The Bar Towel

I've answered my own question (somewhat):

This page:
http://www.buffalocentralterminal.org/events.html

Has the following:

2006 Event Schedule-snip-
Buffalo Brewfest - September 16, 2pm-6pm - Come spend the afternoon tasting beer from local brewerys, food, entertainment and more. http://buffalobrewfest.com/

The actual brewfest website is still the same horrible circa-1995 html site they've always had, and it still has the 2005 info on it... Hmph... If this is happening, let's try to get a bus organized or something!

I have attended this event and can atest to how they really do things differently in the States. You pay one price and just drink what and how much you want. Its fun, but think on a small scale compared to that madhouse they call the Toronto Beerfest. It's nice to see a different viewpoint as to brewing.

It's crazy and yes they even tailgate in the parking lot of the Pier. I still don't know where they got that TV they were destroying with a golf club.

The Buffalo Central Terminal is jaw-droppingly georgous. I am SO excited that they have decided to hold the event there.

The building itself was (and in many respects still is) in pretty poor shape. A lot of work has been done in the last decade or so and they've started opening it up for events.

As the token Buffalonian I'm proud that those of you who come down will get to see this magnificent building. I'm a geek when it comes to my city and I feel that places like The Central Terminal represent the best of what Buffalo was and, with the recent rehabilitation, a beacon of hope for what my city can be.

I'll stop gushing now but go and check out the gallery at http://www.buffalocentralterminal.org/

Plus they've finally decided to host the event somewhre accessable by public transit!

-rudy

P.S. - Spencer Tunick recently did a shoot there. You can check out one of the photos from the main hall at http://www.i-20.com/images/works/w447.jpg -- Please note that the hundreds of naked people probably won't be present at the beerfest

I was always hoping there would be future beer events held downtown. I am huge fan of the B-Lo (as we call it) and more a fan of 'Jim's Steakout'.

It always struck me as odd that the event was not accessible via public transit. Sounds as though they are pushing things in the right direction. Thats good to hear.

Buffalo has a great downtown but seems to suffer the sam esort of fate as many American cities. The downtown suffers as the suburbs are bulit up (Damn Power Centres) with TGIFs and Home Depots, leaving great architecture and urban planning to rot.

FYI - Update to the web site:

http://www.buffalobrewfest.com/

Sept 16th, 2:00-7:00pm.

Also found this:

"Tickets are $20 and available soon at Wegmans, Consumers, Premier Gourmet, Pizza Plant, Buffalo Brew Pub, Alternative Brews, and some funky brewery in Riverside. We will have real food from Ulrich's and the Pizza Plant so far. All the money from the fest goes to Buffalo Hearing and Speech and the Central Terminal Restoration Fund."

here:
http://www.buffalorising.com/yum/archiv ... 8print.php

Just call me Mr. Google...

Hey Guys - Just a 'BUMP', the website is now updated, lots of info, including brewers... I'm planning to hit this and prob. stay the night in Buffalo...

http://www.buffalobrewfest.com

Can anyone figure out how to buy tickets online for this?

I'm pretty sure we were able to in years past... maybe not this year?

-Josh

I'm thinking of going to this ... has anyone been before? Is it a decent beer fest or just a crappy frat house party like the Toronto one?

MattB wrote:I'm thinking of going to this ... has anyone been before? Is it a decent beer fest or just a crappy frat house party like the Toronto one?

Its a good fest - I'm not drooling about the list of brewers coming but thats because I live in Buffalo and have daily access to most of their wares. They make, for the most part, very solid brews.

I've been the last two years and the crowd has been well behaved. There are always one or two idiots but they'll be in any crowd. For the most part it is people walking around, enjoying beer and the company of other beer lovers.

Unfortunately I don't see a way to purchase tickets on-line. If I find a link I'll post it to this thread.

Cheers,
rudy

Anyone heading down to this? I'm going on Saturday morning and staying the night.

Yup, it looks like we're going, just finalizing plans now and booking a room - we're going real upscale - MOTEL 6 baby! Ha! BTW - I called Consumer Beverages in Buffalo he still has tickets left, doesn't figure he'll sell out, so if you haven't got tix yet, maybe plan to head there (they open at 9am), and get them $20 instead of $25 at the door.

http://www.consumersbeverages.com/

FYI - I think Publican is going too...

JWalter wrote:Yup, it looks like we're going, just finalizing plans now and booking a room - we're going real upscale - MOTEL 6 baby! Ha! BTW - I called Consumer Beverages in Buffalo he still has tickets left, doesn't figure he'll sell out, so if you haven't got tix yet, maybe plan to head there (they open at 9am), and get them $20 instead of $25 at the door.

http://www.consumersbeverages.com/

FYI - I think Publican is going too...

FWIW, the only motel 6's I can think of in the area are relatively far from the venue. Assuming that you're going to cab it back to the hotel after the fest you may actually save money by getting a hotel downtown because you'll be spending so much less on transportation.



-rudy

Anyone thinking of going for the day? Might be a good idea to carpool.

rudolf wrote:FWIW, the only motel 6's I can think of in the area are relatively far from the venue. Assuming that you're going to cab it back to the hotel after the fest you may actually save money by getting a hotel downtown because you'll be spending so much less on transportation.
-rudy

I think you might be right, but most of the hotels in downtown are around $100+/night vs. Motel 6 at $50/night. Cab ride looks to be around $30... What discount hotels can you recommend in the area?

I can't offer specific suggestions, but my wife and I flew out of Buffalo to Boston a couple of months ago and got a good deal on a hotel through PriceLine.

We paid $45 US for a night at the Airport Millenium Hotel: the hotel website lists rooms starting at $150 US. It wasn't fancy, but it was a good deal for us... maybe you'll luck out on it.