If you’re familiar with the local brewing scene, and you’ve been keeping your ears to the ground, then you might have heard rumblings of the Holy Grail of all Buffalo beers making its return. Yes, Iroquois Beer is heading back into production. It took a perfect storm of a member of the brewing legacy’s return trek back to Buffalo, combined with an energized local brewing scene to ignite the sparks that are bringing the region’s famed workingman’s beer back to life.
While Iroquois Beer might have faded into relative obscurity, after the brewery shuttered its doors in 1971, literal signs of life continue to adorn local bars and restaurants to this day. The iconic “Indian head” logo can be spotted all over the city, as the beer was once considered “Buffalo’s beer”. It’s almost as if Buffalo has been awaiting the return of this legendary brew, by keeping its name and spirit alive in the form of neon signs, clocks, beer trays, etc.
Now, Community Beer Works will be the brewery officially responsible for breathing life back into the Buffalo brand, along with a member of the longstanding Iroquois brewing family (the great grandson of brewery president William Weigel) that kept the original dream alive for so long.
On Thursday, February 1, the public is invited to an Iroquois Beverage Co. Launch Party at Hotel Henry, from 5pm to 9pm.
In the meantime, you can visit the Iroquois website at iribeer.com. Also stay tuned to the Facebook event page.