Brewing the perfect shutdown beer

When the shutdown started, our brewers all said the same thing: let's finally brew our pilsner.

A substantial portion of our brewery production capacity is dedicated to making beer for bars and restaurants in Western New York, in addition to our own tap room. With no production of draft beer during the shutdown, we now had the room to make beers we don't normally get to make.

The word lager is translated from German which means "to store". Lagers are stored cold in tanks for long periods of time to smooth them out and clean them up. We haven't made a proper lager in years because we didn't have the space to store one.

However, we really love our house pilsner, which we call "Electric District Pils", which is a nod to our neighborhood, where the Electric Tower serves as a beacon for locating our brewery. EDP features significant floral and spicy hop aroma and flavor, very mild bitterness, and nice, light, crackery, bready malt undertones. It is super drinkable and tasty; craft beer rookies can enjoy it as much as beer snobs looking for the latest and greatest "crispy boi".

This might be the best batch of it we’ve ever made.

We brewed EDP at the beginning of shutdown, and here, at the end of shutdown, 100 days later, we are finally prepared to serve it, on our patio, beginning at 12pm today.

We're excited to share it, and to #celebratebeer with you once again.

ROCHESTER-AREA CHOCOLATE HAYBURNER CAN FOUND! BUFFALO-AREA CHOCOLATE HAYBURNER STILL REMAINS UNFOUND

Sharon Callan of Honeoye Falls found the Rochester-area Chocolate Hayburner can in a sixpack purchased at the Honeoye Falls Marketplace. She has won a case of Hayburner a month for the next year! (in the form of a gift card)

Sharon is a self-proclaimed "gigantic Big Ditch (specifically Hayburner) fan" and imagines she'll be the "envy of the hood" for all the beer she'll win from this contest. She had been planning on visiting our tap room until "Covid-19 stuck a fork in that idea". Now she has a new reason to visit! (she sadly broke her Big Ditch glass right before this picture - we'll be replacing that for her as well!)

While the Rochester-area Chocolate Hayburner can is now claimed, the Buffalo-area can is still out there somewhere. Memorial Day weekend seems like the perfect opportunity for Buffalo-area residents to stock up!

Congrats Sharon! #celebratebeer

Peach Waves Sour IPA, Packet, Deep Cut release - 5/22 (pickup only)

Our second specialty can release in this "new normal" includes Peach Waves, a new sour IPA, along with Lock IPA #1: Packet and a fresh batch of Deep Cut Double IPA.

Will be pre-sold at our square site beginning at 6PM on Thursday 5/21 for pickup beginning at noon on Friday 5/22:

big-ditch-brewing-company.square.site

Peach Waves is the first beer in our new specialty IPA series, which blend unique ingredients into hoppy beers to yield even more interesting and complex flavors. This sour IPA is brewed with malted oats, milk sugar, Mosaic and Idaho 7 hops, and conditioned on peaches, resulting in a perfect balance between acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and stone fruit flavor. 7.2% ABV. $15.99 / 4-pack

Lock IPA #1: Packet is one of our most popular beers. Named after the boats that transported early passengers on the Erie Canal. The beer is made with Galaxy, Mosaic, and Pacific Jade hops, resulting in a juicy, sticky hop bomb with tempered bitterness and tropical and lightly floral hop flavors abound. 7.2% ABV. $14.99 / 4-pack

Deep Cut Double IPA is our most awarded beer ever. The final obstacle in constructing the Erie Canal was leveling a 7 mile section of the canal 40 feet deep - by hand - between the Flight of Five in Lockport and Lake Erie. Our Deep Cut Double IPA is equally ambitious. It's layered with citrus, tropical punch, and wild berry flavor, with moderate bitterness and a dry finish. 8.2% ABV. $14.99 / 4-pack

All beers 1 case pp max. Only cans available, no crowlers or growlers planned.

Social distance instructions: FOR PICKUP ONLY. Will be pre-sold at our square site beginning at 6PM on Thursday 5/21 for pickup beginning at noon on Friday 5/22.

Our tap room will be spaced with stickers to keep occupants 6 feet apart at all times. Pickups will occur in the beer hall and exit directly to Ellicott Street to minimize contact with staff and guests. Outdoor lines will be marked with chalk to keep guests 6 feet apart. Separate areas of our tap room will be designated for can pickups, crowler pickups, food pickups, and delivery pickups, to create guest distance. Spots in front of the building will be sectioned off for curbside pickup if requested.

Big Ditch 5th Anniversary "not-a-party" Party

May 2020 is the 5th anniversary of our tap room opening, which we normally would have celebrated with onsite shenanigans; this year we'll have to settle for to-go shenanigans.

Our “not-a-party” party will take place from 12pm-8pm on Friday May 15th. It's not easy, but we'll do our best to #celebrate. Thanks for all your support through the years.

Important: Pre-orders will only be available through our online portal from 9am-12pm the morning of the event. A portion of each beer will be reserved for onsite sales after we open at 12pm.

Celebratory libations include:

A Little Short of Madness - 14.3 % Quadruple IPA. Thomas Jefferson had originally called the original plans for the Erie Canal "a little short of madness", which is the best way to describe our 5 year journey (not to mention the state of the world today). Featuring Nelson Sauvin, Hallertau Blanc, and Simcoe hops, this super strong quad-PA is smoother than it's ABV indicates. Truly a celebratory drink. Approx 100 x 25.4 oz crowlers exist, max 1 crowler PP. $18

Big Ditch Breakfast Blend - Imperial cream stout blended with Public Espresso cold brew coffee blended with maple syrup. Fairly sweet, just like Big Ditch employees. 5.0% ABV. Approx 80 x 32 oz crowlers exist, max 1 crowler PP. $18

Squeezer - Our original and most complex kettle sour, brewed with kolsch yeast and Nelson Sauvin hops. Flavors of white grape, lemon, and grapefruit abound, no lactose or puree required. 4.4% ABV. Approx 100 x 32 oz crowlers exist, max 2 crowlers PP. $15

Additional non-beer offerings:

Wake'n Bacon Bloody - 750ml snap top growler filled with housemade spicy bloody mary mix, housemade bacon-infused vodka, and garnished with a skewer of mini roast beef sandwich, Ru's banana pepper pierogi, fried jalapeno, provolone, pepperoni, and celery stalk. Max 1 PP. $21

Insane food special:

Spuds of Glory - That's right, we made totwaffles, a 2020 quarantine special. A housemade tater tot Belgian waffle topped with seasoned fried chicken, Buffalo maple sauce, sliced jalapeno, two slices of bacon and a fried egg. $16

Space Donkey + Cannon Call release (pickup/delivery only)

Our first specialty can release in this "new normal" includes Space Donkey (Hayburner with Galaxy hops) and Cannon Call Double IPA in a brand new can. This Friday 4/24 beginning at 12pm.

Space Donkey is our flagship IPA Hayburner brewed with a massive amount of Galaxy hops. This beer rivals Hayburner in drinkability, but adds tropical aroma and flavors of fruit punch and cotton candy to the citrus character already present in the base beer. 6.8% ABV. $14.99 / 4-pack

Cannon Call, formerly Lock IPA #6, won a Gold Medal for best Double IPA in New York State at the 2019 Governor's Cup competition. Now in a brand new can! Hopped with Citra, Nelson Sauvin, Idaho 7, and Simcoe hops to yield a tropical flavor explosion with notes of white grape and orange zest. 8.4% ABV. $15.99 / 4-pack

Both beers 1 case pp max. Only cans available, no crowlers or growlers planned.

Social distance instructions: FOR PICKUP AND DELIVERY ONLY. Our tap room will be spaced with stickers to keep occupants 6 feet apart at all times. Pickups will occur in the beer hall and exit directly to Ellicott Street to minimize contact with staff and guests. Outdoor lines will be marked with chalk to keep guests 6 feet apart. Separate areas of our tap room will be designated for can pickups, crowler pickups, food pickups, and delivery pickups, to create guest distance.

Pre-order and curbside pickup is available by calling 716-854-5050 ext 1 beginning at 11AM on Friday. Spots in front of the building will be sectioned off for curbside pickup.

Delivery available through Grubhub and Doordash as supplies last.

Please act safely and respectfully towards your neighbors at this time. Thanks in advance for your support.