The Buffalo craft beer hullabaloo has reached Chicago, historically another bastion of great beer. Craft breweries help lead the charge in Buffalo's rebirth, by Lisa Lubin appeared in the Chicago Tribune on March 29, 2016. It quite rightly parallels the beer boom with Buffalo's resurgence and proclaims Buffalo as a beer tourism destination.

"Much of Buffalo's progress can be chalked up to what [Chris] Hawley calls beer-oriented development. A local beer and distilling revolution has helped remake the city and introduce a welcome influx of new craft breweries." The Buffalo Billion is cited, as is the legislation passed in 2012 that gives NY breweries that source locally tax credits and perks.

Ethan Cox, co-founder of nanobrewery Community Beer Works, "gave a TED Talk in 2011 about the potential for craft breweries and taprooms to help rejuvenate distressed neighborhoods."

Indeed, Community Beer Works has helped revitalize the West Side, and is now in expansion mode. Resurgence Brewing Company is helping transform Niagara Street. Flying Bison and Hydraulic Hearth are vital parts of Larkinville. Big Ditch Brewing Company is helping revitalize downtown Buffalo. RiverWorks is "billed as the first fully functioning brewery to be retrofitted into an existing grain silo" on the Buffalo River. 

"I do believe the brewing scene is having a positive impact on the city and individual neighborhoods," said Resurgence owner Jeff Ware. "Buffalo is now a brew-tour city. You can easily plan a day or even weekend around visiting all the different breweries." 

"Just a couple years ago, you could not say 'ale' or 'hoppy'; Buffalonians in general were so conditioned to major, national-style beer," said Flying Bison founder Tim Herzog. "(Now), more and more people are interested in trying new flavors, exploring traditional European styles and becoming unafraid of the dark styles. It seems to me that the residents of Buffalo have stopped looking for a silver bullet project to fix the economy," Herzog said. "Entrepreneurs have dug in and started opening local businesses to serve and support the local economy. Developers have started fixing up and re-imagining architectural and historically significant buildings. Small brewers are leading that charge. We're locally owned. We buy locally made boxes, bottles, malt and hops. We create three times more boost in the local economy than a franchise or chain business."