BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It's been a long time since the silos in downtown Buffalo stored any grain. But thanks to Buffalo Riverworks, grain will make a triumphant return to Buffalo's waterfront, just not in the way you'd think.
"It was a silo that was sitting there that hadn't held grain in 100 years so we were happy to, ironically, brew beer in one of the grain silos which might have been what some of the grain it held in there might have been," said head brewer Chris Herr.
The inside of the six silos were converted to be able brew, ferment and store the eight beers that will be on tap at Riverworks.
But transforming the structures into a full-fledged brewery was no easy task.
"We had to cut doors and install electrical and install lighting and pour floors to make floors to actually put things on, and anytime you had to cut into the wall, you're cutting into a foot of rebar reinforced concrete," said Herr.
He says they could have saved time and money by building a traditional facility, but the additional work was worth preserving a piece of Buffalo history.
"We feel it's a huge opportunity for us to rejuvenate and rebuild what made Buffalo great originally. We're getting to do that again by rebuilding something into what was essentially an abandoned facility," said Herr.
You won't be able to have a drink inside the silos, but tours will be offered. And outside, the ruins of a demolished silo will serve as a beer garden.
It's all part of Riverworks' expanding list of outdoor activities.
"We're gonna have zip-lining, rock climbing, high-bridge walking, in addition to our beer garden in the ruins of the silos, it will be lit up with fire pits [and] there's a water feature out there in the spring," said Buffalo Riverworks General Manager Bill Casale.
"Not just coming out and sitting in your corner bar and eating chicken wings and drinking beer, now you can kayak up to your bar and eat chicken wings and drink beer before you kayak away," said Herr.
Riverworks hopes to begin brewing by April.