EVGV Beer Release Party
EVGV Beer Release Party
Ellicottville-Great Valley Recreational Trail to kick off new fundraiser
Now that cold, snowy weather has given way to spring, members of the Ellicottville-Great Valley Recreational (EVGV) Trail are preparing to resume work on the trail system, which will eventually include approximately 15 miles of multi-use, 8 or 10-foot wide trails from the Holiday Valley Tubing Park on Bryant Hill Road to the Ellicottville village center and on to Great Valley. In addition to providing groomed trails for walking, biking, and cross-country skiing, the EVGV Trail will connect businesses, resorts, Ellicottville Central School and many other points along the way. Recreational trails vary in cost but can cost as much as $1,000,000 per mile, so the EVGV Trail is not a small project. But beginning on May 7th, there is a fun, easy way for the public to get involved, according to EVGV Trail Committee Vice President Mark Alianello, and the only equipment needed is a bottle opener.
On Saturday, May 7th Steelbound Brewing & Distillery at 6600 Route 219 in Ellicottville is launching a new beer, Trail Ale! From 2:00-5:00pm, visitors can stop by the brewery in this open-house style launch to try Trail Ale; a portion of all sales will be donated to the EVGV Trail. Alianello explained, “We were looking at options for where we could route the trail when we were doing the master planning, and one of the options went through Steelbound’s property.”
Steelbound owner Bill Bursee and head brewer Erik Roesser are enthusiastic about being part of the EVGV Trail. “We are allowing an easement on the brewery property so the trail can connect Route 219 to 242,” they said. “It seemed like a great idea to have a beer also made in conjunction with the building of the trail.”
Toward that end, Roesser has been developing the perfect beer for the trail. “The beer is 100% made with New York state malts and hops,” he explained. “We wanted to have the beer sourced with New York state-produced grain and hops to reference both the EVGV Trail and the local community.”
So what can people expect when trying the new beer? Trail Ale, which will be available in cans and on draft on May 7th, “is a light, easy-drinking ale that everyone can enjoy,” said Roesser. “It's mildly hopped in order to keep the IBUs (international bitterness units) at a minimum. At 4% ABV, it is the perfect backyard summer beer.”
During the launch, there will be information about the trail available and light refreshments will be served, though food will also be available to order. “There will be people there from Go Bike Buffalo who are promoting the Southern Tier trail, and we’ve invited a couple other associations like the WNY Mountain Biking Association, who have expressed a lot of support for our project,” said Alianello.
Since 2012, the EVGV Trail Committee has been working on this expansive project. “One of the first things we did is we raised enough money to have a master plan,” he explained. “The master plan helped us create basically the main spine of the trail: From the Tubing Park on Bryant Hill Road through the Village of Ellicottville and on to the Great Valley Town Park behind the Town Hall in Great Valley.
Alianello, retired principal and founder of MDA Consulting Engineers, brings many years of experience to the committee, as he has served as town engineer for Ellicottville for over 30 years before his retirement. Alianello said, “It’s an ambitious plan that involves using sidewalk networks, HoliMont, the school, and Holiday Valley. We got a grant last year to get the first piece of trail to final design.” Known as the Elk Creek portion, this part of the trail runs from Elizabeth Street back into Elk Creek and all the way down to the north end of the village park. It then goes across behind the soccer fields into the arboretum. Alianello said, “If you were to go to the Ellicottville Town Center, there is a trailhead already constructed there by the BOCES classes. This was an opportunity for us to have something physical on the ground.”
Currently, the committee is planning work on developing the trail to continue to Tim Horton’s on Route 219. “The portion from the town center out to Tim Horton’s is a preliminary design that was paid for by some of our local fundraisers,” he explained. “We’ve probably raised no less than $80,000 but we’ve spent a good portion of it doing the things we’ve done. The trail is a lot more expensive than people realize,” said Alianello, noting the cost of clearing the land, obtaining easements from property owners, and repairing seasonal damage caused by winter weather.
The EVGV Trail committee is currently in the process of applying for state and federal grant funds working with Cattaraugus County. For the past several years, they’ve been in communication with the Ralph Wilson Foundation, which provided grant funding for some of the engineering work on the trail. According to Alianello, the Ralph Wilson Foundation is encouraging the creation of a regional trail network that would tie into the statewide Erie Canal and Genesee Valley Trail. “If that goes through,” he pointed out, “you could get on the trail in Buffalo and end up in Albany or New York City, and come through Ellicottville on the way. It’d be great!”
To learn more about the EVGV Trail or to get involved, visit www.evgvtrail.org.