Two Hearted

August 15th is Two Hearted Day, when we celebrate the release of our beloved American IPA.  Here are seven ways to celebrate Two Hearted Day. Get outside Two Hearted was inspired by the great outdoors, particularly the Two Hearted River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A great way to celebrate the day is to get outside, go for a hike, paddle down a river, and enjoy a Two Hearted afterward. Brew some homebrew We got our start as homebrewers, and brewing your first batch isn’t as complicated as you think. We have tips and guides at our General Store on how to get started, as well as Two Hearted (grain kit or extract kit), Light Hearted (grain kit or extract kit), and Double Two Hearted (grain kit or extract kit) clone kits to get you all the ingredients you need. Have a Hearted Family reunion We all fell in love with Two Hearted — but there are more members of the family to meet. Light Hearted Ale is our Lo-Cal IPA that’s aromatic, balanced, full-flavored, and incredibly easy-drinking, all at just 110 calories. Double Two Hearted is a double IPA take on the original. With two and a half times the amount of Centennial hops, Double Two Hearted has intense pine and citrus notes, a resinous hop aroma, and a rich malt character. Cook some Two Hearted inspired food We all know — after a Two Hearted, or two, we start thinking about eating something. Here are some recipes to make some Two Hearted dishes and food that pairs well with our American IPA and Lo-Cal IPA sibling. TWO HEARTED BUFFALO SAUCE TWO HEARTED CHICKEN TACOS OVEN-BAKED TANDOORI TWO HEARTED CHICKEN WINGS GRILLED TROUT WITH CHILI ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS TWO HEARTED VEGGIE AND BRAT GRILL PACKETS TWO HEARTED SPICY CARAMEL CORN LIGHT HEARTED JERK CHICKEN LIGHT HEARTED TEMPURA BATTER LIGHT HEARTED GULF SHRIMP WITH GINGER AND ORANGE STIR FRY Shake up a Two Hearted cocktail It’s hard to have a drink better than Two Hearted… but sometimes you want to mix it up. Here are some recipes for Two Hearted inspired cocktails TWO HEARTED POLOMA TWO HEARTED + GRAPEFRUIT JUICE MAKES AN EASY BEER COCKTAIL THE BITTER BRO (TWO HEARTED) LIGHT HEARTED BEERGARITA   Call a friend and say you ❤️❤️ them Two Hearted is best enjoyed with friends. Given Two Hearted Day is a holiday, pick up the phone and call a friend who you enjoy drinking Two Hearted with and tell them you ❤️❤️ them. Crack a beer, reminisce and plan your next Two Hearted adventure. Attend a Two Hearted celebration Break out of your routines and find a new place to enjoy a Two Hearted at… we have a list of some upcoming events. Oh yeah, and if you want to rock some Two Hearted swag, we got you. Have a happy Two Hearted Day! Be safe, savor the beer and people you’re with. Share your celebration with us by using the hashtag #TwoHeartedDay.

This summer, you can run/jog/saunter for Oberon and Two Hearted (family) medals! Our annual Oberun 5K event will be virtual again for 2021. But after you run that 5K, be sure to sign up for the inaugural Two Hearted Family Reunion Run. Below are all the details for both virtual races. Special thanks to our partner, Running Fit! Sign-up now, space for both is limited. Oberun 5K When: July 26-30, 2021 Distance: 5K dash/jog Cost: $34 - Canadian shipping is available for an additional fee. Benefits: Karen’s Trail and the construction of a 70-mile trail system. Learn more here. Swag & goodies: Custom medal with bottle opener, t-shirt, shipping, a week of daily themes and contests (with prizes!). Registration deadline: June 14 at 9 a.m. CLOSED How to sign-up: Go here. Two Hearted Family Reunion Run 3 distances to choose from or run all 3: Light Hearted Hustle, Two Hearted Hop, Double Two Hearted Dash and/or The Whole Hoppy Family! When: August 9-13, 2021 Cost/swag: $34 each or $54 for The Whole Hoppy Family (includes US shipping, a week of daily themes and contests where you can win prizes, a soft cotton t-shirt, custom bottle opener medal (or 3) and an additional bottle opener when you sign-up for The Whole Hoppy Family. Canadian shipping is also available for $12. Distances: 3.7K,7K, 11K, 21.7K T-shirt deadline: Register by noon on July 16 to guarantee your size.  Registration deadline: Online entries close August 2, 2021, at 9 a.m. or when the event reaches capacity. How to sign-up: Go here.

Two Hearted Ale is the Best Beer in America. Again. Bell’s Brewery is the Best Brewery in America. Again. For the fourth year in a row, we brought home top honors in the 2020 Best Beers in America survey conducted by Zymurgy magazine, a publication of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA). Hopslam again joined Two Hearted on Zymurgy’s Top Ranked Beers List at No. 5. “Being honored with this again, is beyond words. With the year we’ve all had, this is a huge win we can all celebrate. To my staff, to our partners, to the homebrewers, to everyone who celebrates this beer; thank you from the bottom of my heart,” said Larry Bell, president and founder of Bell’s Brewery. Now running in its 18th year, the survey asks members to choose up to five of their favorite commercial beers available for purchase in the U.S. Two Hearted came in second to Russian River’s Pliny the Elder for seven straight years before claiming the top spot in 2017 (huge respect to our colleagues and friends at Russian River). We were the only brewery to have more than one beer in the Top 10. The top 10 results from this year’s Zymurgy survey are available at HomebrewersAssociation.org. The complete list will be published in the November/December 2020 print issue of Zymurgy. Cheers and thank you to the AHA, everyone who voted and to you for helping make this beer what it is. We also want to send a hearty congratulations to all of our fellow breweries on this list. So much incredible talent and we are humble and thankful to be among them.  Got a taste for homebrewing? Check out everything our General Store has to offer.  Want to celebrate in style? Find the nearest Two Hearted near you. 

Try this beer cocktail recipe next time you are looking to switch things up or just because! Ingredients 6 oz. Bell's Two Hearted 2 oz. tequila (reposado, blanco or your favorite) .5 oz. lime juice 1.5 oz. grapefruit juice 4-5 ice cubes Coarse salt (optional - pink Himalayan salt works great!) Lime wedge or slice for garnish (optional) Grapefruit slice or twist for garnish (also optional)  Instructions Cut a limed wedge and moisten the rim of your glass all around. Dip the rim into salt. Carefully place a few ice cubes in the rimmed glass and add a grapefruit slice if desired.  Add tequila, grapefruit juice, then lime juice and top with Two Hearted. Wait for the foam of the beer to settle and add some more to fill the glass completely.  Give a gentle stir, garnish with a lime wege ad/or grapefruit twist and enjoy! Cheers!

This coming Saturday, Aug. 15, marks the official debut of Two Hearted in 1997. With a beer like Two Hearted, one day simply isn’t enough so, we’re celebrating all week-long.  Here are lots of ways to join in on the celebration! Bid, win and help support those who need it: We’ve teamed up with the K-Wings to auction off a limited number of special edition Two Hearted jerseys. This is the final week to claim one of these beauties. Go here for more.  Save, save, save: Our General Store has some great promos all-month long and not just on Two Hearted merchandise.  10% off all apparel, now through Aug. 16; discount code is ALLTHEAPPAREL 10% off pet items and bandannas, Aug. 17-23; discount code is FORTHEPETS 10% off all homebrew clone kits, Aug. 24-31; discount code is ATTACKOFTHECLONES Browse our online store.  Cheers at home or wherever you are socially distancing at these days: Our Events Calendar is being updated with event info, specials and more as it is confirmed. Our Beer Finder is always there for you to find the closest Two Hearted and Light Hearted (along with all of our other beers). Pro tip: Just be sure to call ahead to verify availability, just in case.  Double Two Hearted: Yes, it will be back! (How could we celebrate without it?) Just know it will be a little late to the party. Keep an eye on our social media for more before it heads out toward the end of August.  Two Hearted trivia: Help prove how big of a Two Hearted fan you are. We’ll be sharing out some fun facts over on Twitter.  Send some Ale Mail: Use our free postcard service to send some mail to a friend, family member or even yourself. There is a Two Hearted and a Light Hearted option. Send one now.  Recipe collection: We have assembled our favorite ways to use Two Hearted (and Light Hearted) with food, which we all know is one of the best ways to use this beer and others. Check them out.  Two Hearted begins with quality ingredients: How do we source the hops for our beloved IPA? We go right to the farms we work with. Here’s a look at last year’s hop harvest in Yakima.  Celebrate locally: Our Eccentric Cafe will be celebrating Two Hearted Day on Saturday with $1 off Two Hearted pints and trout food specials. And of course our General Store has all your beer needs covered for those in the Kalamazoo area.  Celebrate socially: Share your best Two Hearted photo and/or tell us about your most memorable Two Hearted experience and we may re-share it. Use the hashtag #TwoHeartedDay.  Of course, the best way is to grab a can, bottle or pint and raise a glass with us to you and everyone else who has helped make this beer what it is today. From the farmers who grow quality hops to the brewers, packagers, quality, distributors and retailers, but most importantly, you. With fans like you, we would not be where we are today. Thank you and Happy Two Hearted Day. Cheers! Need help finding some Two Hearted? Our Beer Finder can show you the way. 

Summer, grilling, Two Hearted. What more do we need to say? Makes 4 servings. Ingredients 4 Cups sliced/diced veggies (zucchini, pepper, onion, potato, broccoli, mushrooms, etc) 4 Brats, whole or diced 2 tbsp olive oil 1/4 cup Bell's Two Hearted 1 tbsp paprika 1/2 tbsp garlic powder 1 tbsp parsley 1 tbsp oregano Directions Preheat 400 degree oven, grill or campfire. Combine all ingredients. Divide mixture onto 4 sheets of tinfoil and close to form packets. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until brats reach 160 degrees Farenheit and veggies are cooked through. Enjoy with a Two Hearted!

This recipe doesn’t use Two Hearted but it does pair with Two Hearted! 4 servings Ingredients 12 lbs of trout, skin on, cut into 6-8 oz portions 6 Serrano or birds eye chilies, seeded and finely diced 2 lbs Brussels sprouts, cut in half 1 red onion, large diced 4 cloves of garlic, minced ½ cup chopped parsley 1 grapefruit, segmented 2 Tbs olive oil Salt and Pepper to taste Directions Preheat your oven to 400F and turn your grill on. If not using a grill, you can use a cast iron skillet or a stove top grill pan. On a large sheet tray, with parchment paper underneath, mix together the Brussels spouts, onion, garlic, and chilies with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast the vegetables at 400F for 12-20 minutes or until the Brussels are softened and browning along the edges. While the vegetables are cooking, oil both sides of your fish and season with salt and pepper. Grill the fish, skin side down, for about 5-8 minutes, or until the flesh of the fish has turned opaque along the edges. Flip the fish and finish cooking flesh side down for a few minutes. Once the vegetables come out of the oven, put them into a bowl and mix in the segmented grapefruit and parsley, taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve the trout, skin side up over a few spoonfuls of the roasted vegetables and a pint of Two Hearted.

Bell’s Brewery and the Kalamazoo Wings have teamed up to help support two local organizations with a special, limited edition Two Hearted hockey jersey auction. Thirty-four jerseys will be available to bid on beginning July 13 and ending the week of Aug. 10, coinciding with our national celebration of Two Hearted Day.  “Unfortunately, the event we were supposed to have back in March was canceled for safety reasons due to COVID-19. Thankfully, by working together, we are still able to support two fantastic organizations with these unique, one-of-a-kind Two Hearted jerseys,” Larry Bell, president and founder of Bell’s Brewery said.  Proceeds raised from this auction will benefit Kalamazoo Friends of Recreation and the Comstock Community Center. The Bell’s Scrambled golf outing, another annual Bell’s event, was also canceled due to COVID-19. As such, proceeds from this auction will also go to supporting that organization. “The K-Wings are very excited to be able to auction these unique Bell's jersey's to the masses.  Due to the nature of not being able to gather we are utilizing our collective social networks to raise monies for two great local community non-profits,” Toni Lentini-Daniels, K-Wings Governor and Director of Business Operations said.  All online jersey auctions will be held through DASH Auction. Seven jerseys will be auctioned off every week leaving six jerseys the final week. Each auction will begin on Monday and end at 11:59 p.m. the following Sunday. A special broadcast will walk viewers through the entire auction process live on the K-Wings’ Facebook page this Monday, July 13, at 10 a.m. The online auction can be found here. Two Hearted has earned the honor of being voted Best Beer in America three years in a row by members of the American Homebrewers Association.  Two Hearted Day celebrates the debut of Two Hearted which was on Aug. 15, 1997. We will celebrate all week long.  Our Two Hearted Night with the Kalamazoo Wings was originally scheduled for March 21.   

We have an exciting, brand new way for our fans to show their love for Two Hearted Ale, Official Hazy IPA and the brand new Light Hearted Ale - our Fish Your Heart Out Sweepstakes. Craft beer fans can enter for a chance to win a custom grand prize adventure at one of three of the best fishing locations in the U.S. Twenty first-prize winners will win a Bell’s retro cooler filled with Bell’s swag. “These three IPAs are perfect for all adventures. Why not send some of our amazing fans on the adventure of a lifetime?” Larry Bell, President and Founder of Bell’s Brewery said. This celebrates the beauty of our home state and but also other areas that are part of the Bell’s community,” he said. The grand prize winner (and one lucky friend) will get to choose from the following locations: Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Two Hearted’s namesake, the Two Hearted River; the Davidson River in North Carolina or the North Platte River in Colorado and Wyoming. We will also cover airfare for two, hotel and money toward food and a car rental. To enter for a chance to win, visit Fishyourheartout.com or text “bellsfish” to 31996. Bell’s Fish Your Heart Out Custom Adventure closes May 31. Winners will be drawn on or around June 5, 2020. Eligible winners must be a resident of the contiguous 48 states, 21 year of age or older, and cannot be employed by a liquor license holder or wholesaler. For complete rules, visit the official sweepstakes website. Bell’s Fish Your Heart Out Sweepstakes is one of a handful of sweepstakes Bell’s fans will be able to enter in 2020. Stay tuned; we'll share more here on bellsbeer.com and on our social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn).

The eagerly awaited Light Hearted Ale is now available! A Low-Cal IPA with only 110 calories, Light Hearted is the newest year-round release from Michigan’s largest independent craft brewery. With a 3.7% ABV, it is the latest addition to Bell’s Hearted family (Two Hearted is available year-round; Double Two Hearted will return in August). “We did not just set out to make a lighter version of Two Hearted. We wanted to brew the best tasting, low-cal IPA we could. It all begins with quality ingredients. Balance, hoppiness and aroma are all there,” said Larry Bell, Bell’s president and founder. While Light Hearted may not share the exact ingredient list as Two Hearted (Bell’s flagship IPA is brewed with 100% Centennial hops), it does share many of the defining characteristics that make Two Hearted what it is. “One thing we did not do, was take a shortcut; no corn and no rice. Our goal was to deliver the same quality you would expect from a Bell’s beer, but with a lower ABV and with less calories,” Bell said. Light Hearted is brewed with Centennial and Galaxy hops with only 110 calories per 12 oz. serving. It cuts down on the things many beer drinkers don’t want, but keeps everything about Two Hearted they love. This new year-round beer was the first release in Bell’s General Store Exclusive Series; limited, small batch releases only available at Bell’s pub, the Eccentric Cafe, and its General Store. Focused on innovation, the GSE series serves as a testing ground for new recipes, small batch re-releases of fan favorites and other experimental brews. Light Hearted is now available in cans (12 oz. packaged in 6-packs and 12-packs) and on draft. Fans in Michigan will also be able to purchase 12-packs of 12 oz. cans later this month. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, the brewery’s flagship IPA, has been named the No. 1 Beer in America three years in a row by members of the American Homebrewers Association. It has been at the top of numerous “Best of” lists and consistently ranks as one of the most popular craft beers on the market. Keep an eye on here on the Bell's website and our social media channels for the latest information and release updates. You can also check out our Events Calendar and our Light Hearted merch! [[{"fid":"10235","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Bell's Light Hearted is a Lo-Cal IPA available on draft and in 12 oz. cans. ","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Bell's Light Hearted is a Lo-Cal IPA available on draft and in 12 oz. cans. "},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Bell's Light Hearted is a Lo-Cal IPA available on draft and in 12 oz. cans. ","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Bell's Light Hearted is a Lo-Cal IPA available on draft and in 12 oz. cans. "}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"alt":"Bell's Light Hearted is a Lo-Cal IPA available on draft and in 12 oz. cans. ","title":"Bell's Light Hearted is a Lo-Cal IPA available on draft and in 12 oz. cans. ","height":800,"width":1200,"style":"float: right; height: 467px; width: 700px; margin: 10px;","class":"media-element file-default","data-delta":"1"}}]]About Light Hearted Style: Lo-Cal IPA Tasting notes: Citrus and pine aromas; easy-drinking Description: Made with Centennial and Galaxy hops, and a variety of specialty malts, Light Hearted is aromatic, balanced and incredibly easy-drinking. This IPA has only 110 calories, yet all the Heart. Nutritional information & specs ABV: 3.7% Calories: 110 Carbs: 8.7g Protein: 1.3g Fat: 0g Availability: Year-round Packages: Draft and cans Shelf life: 6 months