, BBQ and Cigars, Sunday September 27 at Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle. Buffalo Bills vs Miami Dolphins away game on the big screen. This event is a fundraiser for Torn Space Theater.

■ Rutherford B. Hayes is Dead Wake, Tuesday, September 28 at Hot Mama’s Canteen. Louisiana style funeral beginning at the corner of Grant and Amherst and ending at Hot Mama’s Canteen. Music will be provided by the Fredtown Stompers and Folkfaces.

■ Vines & Bines, September 29, 6:30-9pm at Oshun. Presenting the premier of a series of dinners that brings together for the first time Jim Gaurino, owner and Executive Chef of Oshun Oyster Bar & Shango Bistro and Wine Bar, Jonathan Oakes, winemaker at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery and Stephen Beaumont, internationally recognized beer expert and author of the forthcoming Beer & Food Companion and co-author of The World Atlas of Beer. Designed to explore the pairing of farm-to-table cuisine with truly great beers and wines, each dinner will feature six spectacular courses partnered with one beer and one wine. Drinks at 6:30, dinner at 7pm. Presented by the BNBA and Nittany Epicurean

■ Rare Beer Night, Wednesday, September 30 at Pizza Plant with Stephen Beaumont. Three unique beer flights presented by Beaumont.

“Since its inception in 2007, Buffalo Beer Week has become one of the most highly anticipated craft beer celebrations in the region and the various events continue to bring visitors from across Upstate New York, Southern Ontario, Ohio and Pennsylvania to Western New York,” Brooks continued. “Successful growing festivals like Buffalo Beer Week and our first Buffalo Brewers Festival this past summer are unique ways we are celebrating the rebirth of craft brewing in the Buffalo Niagara region as well as successfully promoting the region as a destination for beer enthusiasts from all over the world.”

For more information about all things related to Buffalo Beer Week, visit www.buffalobeerweek.com. For more information regarding the BNBA, visit www.buffaloniagarabrewersassociation.org.

Beer coverage done in partnership with Buffalo Niagara Brewers Association. Visit www.BuffaloNiagaraBrewersAssociation.org.