Welcome everyone, it's Bruise Day and you know what that means, it's time for the Buffalo Brews Podcast, The Return. I'm your host, Jason Edinger. No need to check your playlist or your subscriptions.

This is actually a new episode and I know it's been months, three-ish months to be precise and 106 days to be exact when this episode drops. But no need to be overdramatic about it. What happened? What changed? First of all, I want to say before anything is this, is to my friends, to followers who reached out, thank you.

It's comforting and it always brought a smile to my face knowing that sometimes a perfect stranger was sending me a direct message to just simply make sure everything was okay because things just stopped. And I appreciate that more than you know. Friends would ask me if I was just done.

No, I mean to me done means there's a finish, a finale, a main event blow off. But the fact is this, I have fun doing this podcast and it's given me opportunities to meet new people, to learn, have amazing conversations and to open doors to new opportunities. And that last part is very important to me because I've always thrived with being a well-rounded person.

I've been guilty of saying for years, as an old saying goes, I'm a Jack of all trades and a master of none. And I'd rather be that than just a master of one. In recent years, I've grown in leaps and bounds with my Monday through Friday job, you know, taking charge of being a workaholic and gymaholic following my divorce to be the best version of myself that I could be.

And at times it's unhealthy, but I had goals and as a goal driven and challenge driven person, that's where it was really at for me. So those goals and challenges really essentially rocket strapped me into the last four months that has passed and has been full of opportunities that no right minded person could really pass up. So Low Man on the Totem Pole happened to be the podcast, but that was so that the idea of evolution could take place as well as I would hoped it would.

And it did come to fruition because now it has and it'll allow me to bring more consistent and structured content while spreading some wings and having a lot of fun, not only here and with the people that will do this with me, but to share that experience with all of you. And I really look forward to that. But before we get into all of the what's been going on the last three, four months, I want to tell you what I'm drinking.

So right here I have a Knob Creek Rye. Now Knob Creek you have seen in stores. You've seen it in your friend's cabinet as a very signature looking bottle.

Knob Creek comes out of Claremont, Kentucky. This particular rye, now they specialize in a sweet, high corn mash. So what you have here is a 75% corn, 13% rye with a 12% barley.

You take that initial scent on the nose and you pick up that oakiness and those rye spices right off the bat. The first taste, this is definitely one of those two sipper types because initially you get hit of like a caramel or a vanilla on the front. Definitely with that bold rye spice and that oaky goodness that I can't get enough out of with certain ryes these days.

There was a day I wouldn't even try a rye and now they're some of my favorite things. You get that oak on the nose as well. It's very inviting.

So their highest quality rye grains are what they use to create basically their hardest working rye whiskey. It's a 100 proof from Knob Creek and it pairs traditional rye spices with their signature sweetness because of that high corn and mash bill. So it makes for the perfect bourbon drinker looking to add a rye to their liquor cabinet.

I mean there's no reason why you wouldn't pass this up. And it was once voted world's best rye. So me, I personally wouldn't mind making this into a nice rye old fashioned out of this.

It has some bitters, perhaps you put in a pinch of brown sugar, a splash of water activates it all. Problem is, I don't have any grapefruit peel on that so I am total wet on that. Take a break and give your soul what it needs is a quote from a woman named Audrey Kitching.

She's an American fashion blogger. And while it's a random source for me to use, it's a pretty powerful statement. So as I mentioned, I've been MIA with the podcast since early August.

And as I told you a bit ago how it was kind of low man on the totem pole, what was a very busy totem pole, more on that in a few. But another reason for it is plain and simple that the soul sometimes needs a serious break and I found myself just go, go, go and quickly realized that honestly I couldn't keep up. I had so much on the plate that it was almost a, it got to the point where it was almost a daily juggling match to find out what took priority and where I had to be and when.

Then it got to when I was going to be able to record things for the podcast. I have all kinds of things that are recorded in the memory and it's just a matter of getting these sorted out and getting them out there. But this is going to allow me now to kind of reprioritize and sort things out to bring it to you.

So you want to put the energy and effort into things and you want to just simply let it fly, much like I do with this podcast. But that same want to fly energy, you want to put into everything that you do. So for me, that was the outdoors, which I was able to do plenty of this summer, golfing, the PGA HOPE program, running, spending time with great friends and experiencing a ton of new things as well as getting back to some of the old things that were kind of pre-COVID and now in a post-COVID world.

So as we wish for things to happen, it makes us doubt and second guess when that momentum doesn't swing our way. But the bottom line is that we all want the difference in our lives for the better and it comes down to good old fashioned hard work. So it's important to always persevere and always be determined and always fight the good fight, always for you, yourself, always, just yourself always.

So a giant mental break was needed and some pressure was definitely alleviated while I reprioritized and got things done. And now I can say with confidence that things are clearer. I have more ambition, more vision, more drive as we head into the winter months.

So here's to sticking to it all and fighting off any potential seasonal depression. So with that, what were the last three or so months like for me? Certainly ups and downs. Much happened in life as well as the world, both good and bad.

In the world, we saw the fall of Afghanistan. The world was watching for 17 days as nothing short of a disaster had unfolded before our eyes. And while we have views and opinions of those events where my attention focused during that time was talking to my fellow military brothers and sisters out there who spent time in theater and working and fighting for the Afghan people, then to hear them say words such as how they felt that they what they had done and accomplished was done for nothing.

And it's always important to know that the differences we make in people's lives never go unnoticed, even if they don't necessarily express it to you. There's a lasting impression of our work and accomplishments that should, above all else, serve as a testament to our drive, the dedication to what we do. And as a veteran looking at other veterans or to active duty military personnel, I have nothing but praise and admiration and abound thanks for all they did there.

A quote from a writer, Haruki Nurakami, says that once you come out of a storm, you are you won't be the same person that walked in. And it's a very accurate statement that serves as a reminder of these challenges that life throws at us and others each and every day. Just remember, sometimes we have no idea when somebody is in the storm.

However, be sure to remind them that the weather is much better ahead and you're there to help whenever they need it. So as I said, much of my summer was spent outdoors. And you've heard me talk about the Western New York Hiking Challenge.

And at the time of the last episode, I had seven trails remaining in order to complete all 34. So I am proud to say that as of October the 24th, I completed the 34th hike, which took place at Stony Brook State Park and did that along with my awesome hiking partner, Sabrina, who was with me through all 34 trails. And thank goodness, because a week later, they closed the gorge trail there for the season.

So it would have been a completely different hike for us and not nearly as exciting, personal opinion. But it was my first time there and the sights and sounds, they never disappoint. I love fall.

I love the autumn season. And the park was at its peak at the time. I posted some of the pics and videos on my Instagram page for you to check out.

And the end of the challenge saw us going to Deerlick Nature Preserve in Gawanda. We were up in Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge that was up in Alabama, New York. That treacherous beast known as Holland Ravines in Holland, New York that Sabrina swears she will never, ever hike again.

A doubleheader day that we did when we conquered the Bee Hunter Trail at Allegheny State Park. And then we explored Little Rock City, which was a first for me, for somebody who grew up near Panama Rocks down in Panama, New York. This was this was such an adventure for a 48 year old guy to be going in between rock crevices and climbing on top of these things.

And basically, you know, looking at it like a kid trying to explore a strange land. It was it was definitely a lot of fun. And then we finished that day out with a first time visit that we did to Four Mile Brewing down in Olean.

Certainly one of the more adventurous and challenging hikes that we did in finishing out those seven was when we traveled down to Conklin Gully and the Hightor Wildlife Management Area that's down in Naples, New York. That saw us rope climbing waterfalls, if you can believe it, and hiking through shin deep water at some points, helping each other, you know, boosting each other up on rocks, you know, lend a hand to make sure you get safely across because we're, you know, standing and walking and running water. And as far as Naples is concerned, a huge shout out to some great folks down there at Caruso's Cafe, delicious food and an incredible atmosphere there that would make some places on Elmwood Avenue blush, to be honest with you.

So what's next? The signups for the 2021 Winter Hiking Challenge start on December the 1st. There's going to be 17 trails and 16 of those, plus a bonus trail. So far, they have four of those trails that have been revealed to the public.

Now, those are Art Park State Park in Lewiston, the Osgood Trail in Allegheny State Park, the Eternal Flame Trail in Chestnut Ridge Park, which I hiked last winter and the creek at the bottom of the gorge was completely frozen over. So I was basically walking on the ice all the way back to the Eternal Flame, which was pretty wild. And then they announced already what the bonus hike was.

So that's going to be the aforementioned Conklin Gully and High Tour. So when we were going through Conklin Gully, there were about five waterfalls that you climb up and the monster at the end is a 50 plus foot high waterfall. Now you're thinking, how would you accomplish that in the winter? Well, in the wintertime, and if it does the same thing like it did last winter, that waterfall freezes over.

So it's the opportunity to do what they call ice climbing. I'm not one to shy away from certain challenges. I am horribly afraid of heights, but when it came to this Conklin trail, I kind of got over that quick because it was a matter, more of a matter of safely getting up these waterfalls on these ropes and never had a chance to look down.

And I think that's where my problem is. So I've been having some conversations with Mike Radomski, who is the head of Outdoor Chronicles, and created the hiking challenges, and we might be adding some extra elements to the winter challenge. So we'll see what happens and I'll keep you updated once I know a little bit more.

Golfing took a fun jump forward. I was able to take advantage of the great weather up through the majority of October and be able to play courses like Diamond Hawk, Arrowhead, and Burn Cliff for the first time. I had the chance to go out to Terry Hills again in Batavia, which has quickly turned into one of my favorite courses in the area and not only score my best nine hole of my quote unquote career, but also my best 18 hole score ever at a very stellar 111.

But you know what, that is an improvement over the 130 plus that I was at a year ago plus before I really got going into the PGA HOPE program. So, hey, can only go up from here, right? And plus this week I'm heading out to Glen Oak to work with some fellow PGA HOPE members on some skills. The spring's going to be here before you know it.

And then I had an opportunity to also talk with the folks at Patriot Golf and got set up with a very nice set of wedges because my game desperately needed a sand wedge and an approach wedge. And plus I'm working with a three and seven wood that I got from them. Now, one of the most fun things I did during the summer as far as new opportunities is concerned was, you've heard me talk about Tom Whitmarsh in the Western New York Beer Trail.

You want to go back into our archives and listen to episode one. And episode one was my sit down with Tom talking about basically how they were, you know, able to create the 21 trail pass and an opportunity to go out and really take in these these different breweries and distilleries around the area, really making an adventure, make it your own. So what they what he's done now is he's got the new 2022 pass out.

But in the meantime, what has also occurred is that we are in the process of doing meetups. So I have had the pleasure of co-hosting with Tom at a few events so far. One of those was at 12 Gates Brewing in Williamsville and then we also Rusty Nickel out in West Seneca.

So the next one is the rumor currently is Buffalo Brew Pub. It's going to be on the corner of Main and Transit out in Clarence. So that one's going to be coming up in December.

You know, stay tuned for more information. Follow Tom at WNY Beer Trail on Instagram. That's the best way you're going to find out all the greatest information.

There's also a Western New York Beer Trail group located on Facebook. I'm one of the administrators for it. Go there.

Answer a couple of questions on there. Get your get yourself approved and participate on a trail call on a Friday or Saturday night if you're sitting home and enjoying something to drink. So also what Tom and I are discussing is doing a giveaway that's going to take place probably in the month of December.

And what we're talking about are two of the trail passes. The value on those is $50 and then we're going to add a $100 Uber gift card on top of that. Now, why? Why would you do that? Because you want to be able to get out and experience Buffalo.

And one of the cool things is planning with friends to go and do things. And that includes, you know, going on your own brewery trail. I hear people all the time tell me about how they're getting together with friends and on a Saturday afternoon they're hitting breweries X, Y, Z, A, B, C, and they're making an afternoon out of it.

Well, here you know, if you need the Uber gift card to bridge the gap between two longer distances, you got them. And then the trail passes allow you to get two pints at whatever brewery at half off. Again, if you go to the Western New York Beer Trail Instagram site, every month they have giveaways.

So take a picture with your pass at one of the marked and identified breweries in the Western New York area, win some prizes, and then keep posted with us to find out when the next meetup is going to be. Say hi to me. Say hi to Tom.

And Tom and I are also going to sit down here in the coming weeks to discuss the 2022 pass. We're also going to reveal all of the new breweries that are going to be located. There are no less than three, four new breweries that are going to be opening up in the Western New York area in the next several months.

So we'll have an opportunity to talk about that. I'm also going to have the opportunity to sit down and talk with as an invited guest with the folks at One Eyed Cat, who are going to be opening their brewery on Main Street in Williamsville. And we'll be able to talk with them in the next month or so.

So look forward to that. The 11 day power play is currently underway, and after all the craziness of COVID, the power play is back to its original roots, featuring 40 players and they're playing ice hockey for what will amount to about 251 plus hours over a course of 11 days while braving the winter elements, as we know already, that have come back to our wonderful Buffalo area. And with 20 players per team, 40 pairs of skates hitting the ice at the downtown rink at Buffalo River Works, a group of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, well, I should say a group from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, has the current record for the world's longest hockey game.

And, you know, we're looking to take that back. So they won't be doing it alone because there are 40 more teams that are made up of the biggest supporters that have been invited to skate alongside on the neighboring ice each day. They'll be adding the energy, the excitement, that extra jump that the players will need to get through those 251 plus hours.

And there'll be one united team, one united goal, and to shatter that record, do some serious damage to cancer. The 11 day power play incorporated is a not for profit organization that has raised over five million dollars for cutting edge cancer research and wellness programs since 2017 through the production of an annual marathon hockey game that is announcing their 2021 event as we speak, actually going on right now. So Buffalo and beyond has rallied around the 11 day power play events, helping raise necessary funds to support local families battling cancer.

And it will take place, it started on Sunday, November the 14th, and they'll play continuously around the clock, 24 hours a day, going through Wednesday the 24th. That's at Buffalo River Works located down on it's 359 Ganson Street down in Buffalo. So as they're doing that, the game will raise dollars to support cancer research, wellness programs at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

I swear I can talk. And Camp Good Days, Make-A-Wish Western New York, Roswell Park, OSHI Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Program. It's another miracle on ice because the 11 day power play incorporated, it was co-founded by Mike and Amy Lesikowski back in 2016.

Eight years after Amy was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer at age 35. So as the parents of three small children, the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center made sure that Amy's treatment was aggressive from the start, including immunotherapy, fresh off clinical trials, and an infusion still in clinical trial at that time. Her treatment resulted in a successful outcome.

And in 2013, Mike's mother was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. Her form of cancer did not have clinical trials available at that time. And ultimately she had succumbed to her disease in 2016.

This inspired Mike to want to go and give back in a big way to the organization that saved his young wife's life. So on June 17th of 2017, 40 men took to the ice at Harbor Center in Buffalo in attempt to, at that time, set the world's record for the longest continuous hockey game. They played through July the 3rd of 2017.

40 men lived practically on site playing continuously in four hour shifts and they were able to raise over $1 million for research programs at Roswell Park. So the 11 day power play community shift after the success of 2017, Mike and Amy knew that the 11 day power play had to continue. And as the community as a whole needed to play, the community shift was born and had grown to more than 2,300 pairs of skates hitting the ice in three hour shifts over that 11 day marathon game.

They knew the community needed to benefit more on the receiving end as well. And Amy knew from the experience that the families, especially children of patients, needed to be a part of that journey. So Make-A-Wish Western New York, Camp Good Days, the Roswell Park and Oshai Children's Cancer and Blood Disorder Program became additional beneficiaries.

So you look at 2018, 2019, and 2020, a total of $4.1 million were raised through the community shift for those programs, bringing the total raised by the 11 day power play organization to over $5 million in just four years. The game is currently ongoing. And like I said, they will continue through Wednesday, November 24th.

They're down at Riverworks. If you want to stop in, Riverworks Brewing is right there. You know, have a beer.

You can literally stand right there at the rail and watch them on the ice play. It's located at 359 Ganson Street in Buffalo. You can go to communityshift.11, the number 11, 11daypowerplay.com to read more about this event or to make a donation.

An event that's coming up that you may want to earmark on the calendar is Buffalo ONTAP. So we know that Buffalo ONTAP took place in July this year, and it took place at the Hamburg Fairgrounds. And we can say what we want to about how it was before versus how they did the best that they could with what they had.

You know, I didn't hear bad things about it. I did not attend, but it is coming back and it is going back to its original home, which is the Buffalo Convention Center on Franklin Street. And that will be on Saturday, February the 12th, that's in 2022, of course.

And tickets are going to go on sale on November 25th at 4 p.m. General admission tickets will be $35 and they're available in two sessions, which is a one to 4 p.m. And a 6.30 to 9.30 p.m. And then VIP tickets will be available for $45 that will get you in an hour early. So 12 p.m. for the early session or 5.30 p.m. for the later session, everyone will get to sample over 100 beers, seltzers, ciders, as well as receive a signature tasting glass and enjoy live music. VIP ticket holders have, they'll also receive a food voucher.

So you want to get there and get in and buy early because this event will typically sell out. And especially now that it's back at the convention center, I have no doubt that it will sell out, tickets will be available through Eventbrite. Empire State Wrestling will present Wrestle Bash 11 at Frontier Fire Hall in Niagara Falls, New York on Saturday, November the 27th.

Doors will open at 5 p.m. with the first bell at 6 p.m. I started watching ESW in 2018 and came to know some of the talents there, including a trainer who worked at the gym that I was going to at the time. And as a teenager, I used to use professional wrestling sort of as an escape growing up a Hulkamaniac and idolizing stars like Bret the Hitman Hart. I even moonlighted as a professional wrestler for a few years.

Don't ask any questions because I really don't have any answers to that. I plead temporary insanity. So anyway, I checked that off of my list of things to do in my life or the bucket list as you will.

Now my friends and I work as a gimmick group in the crowd and we enjoy interacting with the talent as well as other fans that are in attendance there. But what few would know is that I actually used to enact wrestling cards using my muscle figurines and a homemade ring that my father had built for me doing commentary, much like you would do in a battle between your action figures, you know, laying on the bedroom floor. So you have to love imagination.

But if you take the opportunity to insert a little play by play football that I used to do for youth football, you would essentially get what I'm about to tell you here. So let's give you the rundown of the Wrestle Bash 11 card that is busting at the seams with championship talent. Tag team action will feature High Seas, the team of Captain Ando and Cloudy against the debuting duo from Ohio known as Philly Marino Experience.

The interstate championship will be on the line as Frankie Feathers defends against Jeremiah Richter. Richter, the runner up to Vinny Moon in last month's number one contenders battle royal, will now get his opportunity on the heel of Moon's title loss later on that night. And speaking of such, Vinny Moon is going to be looking to get revenge on Kevin Bennett, who cost Moon the interstate championship in that match last month.

You can be certain that Roscoe will be lurking nearby in the corner of Kevin Bennett. Jay Freddy makes his return to ESW to take on Tony Deppen. And if you're not familiar with that name, you should be because he's a former Ring of Honor television champion.

Money Shot will make their ESW debut as well, taking on the ever popular To Infinity and Beyond. Who doesn't love some Colin Delaney and Cheech? I know I do. I recently saw them in a dark match for AEW Dynamite in Rochester.

Always an entertaining team to watch. Women's Action returns to Wrestle Bash with the featuring of Danny Mo taking on Christina Marie and the eighth annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Cup will take place with the winner getting a championship match wherever, whenever they choose. Listen to this talent stacked match.

Josh Alexander, who just within the last month held the Impact World Championship. The Neon Ninja Facade. Two time former ESW champion, big time Bill Collier.

KTB, former ESW tag team champion, Invincible Vince Valor. And rounding out the match is Matthew Rehwald, who you may have remembered as Aiden English in WWE. And your main event is going to feature Kevin Blackwood coming in from California.

He's your 2019 Ilio DiPaolo Cup winner cashing in his title opportunity. Blackwood would challenge newest AEW superstar and the reigning Empire State Wrestling Heavyweight Champion Daniel Garcia for the title. Go to ESWTix.com to get your seats today.

Only $20 for an evening of great wrestling action and get them now. Join me and the Chopped Car Guys on Saturday, November 27th at Frontier Fire Hall in Niagara Falls, New York for Wrestle Bash 11. So I wanted to finish this episode out with a few more events that you'll be able to catch me at.

Like I mentioned previously, I'll be at the Wrestle Bash 11 event on November the 27th with my fellow Chopped Car Guys.