A favorite beverage of many Western New Yorkers will be celebrated this weekend at Canalside. The first-ever Buffalo Brewers Festival will feature three dozen New York craft breweries. Willard Brooks, president of the Buffalo Niagara Brewers Association, says many of them are locally-operated.
"We have 37 breweries and about one-third of them are local, which is all of our local breweries," Brooks said.
The 21-and-over festival takes place from 3 to 10 p.m. Saturday. It will feature special tastings and food pairings, educational panels with masters of the craft, and live music from a half-dozen bands on two stages.
Brooks says Canalside is a perfect fit for the event.
"When you look around Buffalo for a place to do a festival, where better to do it than Canalside? It's a great outdoor venue. It has the backdrop of the grain elevators which used to contain barley, which is used to make beer. It seems like a natural choice," Brooks said.
Tickets and more information is available at buffaloniagarabrewersassociation.org.