A cold beer on a hot summer day is a welcome treat. Buffalo,
N.Y. was once a hot bed of brewing activity. In honor of this
fact and to coincide with the upcoming Brewfest, we present some
Buffalo brewing history… In 1811 Joseph Webb established the
first brewery in Black Rock, NY just a few miles north of what
was then Buffalo Creek (now Buffalo, NY). By 1813 his brewery
was most likely burned by the British along with the rest of
Black Rock. By 1850 there were some 500 taverns and gaming
houses in Buffalo. A story published in the Buffalo Daily
Courier on January 7, 1856 said there were 2,243 arrests for the
year, 1,792 of which were chargeable to drunkeness and
disorderly conduct. 1875 was the year that Buffalo boasted its
highest number of breweries–38! The 1880′s saw the formation of
several unions: Brewers Union, Local No. 7, Maltsters Union
Local No. 59, and the Beer Barrel Coopers Union Local No. 93. By
1893 there were 2,512 saloons, 150 hotels, 129 stores and 97
boarding houses where one could buy bee