News

Now in its fifth year, the Bell’s Homebrew Competition kick-off and Expo will take place on Sept. 13 at the Eccentric Café in downtown Kalamazoo. To celebrate how this annual competition has grown and as a nod to our homebrewing roots, we have added something new. While the homebrewer who takes first place will still get to brew their recipe at our original brewery to then go on tap at the Café, they will also team up with us for the 2015 Pro-Am Competition at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado. The winner will attend the GABF, the awards ceremony and the members only session as our guest. We will cover the cost of airfare to Denver and back (must be in the continental U.S.) and provide lodging for two nights as well. As in previous years, there is no cost to enter the competition and the only requirement is that you use our wort, which we provide for free. Previous winners are Oscar’s Folly, a collaborative IPA from Jarrett Cupp, Bailey Cupp and Paul Gentz. A Bit of Heat from Geoff Groff that was brewed with paradise seeds, rose hips and habaneros. Manden Med Leen, a black IPA brewed with Belgian yeast, from Nick Rodammer. And most recently, Proud Mitten, a dry hopped IPA/Pale Ale made with Centennial, Citra and Simcoe hops from David Lyman of Kalamazoo. This event also coincides with our 29th Anniversary Celebration, Homebrew Expo, our 8th Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest, in addition to performances by Leftover Salmon, Cash’d Out (a Johnny Cash tribute band) and Monophonics and more. Competition entries (4 bottles) are due to the Bell’s General Store by Saturday, October 25. Winners will be announced on All Stouts Day Nov. 2, also at the Cafe. Want to enter? Here is everything you need to know. Sign-up times for wort pickup will begin at 11 a.m. Wort will be distributed starting at 1 p.m. Homebrewers should bring a sanitized vessel with them to transport their wort home. Buckets, carboys (please be extra careful handling glass carboys) and cornelius kegs are the most common vessels. You can leave them in your vehicle until it’s time to pick up your wort, but again, please sanitize your vessel prior to your pick-up time to help us make sure everyone gets their wort. Make sure to get there early, as supplies will be limited. Signing up early will help guarantee wort. You can send someone else to pick up your wort. We aren’t concerned with who takes it, just who turns in bottles to be judged in October. We do ask that you don’t bring friends or relatives who don’t brew, just so you can have an extra 5+ gallons of wort. We are relying on the goodwill of homebrewers to help each other out and share the wealth. Please help us make sure all who want to compete are able. You can add whatever you like to your recipe/submission. However, if your entry is chosen as the winner, we will have to be able to figure out a way to make your beer on a much larger scale. So please, take good, detailed notes of everything you do to the wort. We won’t know exactly how much we will end up with until the wort is made, but last year we were able to give 5 gallons of wort to 202 homebrewers. We hope to be in that ballpark again this year, but things happen during wort transfers that can affect that number. We recommend arriving early to sign up and make sure you get your wort. Still have questions? Just ask.

  We are proud to partner with local, state and regional organizations to host a Great Lakes Gala in the Bell’s Beer Garden next month, Sept. 14, at the Eccentric Café in downtown Kalamazoo. Everyone is invited to join us from 1-4 p.m. to learn about the Great Lakes and how to protect them. Admission is free, but there will be a suggested donation of $10. We will match what is donated up to $2,500. Money raised will go to Alliance for the Great Lakes, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, the Kalamazoo Nature Center and the Michigan Environmental Council. The speakers for the afternoon will be: Sarah Reding, Vice President of Conservation Stewardship, Kalamazoo Nature Center Jack Schmitt, Deputy Director, Michigan League of Conservation Voters James Clift, Policy Director, Michigan Environmental Council Joel Brammeier, President & CEO, Alliance for the Great Lakes They will talk about how their organization works to protect and restore the Great Lakes as well as Michigan’s other exceptional water resources. Kalamazoo’s own Great Lakes Grass will perform traditional bluegrass throughout the afternoon and beer specials along with a raffle are planned as well. “There are quite a few people working to protect, inform and educate the public about this valuable resource and we want our community to come out and meet them,” said Larry Bell, founder and president of Bell’s Brewery. “The Great Lakes, this region, has always been important to me and we need to work together to invest in them now and make sure they are protected for future generations,” he said. The Gala will cap a week-long 29th anniversary celebration for the brewery that will also include a movie in the Bell’s Beer Garden, a performance by Leftover Salmon at the Eccentric Cafe, the annual Bell’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, this year’s Homebrew Competition kick-off & Expo and more. Additional details for those events is also coming soon. Caption: Great Lakes Grass performs during the 10th Annual Bell's Beer Garden Opener. Photo by Eric K. Fischer.

This summer, we’re joining Sierra Nevada for Beer Camp Across America, a multi-weekend traveling beer festival taking place in seven cities across the country. With more than 700 breweries and at least 1,300 craft beers on tap from nearly every state in the country, Beer Camp Across America promises to be the largest craft beer celebration in history. In conjunction with the festival tour, the Beer Camp Across America collaborative 12-pack includes 12 different beers including two beers packaged in cans. The Beer Camp Across America variety pack is out now and also includes Allagash, the Asheville Brewers Alliance, Ballast Point, Cigar City, Firestone Walker, New Glarus, Ninkasi, Oskar Blues, Russian River, 3 Floyds and Victory. Our contribution, Maillard’s Odyssey Imperial Dark Ale, is a robust dark ale layered with complex malt flavors of toffee, caramel, chocolate, coffee, and dark fruit. This malt-focused concept spawned a daunting grain bill featuring 10 different grains including pale malt, Munich, chocolate malt, oats, dark wheat and roasted barley for a rich, semi-sweet and intense experience.  The name honors the Maillard reaction—the “browning” of sugars and amino acids—that creates the wonderful caramelized toffee-like and roasted flavors so abundant in this beer. We have are participating events in a quite a few different states including Michigan, Florida, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina and Illinois (Chicago/Midwest festival).

For the 5thyear in a row, Two Hearted Ale has claimed the No. 2 spot on list. The magazine annually asks its readers to share their favorite beers that are commercially available in the United States. Hopslam also maintained its No. 4 spot for the second year. Bell’s was also ranked second behind Russian River Brewing Co. in the Brewery Rankings category and tied for sixth in Best Portfolio. Read the full list here.

Bell’s Brewery, Inc., in partnership with Covance Laboratories, Inc. in Battle Creek and the Kalamazoo County Environmental Health Department, is excited to announce the inaugural HACCP Food Safety Training course. The Introduction to Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point is the first of its kind in Kalamazoo County and designed for individuals with little or no HACCP experience. The two-day course consists of lectures and group exercises that will provide the necessary tools for HACCP certification. It will be held at Bell’s Eccentric Café in downtown Kalamazoo on August 26 and 27 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Safety, along with quality, are our top priorities at Bell’s and we want to help make sure that other businesses here in West Michigan have the tools necessary to make sure that proper procedures and safe food handling are the norm,” said Jason Reicherts, Director of Retail for Bell’s. “We are also in the process of developing our own menu of house cured meats and fermented foods. The careful research and planning for that led us to the realization that there was both an audience and a need for this type of training,” he said. The course is accredited through the International HACCP Alliance and spots are limited. Cost is $200 per person which includes a continental breakfast and lunch both days provided by the Café. Call 269-250-8485 or email jreicherts@bellsbeer.com to register. Download the flyer [PDF]

In the same tradition as our Batch and Wheat Series,’ we are proud to announce The Planet Series. It will feature seven different beers each inspired by a different piece of music from the composer Gustav Holst. Each beer will be limited and released both in six-packs and on draft according to the arrangement of Holst’s composition across all areas we distribute to. The first Planet beer will be released this August with each successive entry debuting about every two months after. The final beer is scheduled for release in July 2015. “Our two most successful brands come from a couple of my great literary references. This time, I took inspiration from a great piece of music,” said Larry Bell, Bell’s President and Founder. “This piece, being in seven movements, gives us a lot of freedom to innovate and create,” he added. Holst conceived the idea for “The Planets” in 1913 with the first complete performance occurring in 1920. Each movement of the suite is named after a different planet and its corresponding astrological character The lineup "Mars, The Bringer of War" – Double IPA "Venus, The Bringer of Peace" – A Blonde Ale brewed with honey, apricot, vanilla and cardamom "Mercury, The Winged Messenger" – A Belgian Single "Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity" – A malt forward Brown Ale "Saturn, The Bringer of Old Age" – A Bourbon Barrel-aged Barleywine "Uranus, The Magician" – Black Double IPA "Neptune, The Mystic" – A beer inspired by Dr. Bell’s Medicinal Stout, one of Larry Bell’s homebrews that also helped inspire Eccentric Ale More information will be released as it becomes available.

With a foundation firmly rooted in homebrewing, Bell’s Brewery is proud to be a part of the 2014 American Homebrewers Association National Homebrewers Conference, June 12-14, at the De Vos Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a Local/Craft Brewery Lounge Sponsor, a special Bell’s lounge will be available for all conference attendees to enjoy. Bell’s beer, including a special commemorative Michigan barleywine that is currently fermenting just for this conference, will also be on tap. Made with Michigan grown hops from Hop Head Farms in Hickory Corners and barley from the Bell’s Farm in Shepherd, Bell’s Beer Michigan will be bottled exclusively for conference attendees to take home. A variety of unique foods, including house smoked meats, from Bell’s Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo, will also be available to sample in the Bell’s Lounge. “We are always thrilled to support the homebrewing community. It’s a natural fit since that’s how we got our start,” said Laura Bell, Bell’s Vice President. “To have a gathering like this, practically in our backyard, is a great way to give a little back and get a chance to talk with so many of those who share our passion,” she said. Bell’s president and founder, Larry Bell, will also be in Grand Rapids for the conference and will be available to chat with homebrewers at the Bell’s Lounge during the first day of the conference. Later that night, Larry Bell will kick-off a multi-day tap event at Logan’s Alley, located a short distance from the conference. Two Hearted, Oberon, Black Note, Bourbon Barrel Aged Kalamazoo Stout, Berry Ale and many other Bell’s beers – 16 different beers in all plus a firkin – will be featured. A special Bell’s brunch will also be offered on the final day of the conference at Logan’s Alley. There’s still time to register and enjoy the largest annual gathering of homebrewers from all over. 55 different seminars 80 expert speakers—the rock stars of the homebrewing world Keynote address by the founders of Founders Brewing Co. A welcome reception and toast spotlighting Michigan’s finest commercial brews Club Night—wacky and tasty as ever Thousands of delicious homebrews Not sure what to expect? Have a look at last year’s photos, the first time attendee guide, and this video overview. CAPTION: Brewing our Michigan barleywine in our 50-barrel brewhouse in Comstock.

We are proud to announce that we will be the presenting sponsor of the 2015 PDGA Amateur World Championships, July 18th-25th, right here in southwest Michigan.   Players will compete for 17 different titles making this the second time the disc golf World Championships will be coming to the area.   In 2008, Bell’s was the presenting sponsor for the combined Pro and Amateur World Championships that brought nearly 900 competitors from 9 different countries to Kalamazoo and Battle Creek for the week long tournament. It was the second largest disc golf event in history.   The 2015 World Championships are expected to bring about 700 players and their families to Kalamazoo. Michigan is one of the leading states in the sport of disc golf with well over 200 courses across the state including some of the highest rated courses among disc golf players. There have been several World Champion titles that have gone to Michigan players and next year’s tournament will be the 6th time the disc golf World Championships will have been played in Michigan. Michigan is also home to one of the leading disc manufacturers, Discraft Inc.   Bell’s Brewery has been a long time supporter of disc golf, starting with our support in building the first disc golf course in the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek area at Cold Brook County Park more 20 years ago.   Bell’s has continued to support disc golf throughout the years by supporting K’Aces Disc Golf, a Kalamazoo/Battle Creek disc golf club that is celebrating its 20th season this year. With the support of Bell’s, K’Aces Disc Golf runs weekly leagues year round and plays host to 7 PDGA tournaments during the year.   For more information about disc golf, check out pdga.com.  

COMSTOCK, MI –Bell’s Brewery, Inc. will begin distributing to southern California in early May, making it our 20th state we distribute to and our first western state since Arizona. Craft Beer Guild Distributing of California will distribute Bell’s full portfolio to San Diego and Imperial counties. “These two counties will help us establish ourselves while making sure the needs of our existing customers are met,” said Laura Bell, Bell’s Vice President. “We’re really excited to join an already outstanding craft beer community,” she said. Bell’s began distributing to New York City in February after expanding to western and upstate New York last fall. New York was Bell’s first new territory in almost five years. For help locating our beer, our fans will be able to use our Beer Finder feature in May to see which nearby bars, restaurants and retailers serve and sell Bell’s beer. Release party information will also be available as that information becomes available.