Your weekly rundown from the Buffalo Niagara Brewers Association on what’s happening locally in the beer scene.

The collective craft beer minds of the Buffalo-Niagara region will showcase their true brewing acumen at the first ever Buffalo Niagara Brewers Invitational, which will features scores of rare, one-off and specialty beers brewed right here at home. The inaugural BNBI will take place April 2 at Pettibones Grille, 2-5pm. Beer from all 20 BNBA member breweries, as well as 10 additional regional breweries, will be available. The tentative beer list can be found at Buffaloniagarabrewersassociation.org, while a very limited number of tickets ($39 presale, $45 day of), which also include food, are on sale now at the Buffalo Bisons Box Office, Buffaloniagarabrewersassociation.org, Tickets.com, all Consumer’s Beverages locations, Premier Gourmet, Kegworks, and most local breweries.

 Woodcock Brothers Brewery 
638 Lake St, Wilson​

Woodcock Brothers Brewery are set to launch their first canned beer, the 5.5% ABV Niagara Lager. The newly canned offering will be available for purchase at the brewery starting March 12 and will be distributed throughout Western New York soon after. Two exclusive beers were also recently tapped at the Wilson, New York brewery: XPA 5.0, brewed and dry-hopped with Mosaic, Equinox, and Amarillo hops; and Smoked Maple Porter, made with local maple syrup from Wooly Acres Maple Farm in Holland, New York. Woodcock is also preparing for the launch of their Barrel-Aged Belgian Rye Ale, made in collaboration with Leonard Oakes Estate Winery. This Belgian rye is brewed with Brettanomyces and tart cherries and aged in oak wine barrels. The official release date is yet to be announced.

 Artisanal Brewing Ventures 

Southern Tier Brewing Company has announced a new alliance with Downingtown, Pennsylvania-based Victory Brewing Company, which will operate under parent company Artisanal Brewing Ventures (which STBC formed in 2014). Under the new arrangement, the two breweries will continue to operate independently but marketing, sales, and distribution forces will be combined to increase scale and expand distributor and retail partnerships. Plans also call for Southern Tier’s John Coleman to lead ABV and Victory’s Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet to become ABV shareholders and board members. Southern Tier’s Pennsylvania connection doesn’t end there as they plan to open a new satellite brewery and taproom in Pittsburgh on North Shore Drive, within walking distance of PNC Park and Heinz Field. The new space will also feature a 10,000-square-foot outdoor beer garden.

The Public’s weekly beer column is a collaboration with the Buffalo Niagara Brewers Association.