Southern Tier Brewing Company has teamed up with the One Buffalo campaign to create a beer that’s all about Buffalo.
Brewery CEO John Coleman joined Buffalo Bills and Sabres President Russ Brandon at 716 Food and Sport in downtown Buffalo Friday afternoon, where the two tapped and tasted the beer for the first time.
Coleman says he thinks the beer will mean a great deal to the city.
“I think it’s really ‘celebrate the heritage.’ It really transcends sports and that’s really what we wanted to do,” said Coleman. “We didn’t want to have it tied to a particular team. It was really about the city and celebrating that and appealing to a real broad audience of beer drinkers.”
Coleman said One Buffalo is a brew that is meant to appeal to a broad audience of beer drinkers “whether they’re new to craft and they’re just looking for a really flavorful beer that they can drink while they’re tailgating, or home-gating, or just out kind of enjoying the day.”
Brandon said the beer goes beyond Bills and Sabres co-owners Kim and Terry Pegula’s One Buffalo initiative. He also forecasts that both team’s fans will love the beer.
“Southern Tier is all about the community. They’re local. We’re all about the community. We’re local. It’s one Buffalo, one community, and this ties in perfectly,” said Brandon.
Kim Pegula was on hand at 716 Food and Sport to share samples with lunch-time patrons. Cuyler Hettich was eating with friends and got to try a sample of the beer, and described it as “crisp, but still has that Southern Tier-style aftertaste. That bitter IPA kind of thing you get from those.”
One Buffalo will be available on tap at 716 Food and Sport starting Friday evening, and will be sold at both Buffalo Bills and Sabres games at the start of each of their home seasons. Coleman said the beer will hit retail stores in six-packs by September 14, in time for the Bills' regular season home-opener.
