Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - We're in the midst of celebrating American Craft Beer Week, which recognizes and encourages residents across the country to drink local and support small and independent breweries.
In the City of Buffalo and across Western New York, the local craft brewing industry continues to thrive with more than 180 breweries recognized in the region by the Independent Craft Brewers Association. The overall impact of Buffalo's craft beer boom on the local economy has been quite substantial.
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"The Buffalo beer scene is really as vibrant and strong as anywhere in the U.S.," said John Cimperman, owner and founder of 42 North Brewing Company in East Aurora. "We can put our beer and our breweries up against, really, any of the big beer towns, be it Denver or Portland, at this point."
"There are basically a ton of craft breweries in our area now," added Matt Kahn, President and co-founder of Big Ditch Brewing Company in Buffalo. "It's employing a lot of people, it's generating a lot of business and interests. We have people coming to the City to try new beers. Every brewery has a slightly different field, so there's something new and interesting for our guests to experience in every one of our breweries."
Over the last decade plus, a large amount of craft breweries have sprouted across Western New York. With the craft beer scene exploding regionally, Buffalo has jumped up the list of top cities in the United States for craft breweries.
Cimperman feels the rapid growth in local craft breweries has only been a positive for the region, and in multiple ways.
"We opened our doors seven years ago, and everybody thought 42 North was a little late to the game. I think since then there's probably 20 breweries that have opened up since. It's a good thing, because the breweries are creating jobs," he said. "Right now, there's over 2,000 people employed and in the region in the brewing business, and it also drives tourism. There's a great economic impact for people coming to Buffalo, New York to experience the culture, experience the beer, and really gives us a great identity to build around."
As Kahn points out, Buffalo's history has always been united with beer, in one way or another. He feels the positive with more breweries in the region in today's age is every single brewery in operation is truly different from the rest.
"Our brewery has a number of different things to offer, but we also serve food, we have private events. That makes it a little different than maybe a smaller place that focuses on, maybe, just like lagers or a place that focuses on just sour beers or fruited beers," Kahn said. "You can really get a different experience from every one of these breweries. It's not like you're copying the same thing over-and-over again, and I think that's what makes them interesting. It has people excited to visit our City and to visit all these different breweries."
With the large number of breweries locally in Western New York, there could be some concern that with too many breweries, we could eventually see the, so called, "beer bubble" burst.
Kahn says the concept of the "beer bubble" has been around well-before Big Ditch Brewing was open 10-plus years ago. However, the current industry feels it's not so much a bubble to worry about going forward, but rather a plateau.
"Every industry can't grow exponentially for forever, it's got to level off at some point. What that means is when it's leveled off, the number of openings is probably equal to the number of closings," Kahn explained. "That has began to happen in other areas of the country, and maybe even a little bit nationally we're getting there. I think locally, we still have a little ways to go before we hit that, but even still, it's a natural part of business. There can't literally be five breweries on every streets, but there could be one on every street. I expect there to be a little bit of a plateau, but even still, we'll have plenty of breweries, plenty of different options. The customer and consumer will not have a lack of option. They have more options than ever, pretty much. So not a bad thing, just sort of a natural order of things."
As for Cimperman, he feels there could be a saturation point with the number of local craft breweries in the region, but we haven't reached that point just yet.
"If those out there think that the beer business, or the craft beer business is lucrative, I can tell you that's not the case. It's a very capital intensive business, a lot of hard work," he said. "If you take a look at the number of breweries in Buffalo, we have probably, per-capita, as many as a place like Denver, Colorado. I think you've got to take a real careful look at where you would look to open a new brewery, and are you filling a hole, or are you filling demand that would be there? It's something to definitely take a look at over the next couple of years."
At what point could some of these local craft brewers start to feel concerned about the future of the brewing industry in Western New York? While that may be difficult for some local brewers to answer, at this time, both Cimperman and Kahn feel it may be more of what every new brewery is willing to offer.
"I always say, 'Can Buffalo use another brewery?' And my answer is, 'Sure, as long as they're producing great beer.' My concern is if folks got into the industry, they're in it for more of a hobby than a business, and one bad experience with with a craft beer, unfortunately, can have a negative effect on all of us," Cimperman said. "Can we use more great beer in Buffalo? Absolutely. I just want to make sure that we don't dilute it with too many breweries, and too many different beers out there."
"Obviously, we don't want to see any breweries close. I think if you started to see more closings than openings happen, then maybe you would start to think I guess our consumers are getting a little bit tired of craft beer. That's not going to happen any time soon, I'm not concerned with it," Kahn added. "I do think it's important for our local breweries to continue to experiment, diversify their offerings, create their own brands, and provide a unique experience for their guests. I think that will suspend any real issues long-term with the number of breweries in the area."
As for where the local brewing industry stands right now, Cimperman feels coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the business is changing.
"I've talked to a lot of my brewery friends and fellow owners, and everybody is doing well, but they're doing more with less," he said. "And again, the same issues that our friends in the hospitality industry face, which is staffing issues and things of that sort, obviously affect our business as well. So the business did change coming out of the pandemic. A few of our clients - be it bars and restaurants - unfortunately, their doors aren't open anymore. Speaking for 42 North, we've had to be much smarter, much more efficient, and in many ways, do more with less."
Kahn feels the industry is definitely much more mature than it was years ago with the vast array of breweries and all then diversity they all have to offer for local customers. However, he believes the maturing process in Western New York has not reached its peak just yet.
"I know there's still more breweries opening, and still, most of the beer consumed in our area is not craft beer," Kahn said. "It would be, what we sort of refer to in the industry as macro beer, they're made by much larger breweries than us. So we're still working to try to convert some of those macro beer drinkers into local craft beer drinker. We've still got a little ways to go."
So if you happen to find yourself at a restaurant or bar this week, brewers are encouraging people to ask the question, 'What's local?' That's because the beer that's brewed and drank in Buffalo stays local, and helps support many different businesses across the Western New York.
Meanwhile, the celebration of American Craft Beer Week will continue into the weekend with an event at the Knox Farm State Park on Saturday afternoon.
"Full Circle Festival, which really celebrates local breweries with over 20 in attendance, as well as we're really celebrating the sustainability of the industry," Cimperman said. "A lot of our friends from Taste New York, as well as our agricultural partners, will also be on site. So if anybody's looking for a great afternoon to experience craft beer, and learn more about what we all do, I encourage you to join us at Full Circle Festival on Saturday at Knox Park."
Big Ditch Brewing will also be on-hand for this weekend's event in East Aurora, and they will also be present for another craft beer festival coming to Downtown Buffalo next month.
"There is a New York State Craft Brewers Festival coming up at Canalside in June. There are tickets available right now if you go to the New York State Brewers' Association's website, ThinkNYDrinkNY.com," Kahn said. "This has the best of what our local breweries have to offer all in one place, at a fantastic location at Canalside. So everybody should hopefully try to check that out, go get tickets and see what we're all about."