I’m not sure I’ve been this excited about something beer related happening in Buffalo since the world-renowned Shelton Brothers Festival at the Central Terminal in 2019 – one of the best (and my favorite) breweries in the world, Other Half, is continuing its NYS takeover and opening a beer garden in Buffalo’s very own Seneca One Tower!
This is BIG news for the beer scene in Buffalo. If you fancy yourself a “beer geek”, then I don’t need to tell you how respected Other Half is, not only across the country, but the world. Known for their being the East coast kings of the hazy IPA, utilizing lactose and oats like no other in their oat cream IPAs, and their creative, complex stouts that have you wondering if what you’re drinking is classified as a desert or beer – they’re ready to bring their wonderful, boozy concoctions right into our own backyard at Seneca One Tower.
Other Half, which started in Brooklyn and has since opened locations outside of the Finger Lakes and Washington D.C., is staking their claim in WNY now with a beer garden debuting in the heart of downtown Buffalo. A true blessing for a guy like me who has traveled far and wide for their beer. I mean, I was ecstatic when they opened Other Half Finger Lakes, cutting my six-hour commute to Brooklyn down about five-hours, so to now cut another 45 minutes out of the trip makes my beer excursions that much easier. It’s not the first time Other Half’s been available here in Buffalo, with a long history of mobile can/bottle releases (where my OG Wangies at Thin Man release crew??) and tap takeovers, they’re finally planting permanent roots in our city.
And yes, I have made the overnight trek from Buffalo to the streets of Brooklyn for multiple Other Half releases. Get there around 2 A.M. (sometimes earlier for more sought after releases) and waited in my foldout camp chair, most of the time in freezing temperatures, waiting for the doors to open and the line to start moving. We’d load up mountains of beer, some for us but most for friends, into the car and head back to the tap room nestled across from McDonald’s for a quick draft pour of some of the dankest beer out there…WELL THOSE DAYS ARE LONG GONE FOLKS!
Can you tell I’m excited? I hope you are too because this is a big deal and an incredible addition to the BOOMING Buffalo beer scene. The official opening is tomorrow at the already incredible Seneca One Tower (1 Seneca St, Buffalo, NY 14203) from 11 A.M. – 7 P.M. with an elite lineup of brews sure to draw in a lot of positive attention. Whether your looking for a watering hole before the Bisons game or just in the mood to have your taste buds carpet bombed with hops on a Saturday afternoon – it’s pretty much a must stop spot tomorrow. And don’t worry, there’s no insane dress codes lol.
Like I said, the line up of beers for on-site consumption or 4-packs on-the-go is incredible. My mouth is salivating and my bank account weeping in preparation for tomorrow. Hope you like IPAs (and if you don’t, these might be the ones to convert you to the hop side) because this is tomorrow’s slate of available brews:
- Laid Back Sour Peach IPA (6.0%) – Laid Back is back. Crushed with peaches, Tahitian vanilla, and milk sugar, hopped with Citra, Galaxy, and Motueka hops. $20 per 4 pack. 4.20 Untappd Rating.
- DDH Vapor Ringz Imperial Oat Cream IPA (8.4%) – Brewed with 2-row, wheat, and oats. Crushed with Citra, Galaxy and Nelson Sauvin hops and a hint of milk sugar. $20 per 4 pack. 4.43 Untapped Rating.
- DDH Stacks IPA (5.8%) – This hoppy double dry hopped IPA is stacked high with our hand selected Citra, Mosaic and El Dorado hops. $18 per 4 pack. 4.07 Untapped Rating.
- DDH Bagel and Schmear IPA (7.5%) – That Everything Citra/Nelson Sauvin/El Dorado bagel with an extra schmear. No lactose. $18 per 4 pack. 4.16 Untappd Rating.
- DDH Broccoli’s Axe collaboration with Fidens Imperial IPA (8.5%) – We finally got together and brewed with the crew at Fiden’s and mashed up two classic Fiden’s and Other Half styles to create Broccoli’s Axe. Brewed with the hops we use for Broccoli, and then dry-hopped with the ones that Fiden’s uses for Eugene’s Axe, the result is a mix of Mosaic, Simcoe, Hallertau Blanc, Cascade, Citra and Galaxy. Capitol region, keep a lookout for a companion drop coming soon! $20 per 4 pack. New, no rating but early reviews are very good.
- DDH Oh… Forever Imperial IPA (8.0%) – crushed with Citra, Galaxy and Motueka. $20 per 4 pack. 4.33 Untappd Rating.
- DDH Multi-Chroma IPA (6.3%) – A blend of some of our favorite Chroma hops. Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin, Motukea and Simcoe. Big complex flavors. $18 per 4 pack. 4.33 Untappd Rating.
- Wave Frequency IPA (7.5%) – A steady interval of hop explosion will wash over you. Hopped with heavy doses of Galaxy, Simcoe and NZ Wai-iti. $16 per 4 pack. 4.14 Untappd Rating.
- Daydreamin’ on 5 & 20 Imperial Oat Cream IPA (10.0%) – Made for those days you just want to check out. Packed with Galaxy, Citra, Citra Cryo, Sabro, Simcoe Cryo and Ekuanot and balanced with a big dose of oats and a pinch of milk sugar. $22 per 4 pack. 4.28 Untappd Rating.
- DDH Double Galaxy Chroma IPA (6.3%) – Galaxy is the star here with notes of guava, citrus and some passion fruit. $18 per 4 pack. 4.15 Untappd Rating.
- Deer Gauntlet Imperial IPA (8.4%) – Hopped with Mosaic and Galaxy and then dry hopped with Galaxy, Riwaka and Bru-1. $20 Per 4 pack. 4.20 Untappd Rating.
Uhhh yeah, that’s A LOT of REALLY good beer within a short drive (or walk) for most of us in Western New York starting tomorrow. I’ll be there around opening doing…umm…”quality control” on their lineup before the Blue Jay’s game and am expecting it to be wild! If you’ve never had a fresh Other Half beer, or just looking for a nice spot to spend your Saturday, look no further.
Other Half is the first brewery that I was introduced to in the “non-distributed” (brewery only releases, ect.) world of craft beer and immediately had me hooked. From those long, dreadful mornings in Brooklyn to cracking magnums and chugging with them at Shelton, they’ve always been one of my favorites. They introduced me into this world and have been in my cup ever since, so I really can’t wait for tomorrow. Big shout out to the folks at Seneca One for getting this done with OH, the already high bar for WNY craft beer has officially been raised.
