>Willard Brooks

As one of a handful of local breweries that hold a farm brewery license, Old First Ward makes an indigenous pale ale using 100 percent locally grown malts and hop called Therapy Session. This beer has been truly special since the first batch brewed two years ago for the first annual Farm to Pint event at Hamburg Brewing. It comes in at 4.6% ABV and is an aggressively hoped ale using Niagara Malt’s pilsner malt and Niagara County grown Cascade and Chinook hops in both the boil and in the dry hop. It carries a very floral hop aroma with a hazy orange color with a really nice white head with some lacing. At this low ABV, this beer drinks very well and is properly carbonated - though it’s also great on cask. Pairs very nicely with a fish fry or a cheese plate at the bar at Gene McCarthys. Brewed in the shadow of Buffalo’s towering grain elevators, this beer is a true tribute to the history of grain processing in Buffalo and should be enjoyed whenever it’s available. As brewer Matt Conron put’s it: “Its not only about using local farmers, maltsters and hop growers products but evolving with them as we perfect the craft together.” Look for this beer during Buffalo Beer Week as one of the Farm to Pint (F2P) passport beers.

>Chris Groves Certified Cicerone ®

Southern Tier Brewing Company and Pegula Sports & Entertainment debuted a new collaboration beer a couple weeks ago at 716 with a kickoff party which I had the pleasure of attending. The One Buffalo campagin, introduced last October, now has it’s own beer, your beer, our beer, everyone’s beer, One Buffalo. Set to launch in 6-pack bottles this week (draft last week), this beer falls into ale category purely by yeast strain yet leans heavy on the crispness and clean nature of a lager. As you know, I am a fan of simple & subtle and this hits the nail on the head. Lightly hopped with a slightly bready malt character and low bitterness, this beer is “more like what we think of when we think of beer; a beer beer” to quote my good friend Alex. It’s a pretty one too, light gold and bright! If you’ve been a Southern Tier drinker, you’re probably used to in your face flavors from their IPA right on up to the decadent Imperial Stouts of their Blackwater Series. One Buffalo plays a different role in their lineup, offering something to the masses that their bigger beers cannot...accessibility and ease. Sometimes you just want to shut it all off and not think about what’s in your glass while supporting a brewery you can actually have a personal connection with. As a seasoned professional [drinker] I understand that you can’t drink big flavor all the time. Sometimes you just want a damn beer.