Could Buffalo’s micro brewery scene be the answer to ‘mega-region connectivity’, between the Queen City on the Lake and nearby cities such as Rochester and Hamilton? For years, we have been trying to figure out ways to strengthen the local economy by embracing a broader scope of inclusion. Now that Buffalo’s micro brewery landscape is getting stronger, we’re beginning to see people from further and further away paying visits to this city to experience the brewing successes first hand. Not only are more people coming to Buffalo to tour the breweries, our brewers are taking on emissary roles in other cities. That is especially the case when it comes to beer festivals.
A highly regarded brewery in Hamilton, Ont., Collective Arts Brewing, has announced that it is rolling out a new festival in 2018 that will bring 50+ international brewers, musicians, and artists together for two days. The event is called Liquid Art Festival, and Buffalo will be represented by Thin Man Brewery. A shuttle will run from Collective Arts Brewing to Thin Man throughout the weekend.
Confirmed breweries include Brewski (Sweden), Codeo (Japan), Dry & Bitter (Denmark), Edge (Spain), Founders (Michigan), Four Winds (British Columbia), Graft Cider (New York), Kex (Iceland), Magic Rock (UK), Marz (Illinois), Sloop (New York), Stillwater (New York), To øL (Denmark), Two Roads (Connecticut), Thin Man (New York) , Threes (New York), Transient (Michigan), Wild Beer (UK) and many more to be announced.
“Each brewery will feature a range of rare and unique beers, most of which will have never been available in Canada before” explains Collective Arts Brewing co-founder Matt Johnston.
This festival is the perfect invitation for Buffalonians to explore Hamilton, while getting familiar with breweries from all over the world. Beer has become a universal language that has the ability to bring us all a little closer together. It’s great to see Hamilton stepping up to host this festival – it’s also great to see that Buffalo will be represented by at least one brewery. Hopefully this festival will be one of many to come, that will help to unite these two cities that have so much in common.
The festival will be held outside the Collective Arts Brewery on June 15 and 16, 2018. It will include three sessions with tickets starting at $34 per session. The festival will feature emerging art, art galleries, live wall art, screen printing, live music, buskers, food trucks, an exclusive beer dinner, and an international bottle shop. Pre-sale tickets will be available December 21, at 5 p.m. EST at liquidartbrewfest.com.
Mega-region: TorBuffChesterTon Falls