WNY craft: It’s a recipe fit for quieter times at these popular watering holes

By Scott Scanlon
(Image above: Dennis Brinkworth, a beer industry expert steeped in the idea that bike rides and run clubs are good for the bottom line at breweries and taprooms, leads a monthly run from Cole’s tavern in Elmwood Village. “We do Delaware Park, Forest Lawn, Richmond Avenue, take them up and down the parkways,” he says. “We go everywhere, give them a full tour.” Photo courtesy of Dennis Brinkworth.)

Mary Schultz and Jenny Keenan have run together at least four mornings a week for many years.

“We’re running a workout or trying to get a pace,” said Keenan, a high school math teacher and vice president of Checkers Athletic Club.

That changes on Wednesday evenings, when the two join dozens of other runners at Resurgence Brewing Company to head out on 4- or 5-mile routes through Buffalo neighborhoods.

“Here, you’re just catching up with friends,” Schultz said after a run this week. “How’s your injury coming? What race are you doing next? Where are you going on vacation? Here, you recharge, re-energize.”

The two women are not alone in such a pursuit, nor is Resurgence the only drinking establishment to welcome fitness buffs for carb-loading.

Hundreds of people in at least 11 running and biking groups take off regularly from breweries, taverns and taprooms across Western New York.

It helps fill what otherwise might be fallow time for those establishments, while providing physical and social activity for those who attend.  

“Beer is the drink that brings people together,” said John Cimperman, managing partner at 42 North Brewing Company in East Aurora, which hosts a Tuesday night biking excursion and Thursday night run.

Running and biking are two of several activities that help draw drinkers. Live music, comedy and magic shows, and trivia, cornhole and euchre games are among others.

Big Ditch Brewing Company in Buffalo has played home for four years to a monthly Monday night run club.

“It’s a nice community event and also makes use of our space on a slower night,” said Matt Kahn, president and co-founder of the brewery.

Melina Terranova, owner of Next Level Running, organizes the effort, which, like similar outings elsewhere, is free. She lobbied for the gig four years ago when her husband, Mike, was Big Ditch marketing director.

Terranova, who has run 23 marathons, trains others who look to improve distance running or add to their personal training regimen at IMPACT Sports Performance in HarborCenter. Her training runs are more instructive and structured.

Some of her clients also attend the Big Ditch outings, which are more relaxed, especially after the running stops.

Drink and food discounts await participants upon their return.

For Terranova, that means Day Burner, a lighter, lower-ABV version of the region’s most popular craft beer, Hayburner IPA.

“It’s a different vibe to be at a brewery,” she said. “It’s a fun way to meet some new runners and have a little overlap, kind of mixing of my worlds in a way.”

The Big Ditch outings are organized but informal, like most in the region. Some go year-round. Hers starts in mid-spring and continues into early fall.

Also typical: Participants can find maps online for upcoming routes online or get a printout when they arrive.

“I always have 3- and 4-mile routes planned, and I rotate different routes month-to-month, so we see different parts of the city,” Terranova said. “Sometimes we go down by the Canalside waterfront area, sometimes up into Allentown. Some people just come and walk, or want to run and walk, and go a little shorter. I always have a shortcut option if you want to do more like 2 miles.”

Leader of the pack

Dennis Brinkworth ran with the idea of brewery-based “active lifestyle events” when he worked with Flying Bison Brewing Company founder Tim Herzog to launch yoga and fitness classes, along with a running club, six years ago at the Larkinville brewery.

Brinkworth, 65, fast became the dean of Western New York taproom-based running.

He is a market manager who helps grow FX Matt brands, including Saranac, Flying Dog, Utica Club and Lake Placid, along with Right Coast Spirits and McKenzie’s Hard Cider.

The brands included Flying Bison until the Utica-based beverage-maker sold the brand and its beer recipies last November to Hamburg Brewing Company. The sale came near the dawn of the latest experimental phase in the worldwide alcoholic beverage industry.

Beer sales fell during the last two years, though low- and no-alcohol options gained ground, especially among younger drinkers. Seltzers became popular, mostly with the younger set, too.

THC seltzers became particularly intriguing in the age of legalized pot, which is why FX Matt chose to keep ownership of the former Flying Bison brewery. It’s now a potential site for the company’s THC seltzer manufacturing.

Meanwhile, Brinkworth helps promote Saranac’s Weekend Warrior, a 3 percent ABV mid-strength craft beer, with an active lifestyle event he calls the Urban Run Series.

He’s taken it from the Buffalo region, where he lives, to most major cities across New York State, working with running groups for events that include a pre-run yoga-style stretch, running shoe demonstration, run and after-party.

A gain for runners

Runners who once set off from Flying Bison on Wednesday evenings now do so from Resurgence as part of the Urban Run Series. A monthly Saturday morning run out of Cole’s tavern in the Elmwood Village is part of the mix, too.

“My best market is Metro New York,” Brinkworth said, “and Albany is really strong for us. We do it in Utica, too. We have a huge beer garden there (at FX Matt brewing headquarters).”

The idea has also rubbed off in several taprooms and taverns in Western New York, including Magic Bear Beer Cellar, a stone’s throw across Seneca Street from the former Flying Bison.

Owner Craig Altobello said he hoped to keep some of the participants from the former running group based there who often stopped at his place after runs because they liked the greater diversity of beer, seltzer, cider and mead brands, as well as the longer hours.

He put out a call on social media last spring seeking would-be run club leaders to take groups from his five-year-old taproom. Nine people volunteered.

Runners and walkers of all abilities leave when the weather cooperates at noon Saturdays and 6 p.m. Tuesdays, traversing a rotating mix of routes through and around Larkinville. Afterward, they get 16-ounce pours for the 13-ounce price, $1 off cans for on-site consumption and $3 off to go, and 10 percent off any food item.

The specials are worth it.

“For a slower day like Tuesday, it has definitely increased sales,” Altobello said, “but also it’s made Magic Bear a little bit more lively on what’s typically more of an off day.”

DJ Trivia is Altobello’s most popular activity, packing his digs on Thursday nights. Magic Bear also touts regular euchre, beer tasting classes and collaboration release and tasting nights. The next tasting night runs from 5 to 7 p.m. July 31, with the release of RaspBEARy Peach Tea Mead by Lilly Belle Meads.

Twenty runners or more showed up for Tuesday night runs in the spring. The Saturday numbers are generally half that, with more walkers, including some who bring dogs.

Participation has fallen this summer, but Altobello believes it will rebound as fall nears.

“I’ve always noticed that the best events I have are ones that foster community,” Altobello said. “This has been a nice little addition to our weekly programming.”

BEER AND EXERCISE

Running

Big Ditch Brewing Company
55 East Huron St., Buffalo
Its run club heads out of its downtown taproom at 6 p.m. on the second Monday of every month through September, with post-run food and drink specials. Learn more here.

Fattey Beer Company
3116 Delaware Ave., Kenmore
Fleet Feet Pub Run Series social run and walk starts at 6 p.m. the first Thursday through September. The first post-workout beer is on the footwear and apparel store. Special guest Aug. 6 is Saucony; the season finale Sept. 3 includes demo shoes to try on the route, as well as raffle prizes. Learn more here.


Magic Bear Beer Cellar
799 Seneca St., Suite B, Buffalo
The club welcomes runners of all levels and sets off at noon Saturdays and 6 p.m. Tuesdays on diverse routes in and around Larkinville. Learn more here.

Mr. Goodbar
1110 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo
Sessioneers Run Club meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Choose distance, pace and when you’re done. Learn more here.

Urban Runs Buffalo
Hosts the year-round Urban Run Series Buffalo at 6 p.m. Wednesdays at Resurgence Brewing Company, 55 Chicago St., Buffalo, with 5-mile routes in the Old First Ward and city waterfront, and $5 post-run pints, ciders and seltzers. Also hosts one Saturday run each month through the Elmwood Village from Cole’s Buffalo, 1104 Elmwood Ave., with beer and food specials. Learn more here. Resurgence also will host Run 716, a 15K race and relay, for the first time on Aug. 2.

BIKING

42 North Brewing Company
The Tuesday Night Riding Collective goes out from the brewery at 6 p.m. Tuesdays for 30 miles or more. Bring bike lights. To sign up and learn more, click here.

Chandler Street Breweries
166 Chandler St., Buffalo
The Chandler Street Run Club heads out on two Thursday night rides each month at 6:30 p.m. each month. Run club participants get a free beer afterward. Upcoming dates include July 30, Aug. 13 and 27, Sept. 10 and 24, and Oct 8. Rides run 1 to 5 miles.

Sign up required here.

Slow Roll Buffalo
Its Monday night rides set off and return from key Buffalo landmarks, including the Chandler Street Breweries on Sept. 28, Buffalo Olde Brewery on Oct. 5 and the last of the 2026 season at Briar Brothers Brewery on Oct. 12. See a full schedule here.

Rusty Nickel Brewing Company
4350 Seneca St., West Seneca
WNY Bikes welcomes riders to set out promptly at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays. Learn more here.

Wayland Brewing Company
3740 N. Buffalo St., Orchard Park
The Buffalo Bicycling Club hosts Thursday and Sunday group road rides through October from the brewery, with Wayland offering food and drink deals for riders afterward. Reach out on Instagram @716cyclist for times, distances and to learn more.

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Email Scott@WNYcraft.com if we missed your run or ride and we’ll add it.

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NEWS AND EVENTS

Wayland Brewing Company opens second location: The Orchard Park Brewery opened a taproom July 9 at 11 W. Main St., in the village of Lancaster, former site of Lilly Belle Meads in the village of Lancaster. Food partner Buffalo Bros Burgers joined them. Lilly Belle closed last December and moved production into Rusty Nickel Brewing Company in West Seneca, and continues offer its beverages to taproom, retail and online customers.

Cocktail Classes in the Barrel Room: Each class focuses on a different aspect of cocktails, starting with the basics and moving on to the hands-on design phase. Two cocktails and light app included. A cocktail class with your pup and two Jimmy Buffett cocktail classes are on tap in August, starting at $42.62. Click here for tickets.

Popular taproom to close: The Beer Keep, at 1002 Elmwood Ave., will close after a five-year run on July 28, with one final rager yesterday (July 25). “Keep memories,” the owners encouraged patrons online, “even if it’s a struggle to piece them together.” They expressed gratitude to those folks, as well as a dedicated staff.