Planning a trip to Buffalo

[grub]

Hey everyone. I'm thinking of taking my girl-friend to Buffalo for a week-end getaway. The main goal is to go to Consumers and go beer shopping (her idea - how great is that?) but is there any hotels around that would even slightly pass for a somewhat romantic trip? Preferably close to some of the better pubs nearby?

I'm figuring we'll go get the beer, then park the car and get a cab to a nearby brewpub, cab it back, wake-up groggy the next day and maybe jump in a pool. Hotel doesn't have to be swanky, just nearby and not too dumpy. Any suggestions? She's been through a lot the last while and I'd like to perk her ( and me!) up without blowing more money than I can afford. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

i can't suggest a specific hotel, but i can give other info. premeir gourmet, one of the consumers locations, and coles are all within about a 5min drive of each other. coles is a great beer bar with pretty good food (at least from my one visit, but i know others go there regularly). i'd punch the address for coles in maps.google.ca and then search for hotels around it. there's also a target in the same area (which my wife likes to hit when we go over).

it's good to hit both consumers and premeir too. consumers has a smaller selection, but better prices on some stuff. last time i was there the southern tier bombers (choklat, gemini, etc) were $1 cheaper there than premeir. a bottle of brooklyn local 1 was $1.50 cheaper. they're so close that it's convenient to hit both. you can also get growler fills at consumers - great for bringing back to the hotel. good to hit consumers then swing over to premeir. if there was something you wanted at consumers that you didn't find at premeir, you can even swing back around to it.

consumers: 2644 elmwood ave, buffalo, ny
premeir: 3465 Delaware Ave, buffalo, ny
target: 2626 Delaware Ave, buffalo, ny
coles: 1104 elmwood ave, buffalo, ny

map showing all four

link to map showing hotels near coles - there's even one less than a mile south on elmwood.

[rudolf]

map showing all four

link to map showing hotels near coles - there's even one less than a mile south on elmwood.

Good info from Grub, my one comment is to not bother even looking into the hotel lenox. Stay somewhere else.

That B&B would put you within walking distance of Cole's & Goodbar. And about 3/4 of a mile from my house!

-rudy

[acromion23]

Thanks for the advice, guys. The trip has been postponed for a few weeks but I'm looking forward to it.

[Gedge]

Hit Premier for the first time yesterday. What an awesome place. Haul was 33 beers, no duty!

Picked up:

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (4)
Brooklyn Winter Ale
Brooklyn East India Pale Ale
Sam Adams Honey Porter
Sam Adams Cherry Wheat
Ithaca Cascazilla
Ithaca Double IPA
Dogfish Head 90 Minute (2)
Dogfish Head Festina Peche
Delerium Noel
Lagunitas Brown Shugga
Lagunitas Cappucino Stout
St. Peter's Golden Ale (2)
Saranac Caramel Porter
Saranac Pomegranate Wheat
Backyard IPA
Southern Tier Choklat
Souther Tier Gemini
Stone Ruination
Stone Double Bastard
St. Bernardus Prior 8
Samuel Smith's India Ale
Belhaven Scottish Ale (2)
Rogue Mocha Porter
Rogue White Crane Bitter Ale
Bam Biere Farmhouse Ale
Hercules Double IPA

Since I was travelling with a group I had to go to Walden Galleria. Not really to my taste. Sad as it sounds, I wandered into the Jack Astor's to kill time and was surprised by their tap list which included a couple of Sam Adams, Blackbird Oatmeal Stout and Southern Tier Phin & Matt's amongst others. Still an obnoxious place, but the decent beer put it a notch above spending the afternoon in Abercrombie & Fitch.

[JesseM]

Still an obnoxious place, but the decent beer put it a notch above spending the afternoon in Abercrombie & Fitch.

hahahhahahhahahaahah

I know exactly what you mean, and I'm part of their core target demographic .

[Belgian]

Haha, I went to Ass Jackster's as well & the food was crap! It was no marinated quail at BeerBistro, that's for sure...

Gedge, the LCBO must really resent you for being at home right now with all that GREAT beer... hope you enjoy!

[Bytowner]

Sorry, I know this is asked all the time, but I'm pretty lazy

How much duty do you end up paying on a beer run (a quick back and forth, no overnight stay)? I saw a table that said $50 worth of alcohol will usually end up being something like $90. Is this right? Going to a wedding at the Falls next month and am getting super excited about a visit to Premier!

[lagerale]

Sorry, I know this is asked all the time, but I'm pretty lazy

How much duty do you end up paying on a beer run (a quick back and forth, no overnight stay)? I saw a table that said $50 worth of alcohol will usually end up being something like $90. Is this right? Going to a wedding at the Falls next month and am getting super excited about a visit to Premier!

Went to Buffulo in July, bought about $65 worth (about 24 bottles, most regular size, few larger) of beer and was charged:
$2.24 in duty,
$4.84 in provincial liquor mark-up
$4.02 in GST,
$8.63 Provincial sales tax (12% on beer)

duty small, tax big.....

[sprague11]

The new Premier is open, but will still be 2-3 weeks before the shelves are fully stocked. Still a handfull of Stone IRS and a couple bottles of Abacus on the shelves, or at least there was yesterday..

[groulxsome]

I spent last week down in Buffalo visiting friends and drinking beer. I'm really going to talk about Resurgence Brewing which opened on June 27, 2014, but first a few general comments.

Most of the west coast stock (Firestone especially) at Premier is kinda getting along in age. Not beyond the “best before” but, you know, lots of stock and moving slowly. I really liked the smaller but fresher and more “curated” options at Village Beer Merchant (on Elmwood, just south of the Blue Monk - I was at the Blue Monk three days in a row...). Pretty much the same selection, but sometimes a lower price here and there and other times fresher bottles than Premier. Great little store worth trying.

Now, Resurgence is over on Niagara and Auburn (not too far from Community Beer Works, who weren't open when I was in the area unfortunately but I had some at the Blue Monk though) in a big old warehouse. The beers are all way above average and the tasting room and brewery were great spaces. They do growler fills and their Dry Hopped (with Wakatu) Kolsch is pretty darned amazing. They are only into their first batches (see pictures), but I think they are worth a visit next time you're down Buffalo way!

Link to photo set (inside and their current beer beer offerings): https://www.flickr.com/photos/76788023@ ... 137089059/

[boney]

I was down in Buffalo last week. Went to Resurgence for the first time. Got there at about 6pm in the pouring rain. It was jam packed. Standing room only. Good to see a start up doing so well. Their capacity is huge for a start up. Had 8 different beers while I was there. All good to well-above average. Their Summer Road Trip IPA is a tropical fruit monster. I'll definitely be back.

Also hit up the usual bottle shops. Saw Premiere had bottles of Oud Beersel Bzart for $70 for a 750. Good God. I don't think I've ever passed up a bottle of lambic, but that was my limit (still want it though, damn it).

[Derek]

That's a great looking space... I'm a bit surprised by that pricing though (being in Buffalo!). On the other hand, I haven't been to buffalo for a few years.