Flying Bison is back to its old self, cranking out tasty brews for eager hopheads from its West Side brewery. Yesterday, upon arrival, cases of beer stacked on pallets and wrapped in plastic were making their way onto trucks from the warehouse dock.
The brewery shop–really just a counter with taps located inside the warehouse–has been serving up kegs and filling growlers with classic Flying Bison beer since the brewery’s reopening. But another treat awaits thirsty travelers–soda. While some may argue that a handmade soda pales in comparison to the beauty of a well made ale, in this case, I disagree.
The man behind the craft soda is Colin Herzog, who cites his official title at Flying Bison as “brew monkey” and has been in the employ of the microbrewery for nearly three years. His dalliances into the world of handcrafted soda have brought a variety of flavors to the FB taps, including root beer, orange cream, strawberry shortcake and today’s revelation–ginger. I stopped by to pick some up, thinking it would make a cute post, and that the experience would be similar to the experience I have had with root beers, birch beers and cream sods brewed by other microbreweries. Nice and tasty, maybe even fun, but just that, really. I was wrong.
Flying Bison’s ginger soda would make any chef proud. Delicate carbonation gives this soda super a mouthfeel that is subtle and refreshing. The soda itself, flavored with real ginger, fresh hot peppers from Herzog’s own garden, and dash of cinnamon is complex and unlike any other soda I can recall. The flavors this combination of ingredients provides is sweet and a little spicy, with a quiet perfumy note imparted by the cinnamon that is only really noticed on the soft palate after swallowing. The heat, which varies throughout the drinking experience and comes from both the peppers and the spice of the ginger, is very enjoyable.
At Flying Bison, sodas are typically brewed in preparation for the weekend, a busy time at the brewery. Recently, they’ve been selling out, as only a single five gallon batch is made at any one time. It seems FB fans have figured out that some of this tasty ginger soda is the perfect mixer for dark rum. I may have to try that.
“Craft soda has a certain amount of integrity–it’s different and more interesting than regular soda,” Herzog told me as he filled my growler.
He’s right about that. I love gourmet sodas, and enjoy sampling odd and new flavors. Flying Bisons’s ginger soda is a great example of why small batches of handcrafted soda can be worth a trip to the brewery all on their own. A growler of soda from Flying Bison is only $5. In my mind it is worth every penny if you’re looking for something fun and tasty to quench your thirst (or maybe improve your weekend happy hour).
Flying Bison
491 Ontario Street
Buffalo, NY 14207
(716) 873-1557
Retail Hours:
Thursday – Noon to 6pm
Friday – Noon to 7pm
Saturday 11am – 4pm