>Erik Wollschlager

Ihad the pleasure of trying Pearl Street Grill & Brewery’s Scrum Dunkel today, along with several friends and esteemed colleagues as we watched history being made at the Buffalo Beer Week press conference. The traditional German wheat beer was brewed with malts from WNY’s own NY Craft Malt, in partnership with the Buffalo Rugby Club—the second such collaboration between the Rugby Club and Pearl Street’s Chris Herr. “We brewed a dunkelweiss with the Rugby Club last year, but only a half batch. The style usually doesn’t do well in the area, but we sold out before their season even began!” This year’s edition is likely to suffer the same fate. The beer is a little more toast than bananas (pardon the obscure Blink-182 reference) but the malt and spice make for a great fall beer. As the weather begins to cool and meals turn heartier, the flavor profile of the Scrum Dunkel will pair well with cured meats, such as ham or bacon, or some good old-fashioned fried chicken. If you’re enjoying the brew in-house, try it with some BBQ chicken fingers, the Smoked Gouda soup, or any of the several sandwiches that feature bacon, such as the Turkey Club Melt, or the Ditch Digger bacon burger.

>Chris Groves Certified Cicerone ®

This Saturday will be one to remember. The Ballpark Brew Bash kicks off Buffalo Beer Week with one of the best beer festivals in New York. Featuring 70 breweries from across the globe; the beer selection, the games, the sights and tastes are unmatched. I’m listing 10 reasons why you should go. #1 - If you’re a fan of hanging out in a baseball stadium when there is no baseball being played. you should go. #2 - If you like not having to buy your friends a drink, while out drinking with them, you should go. #3 - If you would like to meet Doug Free, you should go. #4 - If you like epic sunsets on a gorgeous fall evening, you should go. #5 - If you think Jack Eichel is our savior, you should go. #6 - If you believe that a spaceship full of unicorns will visit our planet and make everyone a newspaper hat, you should go. #7 - If you believe that beer has played a major role in the advancement of our agricultural civilization, you should go. #8 - If you think Buffalo is awesome [because it is], you should go. #9 - If you enjoy being downtown on a Saturday night, you should go. #10 - If you believe that there is a chance you’ll meet “the one” during a beer festival, you should go. There are at least 6.5 more reasons you should head to the ballpark this Saturday but I’m keeping this article under 250 words. See you Saturday!