Will Cleveland

@WillCleveland13

The Buffalo craft beer scene is bustling. Just like Rochester, its upstate cousin to the east, Buffalo is experiencing major beer growth.

But unlike Rochester, some of those new Buffalo breweries are huge. (Or at least huge in terms of craft beer, but obviously smaller when compared to something like the Genesee Brewery. And a lot of that will change in the coming months when breweries such as Three Heads and Stoneyard move into massive new spaces.) A few feature 20-barrel systems and another just opened with a 30-barrel system.

The majority of the breweries that have opened in this area feature smaller systems and plans for neighborhood acceptance, not regional dominance. There is clearly quite a bit of money and equal amounts of passion and know-how. I made the quick 75-minute drive to Buffalo in early February and was able to hit up four breweries. I wanted to visit more, but that's just an excuse to go back there soon.

Here's the road map for my Buffalo beer day trip (and a few quick notes on places I've been to, and enjoyed, on previous trips):

Williamsville is like the Pittsford of the Buffalo area. It's where a journalist like me likes to go when I want to feel more important than I really am. 12 Gates Brewing is one of the newer kids in the Buffalo brewing scene. The brewery opened in the last three months and features a massive 30-barrel brew house with 60-barrel fermenters.

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The tasting room feels like a medieval meeting room. It's cozy and compact. The beers were solid and there was clearly room for improvement. The hoppy beers didn't have the balance that I normally seek out, but I have little doubt that the beers will improve as the kinks are ironed out with such a huge brewing system. I did, however, enjoy the White Ale and Coffee Porter, and will definitely be stopping there again in the future.

Big Ditch was the biggest surprise for me. Located in the heart of the city, it's an absolutely gorgeous space. It's wide open and housed in a former Verizon fleet maintenance facility at Ellicott and Huron streets. The huge windows provide a great way to soak in the city. I've tried to visit on a few occasions, including dinner time on a Saturday, and haven't been able to find parking. But hitting this place early in the afternoon, my travel companion and I were able to walk right in and grab a spot at the corner of the bar, which provided an optimal angle for insanely great people watching.

The service was wonderful and attentive. Co-founder Matt Kahn was even nice enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to give us a private tour of the space. I've always maintained that it's the people that make craft beer special, and Big Ditch is a perfect example of this.

We split two flights and were able to sample the majority of the beers on the menu. We really loved the super juicy, unfiltered awesomeness of the Deep Cut double IPA (so much so that we brought a growler home). The Fall Black was a really nice Schwarzbier, a German black lager, which is a style I wish more breweries would tackle. And the Vanilla Oatmeal Stout was another winner. With tasty food, wonderful downtown surroundings and great beer, Big Ditch was an ideal afternoon pit stop. We will definitely be back.

Readers of my work know my affinity for Community Beer Works. I think it's the best brewery in Buffalo, and it certainly ranks among my handful of upstate favorites. The Lafayette Street brewery is a must-visit every time I find myself in Buffalo. I'm a huge fan of its community-based philosophy (as shown in its "Embeer Buffalo" slogan).

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I'm always amazed at the variety at CBW, which utilizes a tiny 1.5-barrel (47-gallon) brewing system. The Whale, one of CBW's flagship beers, stands as one of my favorite local beers, one of those desert island beers that I would gladly consume every day. The Whale is an easy-drinking, English-leaning brown ale. It boasts great malt complexity and truly evolves as it warms. I'm also a huge fan of CBW's rotating Singularity series of IPAs. It presents a great opportunity to learn about different hop varieties that might be foreign to us.

CBW nails just about every style and it is poised to blow up in a big way when it moves into a bigger facility in the near future.

One of my favorite parts of going to CBW? Chatting with brewery co-founder/President Ethan Cox. He's unquestionably the most interesting man in western New York craft beer. He's genuine and very, very funny. He's also very unfiltered and not afraid to talk about the politics, history and process of beer. I always love conversing with him.

Resurgence, located just a block from CBW, is one of the newer breweries leading Buffalo's craft revival. Like Big Ditch, Resurgence has a beautiful space. It's got an old warehouse vibe crossed with a German beer garden aesthetic. The glassed roof and open feel are inviting. It's also cool that the brewing space is out in the open. I like how the walls between the drinking patrons and the brewers have been removed. In the summer, there's a great outdoor beer garden with a gorgeous fire pit.

I believe the beers have improved significantly since RBC opened in June 2014. I've been there four times in that span, but I've yet to be wowed. The IPAs, including the flagship, have all been solid, but there is a slightly off-putting mustiness or bluntness in the finish. I've experienced that with a lot of its beers. (Keep in mind, this is just my personal taste and my palate. I know others who have really enjoyed the RBC hoppy offerings, especially in the newly canned version.) My visit last month was much the same. I did, however, come away satisfied with the darker beers. The Peter B. Porter featured a nice amount of peanut buttery goodness, but I wish the body was a little more robust. The Totes McOats oatmeal stout was a winner.

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Other places to check out

Located inside Gene McCarthy's Pub (but technically housed in a nondescript white garage-style building behind the bar), Old First Ward is the brewing arm of the comfortable neighborhood bar. The beers are super solid and the food is that great mix of home-style pub food. I'm a huge fan (and wish we had time to make another pilgrimage to McCarthy's this trip). The newest batch of OFW's Streaker pale ale was clean and had a nice pineapple juiciness.

Mike Shatzel's Buffalo empire

Shatzel is the undisputed king of Buffalo beer. He has ownership stakes in many of the area's best-known beer destinations, including Blue Monk, Coles, Moor Pat, and Allen Burger Venture. He's even in the process of opening his own brewery on Elmwood Avenue called Thin Man. Moor Pat, in Williamsville, is my favorite of his establishments. There is always an insane tap list there, including some downstate rarities that we never see in Rochester. You really can't go wrong at any of his places.

WCLEVELAND@Gannett.com