Flying Bison Brewing Company - Buffalo IPA

Flying Bison’s newest offering pours an attractive hazy orange capped with a creamy head. On the nose it engaged us right away with a sweetly fruity, floral character overlaying nice caramel malt notes. The Galaxy hops with which this beer was dry-hopped are an Australian variety known for citrus and passionfruit aromas, and indeed, the tropical fruit and mild citrus impression that this beer offers up really impressed our tasting panel. On the palate we found the moderate-to-rich English malt backbone provides a great base for the very fruity and flavorful hops. Citrus and tropical fruit flavors really come through with a bit of a Jolly Rancher impression on the mid-palate with notes of pineapple, passionfruit, and cantaloupe. At 50 IBUs, the bitterness is moderately assertive but not too biting, providing more than enough bitterness to be a counterpoint to the malt sweetness without getting in the way of the fruity hop flavors. Indeed, Flying Bison says they didn’t want “to blow your head off with IBUs or bitterness,” and they succeeded, creating an IPA that’s still bitter, but is first and foremost a great showcase for hop flavor. Try it with spicy Thai or Vietnamese food, or Mongolian BBQ. Cheers!

When the Flying Bison Brewing Company opened for business in April of 2000, it established itself as Buffalo’s first stand-alone brewery since Iroquois Brewing shut down in 1972. The company, whose name pays homage to Buffalo’s history of aviation manufacturing, was started by Tim Herzog and Phil Internicola, two well-regarded home brewers with about 35 years of combined experience. Additionally, Tim (a Certified Beer Judge) had studied brewing at the famed Siebel Institute and the American Brewers Guild and interned with three separate breweries in California, Oregon, and Ontario. Phil was an award-winning home brewer with experience in industrial production management – a handy skill to have when running a brewery.

The business incorporated in 1995, but a serious of obstacles, red tape, and the loss of original partner “Red” Mrozek to a motorcycle accident delayed the launch of the brewery for five years. Originally a 20-barrel brewery distributing only in kegs to local draft accounts, the business grew steadily over the next few years. Several 40-barrel fermenters were added, as well as a bottling line in 2004, which allowed Flying Bison to reach an even wider audience by distributing their packaged beer to local retail establishments like Wegmans Food Markets.

Unfortunately, in early 2010 Flying Bison found itself on the rocks, and brewing was halted due to financial problems attributed to rising production costs. A sale to Utica, NY’s Matt Brewing Company saved the business but was a controversial move, causing a rift among some of Flying Bison’s investors. Happily for the brand’s many fans, the beer returned to the taps and retail shelves. Terms of the sale require production to stay in Buffalo, maintaining the founders’ commitment to fostering a return of great craft beer to their city. These days, Phil serves as brewmaster at Buffalo’s Pearl Street Grill & Brewery and Tim Herzog remains with Flying Bison.

For more info about Flying Bison and brewery tours, visit them at www.flyingbisonbrewing.com, or call (716) 873-1557.