Sustainability

Brewed fresh to drink fresh: Bell’s Sideyard Ale will return with limited, expanded distribution along with two brand new fresh-hopped beers. Joining the brewery’s Fresh-Hopped New England-style IPA this year will be Sideyard Crystal Ale and Sideyard Triumph Ale, both will showcase a different, single hop varietal (Crystal and Triumph). “All three are nods to the beers we know and love from the Pacific Northwest. This year, we wanted to take advantage of two sizable, additional harvests and really celebrate the aroma and flavor of the harvest,” said Andy Farrell, Bell’s Innovation Manager. As each hop varietal is harvested, it will head straight to Bell’s Innovation Brewhouse to brew each of these harvest ales. Sideyard, brewed with Chinook hops grown onsite, is massively dry-hopped, aromatic, juicy, and hazy. “Using fresh, locally grown hops has a long tradition here at the brewery,” said Larry Bell, President, and Founder of Bell’s. Hop harvest in Comstock coincides with Yakima Valley where Bell’s sources a large percentage of the hops it uses in beers like Two Hearted, Hopslam, Oberon, and many more (Michigan-grown hops are also used in Two Hearted). “Our employees have always come together to help with the harvest. Over the last few years, our Land Stewards have put in a lot of hard work to cultivate and make this Hop Yard what it is today. It may not compare in size to our partners out west, but that dedication to quality is still very much the same.” All three Sideyard beers will be initially released within 12 hours of packaging. Sideyard will be distributed in areas here in Michigan and for the first time, in Ohio and Indiana. Packaged in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans, it will be very limited. Sideyard Crystal and Sideyard Triumph will be available exclusively at Bell’s Eccentric Café (on draft) and at the Bell’s General Store (bottles to go). Release details Sideyard Triumph Ale (6.5% ABV): 6-packs of 12 oz. bottles will be available starting at 11 a.m. on Sept. 30. The Café will have it on draft starting at 3 p.m. Sideyard Ale (6.8% ABV): 4-packs of 16 oz. cans will go on sale and on tap at the Café at 11 a.m. on Oct. 8. Sideyard Crystal Ale (6.5% ABV): 6-packs of 12 oz. bottles, along with draft pours, will be available starting at 11 a.m. on Oct. 15. About Bell’s Side Yard Located next to the brewery’s Comstock Brewery, the two-acre field is used to grow a few different varietals. This year, that includes Crystal, Triumph and Chinook (Sideyard Ale). Work began on planting a hop field at Bell’s in the mid-2010s on top of where a geothermal is located to help heat and cool the brewery.

A Kalamazoo-area recycling “co-op,” that incudes six local craft breweries, will divert about 26,000 lbs. of plastic per year from Michigan landfills. The collaborative led by the Kalamazoo Nature Center and us, applied for, and received a $12,000 Recycling Market Development Grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). One Well Brewing, Kalsec Inc., Presidential Brewing, Landscape Forms, Latitude 42 Brewing Company, Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s sustainable brewing program, Handmap Brewing (Battle Creek), Final Gravity, Territorial Brewing Company (also located in Battle Creek) and natural hops, spice and herb extract provider Kalsec are all participating by collecting and contributing material to this initiative. Based on a similar program developed by Great Divide Brewing Co, the grant was used to purchase two balers. One provides a recycling outlet for bags made of woven polypropylene that are used for brewing grains, like barley, and other ingredients that come in large quantities. “These bags, which also include super sacks (bulk bags that can hold up to 3,000 lbs.) are recyclable. The problem was that up until now, none of us had access to a viable recycling outlet for it,” Kate Martini, Bell’s Sustainability Specialist said. In order to make this material viable for a recycler, we needed to have truck loads of the stuff, which most breweries do not generate on their own, even here at Bell’s. We also needed equipment to bale all of it for transport, Martini added. The grant facilitated the purchase of the baling equipment and by inviting other breweries and manufacturers to participate, minimum quantities will be met. The second baler will be used to consolidate cardboard from participating partners. Baling cardboard makes it eligible for a small rebate and the revenue from this material stream is used to sustain the program. It also has the added benefit of alleviating the need for partners to pay for their own small-scale cardboard recycling program. Finished bales of material will be processed through a partnership with Padnos in Grand Rapids and their Kalamazoo partner AJ’s Recycling Services. Those interested in becoming a co-op partner should fill out this form. Cheers to sustainability!

Imagine a stretch of highway connecting Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids returned to forest. That is roughly 501 acres worth of pavement or about 380 football fields. It’s also the environmental equivalent of Bell’s Brewery’s energy efficiency improvements this year. The energy efficiency projects executed to make this reduction possible are why Michigan’s largest independent craft brewery has been awarded the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry Certification. Through a series of energy efficiency projects over the course of the last 2 years, we (Bell’s) reduced energy per barrel packaged 10.35%. Bell’s shipped almost half a million barrels of beer in 2019. The ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry is a global call-to-action for industrial sites to reduce their energy intensity by 10 percent within 5 years “Being good stewards of our environment has always been a priority. Sure, we save money. That’s good business. More importantly, we’re helping to secure and protect our environment for generations to come,” said Larry Bell, president and founder of Bell’s. The three projects that yielded significant reductions were: Compressed air leak detection: small holes or cracks develop over time in compressed air tubing. Using an ultrasonic device, Bell’s found and fixed worn pneumatic gaskets and tubing which saved the equivalent of 151,000 kilowatt-hours or enough electricity to power 14 homes for one year. LED retrofitting: By replacing fluorescent bulbs at the brewery with LEDs, Bell’s saved the equivalent of 127,000 KWH per year or enough electricity to power 12 homes for one year. Glycol heated CO2 vaporizer: two separate systems (fermentation and CO2 vaporization) were combined into one efficient system to save 190,000 KWH per year or enough electricity to power 17 homes for one year. The brewery partnered with Consumers Energy during the last few years to make energy efficiency upgrades at its main brewery in Comstock, Mich., near Kalamazoo. “We love working with customers like Bell’s who share our vision of a cleaner energy future by reducing their carbon footprint and using energy more efficiently,” said Lauren Youngdahl Snyder, Consumers Energy’s vice president of customer experience. “Our energy efficiency programs have helped customers save over $3 billion on their bills in the last decade.” The work at Bell’s also supports Consumers Energy’s Clean Energy Plan – a road map for protecting the environment and embracing innovative, affordable energy solutions. By 2040, Consumers plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions and meet 90 percent of Michigan’s energy needs with clean resources.

Our very own Walker Modic, Environmental & Social Sustainability Manager, here at Bell’s has been named the new co-chair of the Brewers Association (BA) Sustainability Subcommittee. Modic will join co-chair Katie Wallace of New Belgium Brewing in leading the BA’s efforts to help brewers maintain a healthy balance between environmental stewardship and economic vitality. Here at Bell’s, Modic oversees environmental engineering, environmental compliance, and byproduct and natural resource utilization. Before joining Bell’s in 2013, he was the head brewer at a small regional brewpub in Cambridge, Mass. Prior to starting a career in the beer industry, he worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, and received the EPA’s award for Scientific and Technological Achievement for his research on the effects of Atrazine. He holds a MA in Sustainability and Environmental Management from Harvard University and a MS in Molecular and Structural Biochemistry from North Carolina State University. “We’re very excited to welcome Walker into this leadership role,” said subcommittee co-chair Wallace. “Through his graduate work in sustainable brewing and his on-the-ground experience at Bell’s, Walker has a deep understanding of the environmental issues facing craft brewing today.” “I’m thrilled to have a new opportunity to support and perpetuate the work Katie and the BA’s sustainability subcommittee have done,” Modic said. “Katie and the BA are standard-bearers of sustainable practices that I’ve long admired. I can’t wait to work with them and further the long-term viability of our membership’s businesses.” The Sustainability Subcommittee serves the BA’s purpose by helping current members and future generations brew the highest quality beers in a manner that strengthens the value of their breweries. With its benchmarking tools and reports and sustainability manuals, the subcommittee encourages conscientious brewing practices that will ensure the long-term success of the craft beer industry. Re-published with permission from the Brewers Association. 

Harvest season is underway at hop farms across Michigan, including the 2.5 acre field next to our Comstock Brewery. On the first day of September, we harvested our Chinook, Cascade, and Newport hops. After they were picked by employees and some of the High Five Hop Farm crew, our hops were brought out to Hop Head Farms to be processed into pellets.  Taking care of our very own hop farm and being a part of the harvesting process provides us with an important learning opportunity. This small hop field helps to provide a firm understanding and appreciation of our ingredients and the needs of our farming partners. We are also able to be a part of the full circle of beer, from land to enjoyment.  What's another benefit of having a hop field at the brewery? Employees get the leftovers. Several pounds of fresh hops were made available to staff for their weekend brewing.        

As of July, 2017 our brewery is a member of the Glass Recycling Coalition (GRC). We’re excited to be a part of this initiative to help ensure that our, and all glass containers throughout the United States and world are recycled to their highest and best use. Though we’re based in Michigan, where a great deal of glass manufacturing takes place, our beer travels throughout the U.S. and on occasion beyond with the help of our fans and employees. Our Global Services Manager, Walker Modic explained that although here at the brewery we have a glass redemption rate of near 100%, our beer moves “around the country, into places where glass recycling is not as strong and that’s going to diminish our ability to keep amber glass an environmentally tolerable material.” Before aluminum came back in favor in the early 2010’s, glass was the preferred package type for craft beer. Although many of beers are now exclusively available in cans, glass is still an important packaging option for our brewery. In order to remain both sustainable and fiscally responsible, we collect and crush our waste amber glass on site. This glass then heads directly to our recyclers. With high rates of glass redemption in Michigan, the main focus of our joining the GRC is not to improve glass recycling locally, or even statewide, but throughout the nation. “If it’s only happening in Michigan, there’s just not enough glass to provide supply to all of the glass manufacturers in the rest of the country,” Walker said. “So you gotta bring everyone along or, we’ll do a great job recycling here at this location, or here in this state, but we’ll still find ourselves buying an amber glass product that is low in recycled content and it’s more likely than not to leave our state and go to a place where it will end up in a landfill.” In 2016, our glass redemption rate was about 2 million bottles, and although that seems like a large amount, “Bell’s as a consumer of amber glass is not massive” Walker said. “But when you look at the other craft breweries involved in the coalition you do start to move towards a large enough volume.” One of the hopes for our joining the GRC is “that by improving recycling in the places that you sell beer you improve the odds that your beer bottle is recycled,” Walker said.  Although recycling, and sustainability as a whole are important things for our company, they aren’t always top of mind for every person who buys our beer.   Walker explained that our top priority when it comes to our beer remains quality, but our sustainable practices will help to ensure that we can continue providing this high standard of quality for years to come.  Bottle or can, in Michigan or Texas, we encourage all our fans to drink responsibly and discard sustainably. Cheers!

As part of our continued sustainability efforts, the Eccentric Café has resumed composting and is offering one of the few customer-facing composting options in the Kalamazoo area. Now when you’re at the Café you’ll have three choices: regular trash, plastic cups and compost. The new composting coincides food service in the garden and patio. We have composted in the past, but with the expansion of our kitchen, we needed a bigger system. Everything served with food at the Eccentric Café will be compostable, including the plastic silverware and even its clear plastic wrapping - all of which are made from plants. The plastic cups remain fully recyclable through a local plastic recycling system. [[{"fid":"4314","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Compostable food waste from our kitchen","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Compostable food waste from our kitchen"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Compostable food waste from our kitchen","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Compostable food waste from our kitchen"}},"attributes":{"alt":"Compostable food waste from our kitchen","title":"Compostable food waste from our kitchen","height":"4480","width":"6720","style":"width: 480px; height: 320px; float: right; margin: 10px;","class":"media-element file-default","data-delta":"1"}}]]All food scraps from our kitchen and what’s left on plates, along with the plant-based plastics will be composted at Hammond Farms, south of Lansing. That composted soil is then sold for a variety of uses, including growing vegetables. Here’s a checklist to help you. What’s compostable Any leftover food Any bones Disposable flatware (and its packaging) Napkins Deli sheets Paper towels Greasy items Toothpicks Straws and their wrappers What’s recyclable Plastic beer cups What’s trash Wristbands Anything that may be brought in from outside Composting is part of our overall commitment to sustainability. That commitment extends to all of our buildings. Examples at our Comstock Brewery include a bio digester to clean waste water and regain energy, scrap material recycling, Big Ass Fans to maintain temperatures and a green roof. If you have any questions about our compost and recycling programs or where to put what at the Café, please ask one of our downtown staff members. Also, you can contact us via our online form on or social media.

This year’s Adopt a Highway program kicked off at the end of April, making this our seventh year participating in this unique opportunity to give back to our community. To date, our employees have picked up more than 750 bags of trash along the highway here in Comstock, Michigan. Two more clean-ups are scheduled for this year.