News

For the first time since 2012, Bell’s Two Hearted mini-kegs will return to store shelves. These 1.32 gallon cans are perfect for sharing (or not) and make great gifts. We are one of the few breweries to offer a beer in such a fun and eccentric package. Two Hearted mini-kegs will ship from the brewery starting the week of Nov. 5, just in time for the holidays. After being picked up by our distributors, it will take some time to travel to their final destination. We suggest you contact your local retailers directly to inquire about availability. You can also use the Bell's Beer Finder - but know that you will need to call each location directly to inquire about mini-keg availability. Please be patient with retailers as they may not have all information right away. Two Hearted mini-kegs will ship to our entire distribution footprint, but will be limited. They will go on sale at the Bell’s General Store in Kalamazoo on Nov. 7. FOOD PAIRINGS Savory: Oysters, BBQ, brisket, cilantro, bleu cheese, coriander, cumin, balsamic, chili Sweet: Apples, grapefruit, carrot cake, maple syrup, caramel The Eccentric Way: Curried Vegetable Soup

We had a blast at this year's Great American Beer Festival!  Aside from celebrating our recent, full-time arrival in the great state of Colorado and meeting so many amazing people, our brewing team had another reason to celebrate - a silver medal for Roundhouse. Roundhouse is one of our our hoppy IPAs (7.5% ABV). It is brewed with substantial amounts of late-kettle hop additions and is also dry-hopped. Those hops yield a heady blend of fruity aromas of pineapple, peach and citrus that continue into a crisply bitter hop presence across the tongue. The judicious use of toasted and caramel specialty malts prevents the hop intensity from overwhelming the palate. Locally sourced Michigan honey creates a smooth, dry finish that pulls everything together. Currently a specialty draft offering, look for Roundhouse on tap at Bell's Eccentric Cafe or at an event near you.  Congratulations to our downtown (Kalamazoo) brewing team and everyone who has helped get this beer into a glass. Cheers!

Two brand new Bell’s beers have been announced for 2019, but we have more in store for our craft beer fans this fall. Hopsoulution, one of our Double IPAs, is joining our year-round lineup in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. Hopsoulution was previously a limited, specialty release for our entire distribution area. Twelve-ounce bottles, packaged in 6-packs, along with kegs of Hopsoulution will start shipping in September. It will remain a specialty release for the remaining 35 states in our distribution footprint (plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico), returning in the spring of 2019.   “Our fans have been asking for a Double IPA to be a part of our year-round portfolio. We’re going to start with the Great Lakes region and re-evaluate other markets in the future,” Larry Bell, President and Founder of Bell’s Brewery said. Remarkably drinkable for a beer with an 8% ABV, Hopsoulution is brewed with several hop varieties for massive aromas of tropical fruit, citrus and pine. A mild caramel malt character and dry finish provide balance. Also debuting this fall will be two brand new, but limited, specialty releases! Side Yard Ale (6.8% ABV), a fresh-hopped New England style IPA, will be available exclusively for purchase at the Bell’s General Store and on tap at Bell’s Eccentric Café in downtown Kalamazoo. Packaged in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans, the beer will be brewed with Chinook hops freshly harvested from our Hop Yard located right next to our Comstock Brewery.  Each can will feature one of three labels, each showing a different image of the Hop Yard including one from last year’s harvest. It will be released in early October. Tessie’s Golden Ale (5% ABV) will also be a Bell’s General Store and Cafe exclusive. The bottle label features Larry Bell’s Yellow Labrador, Tessie, wearing an Oberon dog collar. It will also leave the brewery in late October. Both beers will be brewed using our brand new pilot brew system. Tessie’s Ale will be bottled using our new specialty bottling line. Both are part of a brand new innovation pipeline – a 12.8-barrel pilot brew system and specialty packaging line designed to fill 12 oz. and 750 mL bottles. This Pilot Brewery is located where our original Comstock Bottling Hall was located, the same space where all Bell’s bottled beers were packaged from 2003 until 2016. Bell’s newer and primary Bottling Hall is capable of filling 750 bottles-per-minute.

Things to keep in mind if you decide to enter this year's homebrew competition: 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 (starts at 11 a.m.) will help guarantee wort. We will start distributing wort at 1 p.m. 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 more than 200 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. The wort will be made with 100-percent Michigan Pale Ale malt. The initial OE of the base wort will be roughly 12 Plato (+/- 1 degree plato) or about 1.048 gravity, which will yield a knock-out gravity of 13+ Plato (about 1.052 gravity) after the final boil. Left unchanged, the fermentability will result in a beer with approximately 6% ABV. The wort will be minimally boiled and entirely unhopped, giving you complete freedom for recipes and allow your imagination to fun (run?) wild from there. Since the wort is only briefly boiled, homebrewers will have to do a complete kettle boil on their own systems. There are no restrictions or style guidelines for the final beer, so long as it uses the base wort from Bell's Brewery, Inc. Competition entries (four 12 oz. bottles) are due to the Bell’s General Store by 7 p.m., Sunday, October 28. For more on this year's competition, go here. 

A brand new beer will join our year-round lineup early next year: Bell’s Official Hazy IPA. Official brings pungent American hops and wheat malt together in the brewhouse. Double dry-hopped, Bell’s Official uses a combination of Mosaic, Citra, Azacca, Amarillo and El Dorado hops. Beer fans will enjoy notes of peach, stone fruit and tropical hop characteristics with a dry finish and balanced bitterness; a refined beer for those who love hops and for those who prefer wheat beers.  “We do American IPAs really well. We also do wheat beers very well. Official brings the best of both and combines them in a way that is approachable and enjoyable no matter what you prefer,” said Larry Bell, Bell’s President and Founder. “The name of the beer is simple, yet it makes a statement,” he said. This is the first in a series of new beer announcements that will highlight and showcase the continued innovation that we are known for, Bell hinted. Development of this beer began in 2017 with the limited release of Titania and later, Larry’s Latest IPA. Both inspired this new beer and helped Bell’s Innovation and Brewing Teams refine the recipe for Bell’s Official. With an ABV of 6.4%, Official is still incredibly drinkable and like many of our other beers, unfiltered. It will be available to order across our 40-state distribution area, as well as in Washington DC and Puerto Rico. Official will be available in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans, 6-packs (12 oz. bottles and cans) and on draught, making it Bell’s Official beer of get-togethers, the back yard, after work, nights out (and at home), the journey, a good day , hikes… you name it.

We are proud to announce new distributor partnerships in New England and New Jersey. Eleven distributors will help bring Bell’s beer to Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey later this summer. “As we add any new state, it is very important to us that we remind all of our fans about our dedication to quality. Part of the process of selecting new distributor partners is making sure that is a shared passion,” said Laura Bell, CEO of Bell’s Brewery. “We are all very excited to welcome each of these distributors to our extended Bell’s family and look forward to launching New England and New Jersey with partners who share our commitment to craft beer and quality,” she added. We launched two new states, Texas and New Mexico, in 2017. Adding six New England states and New Jersey this year, will bring our distribution footprint  to 39 total states in addition to Puerto Rico and Washington DC. Launch celebrations are being planned. Additional information will be announced as details are finalized here at bellsbeer.com and on our social media. Sales positions for these new states have also been posted. Learn more here.  ABOUT McLaughlin and Moran (Rhode Island): McLaughlin & Moran, Inc. prides itself in marketing, warehousing and delivering a world class portfolio of beer throughout the entire state of Rhode Island. Founded in 1936 by first cousins John J. McLaughlin and John E. Moran, we are now a third-generation Rhode Island family business committed to providing great products and service to our customers. The owners of the company are proud to be responsible and generous corporate citizens as evidenced by McLaughlin & Moran's support of scores of charitable organizations. With the wide variety of products within our portfolio, the on and off premise customers that we service on a weekly basis have the ability to source high quality products to satisfy the demands of the consuming public. McLaughlin & Moran takes great pride in everything we do each and every day. About Levine Distributing (Connecticut): Levine Distributing is a family owned and operated business located in Norwich, CT. Levine has been distributing beer in eastern CT for over 84 years servicing both Windham and New London Counties along with the towns of Old Saybrook and Essex in Middlesex County. Carrying the finest selection of craft, domestic and imported beers, Levine Distributing is highly selective in which brands they sell. Levine is committed to customer service, quality and supplying the best brands possible to their customers. About Commercial Distributing (Massachusetts): Founded in 1935 by Joseph C. Placek in the town of Westfield, Commercial Distributing is now in its third generation of family ownership and has expanded to be the premier beer distributor of Western Massachusetts. CDC employs 125 people and services over 1,000 bars, restaurants and clubs, as well as over 400 package and liquor stores. We are dedicated to our employees who exhibit honesty, pride, passion and professionalism - and are focused on delivering complete customer satisfaction and offering extraordinary products to our valued customers. About Craft Beer Guild LLC (Massachusetts): Voted consecutively by the Boston Globe as one of the state's Top 100 Places to Work, Craft Brewers Guild is located minutes from the heart of downtown Boston. As the largest distributor in the state, Craft Brewers Guild services Massachusetts from Boston to the New York border with an extensive portfolio of international, national, regional, and local craft beer brands. Passionate and knowledgeable about the product, all employees are Cicerone trained and certified. As a company, the Craft Brewers Guild is dedicated to supporting the community in which it resides through charitable donations and involvement with organizations including: the Connolly Center of Everett, MGH Hospital, Camp Harbor View, and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute through the James Joyce Ramble 10K. About L. Knife & Son, Inc. (Massachusetts): The flagship of the Sheehan Family Companies, L. Knife & Son was originally founded in 1898, with a distribution agreement with Anheuser-Busch signed in 1934. Today, it is the headquarters and workplace for most of the corporate staff. Located in Kingston, MA it services the southeastern part of the state. L. Knife & Son is proud to be part of numerous high profile events in the area, including Martha’s Vineyard Shark Tournament and the Figawi Sail Boat Race Weekend. About Seaboard Products Co. (Massachusetts): Seaboard Products was started in Salem, Massachusetts shortly after Prohibition ended as a beer, wine, and spirits wholesaler. In 1968, Seaboard Products become the first company to be acquired by the Sheehan Family Companies, formerly L. Knife and Son Companies, and in 1970, moved its headquarters to Danvers, MA. Seaboard Products carries the Anheuser-Busch portfolio as well as a full craft beer portfolio. Seaboard Products is very active in the local community as well, supporting local youth and adult sports teams, charity events such as the Pan Mass Challenge and the Salem Witches Cup, as well as organizations such as the Jimmy Fund. About Northeast Beverage Corp. of CT (ConnectIcut): Northeast Beverage Corp of Connecticut is a division of Mancini Beverage, a 4th generation family owned and independently operated beverage distribution business founded in Rhode Island in 1959. Northeast Beverage launched in Connecticut in 2001 and now represents some of the leading craft and imported beer brands servicing over 5000 customers through a state-wide sales and marketing platform. The Northeast Beverage team is committed to quality customer service, brand recognition and a passion for craft beer. Craft Beer Guild Distributing of Vermont LLC (Vermont): In 2011, the Sheehan Family Companies brought the Craft Beer Guild portfolio to Vermont. Specializing in a full craft beer portfolio and a sales team of all Level I Cicerones, Craft Beer Guild of Vermont distributes top craft beer, cider and imported brands. Craft Vermont is the only full-service, exclusively craft distributor in the state. About Craft Beer Guild Distributing of Maine LLC (Maine): In 2012, the Sheehan Family Companies brought the Craft Beer Guild portfolio to Maine. Craft Beer Guild of Maine, headquartered in Westbrook, brings a portfolio of popular craft brands to the area, as well as ciders and imports. About Craft New Hampshire: In 2010, the L. Knife and Son companies founded the Craft Beer Guild in the great state of New Hampshire. With only 2 brands--and no accounts in the beginning-- the company has grown considerably, moving three times in the first year. Today, the company has 16 Cicerone Level I certified employees, and is considered the premier craft beer distributor in the state. A state whose population love their beer! Craft New Hampshire boasts a portfolio of craft brews that range from national and local to high end imports. ABOUT Hunterdon Brewing Company L.L.C. (New Jersey): Hunterdon was founded in 1996 by college buddies and fellow beer enthusiasts Michael Short and Dave Masterson. The company originally started out as a New Jersey contract brewer, distributing their prized Jersey Shore Gold to a handful of loyal customers across the state. Mike and Dave managed the company on their own, working tirelessly as both salesmen and delivery drivers for the first two years. Craft beer in the state of New Jersey was not at all where it is today and getting people on board was definitely a challenge. In 1998, they were able to hire a few salesmen and purchase a couple more vans to make life a little bit easier for the two passionate yet very tired young entrepreneurs. A year later they relocated from their small make-shift office in Califon, NJ that consisted of a sole phone, fax, computer and printer to a warehouse in Phillipsburg, NJ where they would take the business to the next level. When 2000 rolled around, Mike and Dave realized the need for craft beer representation in the state of New Jersey and decided it was time to make the switch to a full-time beer wholesaler. Some of their first brands included Dogfish Head, Weyerbacher, Yards, Allagash and a collection of unique imports from B.United International. Slowly but surely they began acquiring more craft brands and getting additional sales reps out on the street. Over the next decade, the name ‘Hunterdon’ became synonymous with craft beer in New Jersey and more and more breweries looked to Mike and Dave for help distributing their product in the Garden State. Today, Hunterdon is proud to have one of the best craft beer portfolios in the country, with over seventy domestic craft beer and spirit brands to speak of. The company also boasts a tremendous line of specialty imports, sakes, meads, wine and ciders from around the world. Hunterdon also has a rapidly growing local portfolio. The Garden State has a diverse collection of breweries, distilleries, cider makers, vineyards, and meaderies. We are thrilled to be able to grow the love of craft with the talented folks of New Jersey. Now, located in Whitehouse Station, NJ, the company has over 150 full-time employees and more than 40 sales reps on the road each day making New Jersey a great place to drink craft beverages. From their humble beginnings as Jersey Shore Gold salesmen operating with one delivery van, a couple of hand trucks and a ‘fly by the seat of their pants’ attitude, Mike and Dave are proud of where their journey has taken them. And we hope you are too!

We re proud to partner with Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Western Michigan University’s Sustainable Brewing program to announce an incredible opportunity that will help develop and nurture future brewers right here in Michigan. The Bell’s Brewery Development Award will give participants experience in four key departments over the course of one year. Students will rotate through and gain valuable insight into Bell’s Quality, Brewing, Packaging and Brewing Innovation at its main brewery in Comstock. “Talent continues to be in high demand within the brewing industry and by partnering with these two educational institutions, we are able to inspire candidates who not only have a shared passion for Brewing Science, but also roots here in Michigan,” said Carrie M. Yunker, Bell’s Director of Human Resources. Yunker, along with John Mallett, Bell’s Director of Production, and Stephanie Blodgett, Bell’s Talent Acquisition Coordinator, developed this new program with Mike Babb, KVCC Sustainable Brewing Instructor, and Steve Bertman, WMU Department of Chemistry Professor. “Southwest Michigan is a hub for craft brewing in no small part because of Bell’s and this new position is an unbelievable opportunity for our students. Bell’s has put together a thoughtful and generous position for someone to get hands-on experience in all aspects of production at a thriving and world-renowned craft brewery. That they are reserving this position for someone from our program is a recognition of the care and rigor that we have incorporated from the very beginning,” said Bertman. The WMU and KVCC brewing program was developed in 2015 by the two schools working in close coordination with the industry. The resulting “two-plus-two” program in sustainable craft brewing offers students the opportunity to earn a certificate or associate degree at KVCC, then move on to a Bachelor of Science degree at WMU. The rigorous science curriculum was developed with input from an external advisory board comprised of a dozen of Michigan's top craft brewers, many of them in West Michigan, which has one of the country's highest per-capita densities of craft brewers. “This is the kind of collaboration that we envisioned when we created the program together with KVCC,” said Bertman. “Partnering the strengths of the two largest institutions of higher education in Kalamazoo with the incredibly experienced and diverse breweries in the area provides a great structure for students who are interested in enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of the industry.” “We are more than delighted that Bell's is providing this opportunity for our graduates,” Babb added. “As a leader in the craft brewing industry, we sincerely appreciate Bell's support of our award winning program and students.” Nationally, craft beer accounts for more than 12 percent of beer sales, and the industry is becoming a significant generator of jobs and revenues. Craft brewing contributed $2.09 billion to Michigan’s economy in 2016 according to the Brewers’ Association, making it 9th on the list of states in which the industry has the greatest economic impact. WMU and KVCC will start accepting submissions in January. The final day to apply will be March 1 and the internship will begin on April 30. Those selected must have a completed a KVCC Sustainable Brewing Certificate from the recognized program. This opportunity is available exclusively to KVCC and WMU students.

PRESS RELEASE COMSTOCK, Mich. – Bell’s Brewery, Michigan’s oldest and largest brewery, celebrates its 32nd anniversary this month on Sept. 19. As part of the celebration, Bell’s kicked-off its 8th Annual Bell’s Homebrew Competition on Sept. 9 at Bell’s Eccentric Café in downtown Kalamazoo. “Three decades ago, I would have never imagined where we would be as a company, as a brewery, as an industry,” Larry Bell, President of Bell’s Brewery said. “A lot has changed over the years. This year marks quite a few other milestones all over the state and we raise a glass to all of our fellow craft brewers celebrating as well,” he added. Larry Bell founded Bell’s Brewery in 1983 and sold his first beer in 1985. The company he started is now 100% family-owned and also the largest independent craft brewery in the state of Michigan. Larry’s daughter, Laura Bell, was promoted to the role of CEO in February. “It’s an incredible honor to be a part of the next generation,” Bell’s CEO Laura Bell said. “As we look to what comes next, it’s very important to remember our roots and celebrate the fans and the homebrew community that helped us get to where we are today, she added. Even before Larry Bell sold his first commercial beer, he started as a homebrewer and then founded a homebrew supply shop, a precursor to the brewery Bell’s is today. Production reached 135 barrels in 1986, all brewed and bottled by 10 employees. Today Bell’s employs more than 540 people, a majority in the state of Michigan, and shipped 412,000 barrels in 2016. As the seventh largest craft brewery in the U.S., according to the Brewers Association, its impact can be seen throughout the craft beer industry in Michigan, in the Midwest and beyond. Bell’s was the first brewery to sell beer by the glass and has inspired countless other breweries, homebrewers and craft beer enthusiasts. Free wort for the Bell’s Homebrew Competition was given away to almost 200 homebrewers. Among the first place prizes for that competition, the winner will get to brew their recipe at Bell’s original Kalamazoo brewery to then go on tap at the adjacent Café alongside beers like Oberon and Two Hearted, a beer that was recently named #1 beer in America by the readers of Zymurgy Magazine. Coming up later this month is a three-day Octoberfest Celebration on Sept. 22-24, also at Bell’s Eccentric Café. German cuisine, live music and of course, Bell’s Octoberfest Beer are all part of the festivities. Held in the Bell’s Beer Garden, this is a free, all-ages event. Bell’s fans are also encouraged to see where their favorite beers are born. Free brewery tours of Bell’s original Kalamazoo brewery are offered on weekends. Tours of its nearby Comstock Brewery are offered throughout the week. Tours can be booked here.

Things to keep in mind if you decide to enter this year's homebrew competition: 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 (starts at 11 a.m.) will help guarantee wort. We will start distributing wort at 1 p.m. 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 more than 200 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. The wort will be made with 100-percent Michigan Pale Ale malt. The initial OE of the base wort will be roughly 12 Plato (about 1.048 gravity), which will yield a knock-out gravity of 13+ Plato (about 1.052 gravity) after the final boil. Left unchanged, the fermentability will result in a beer with approximately 6% ABV. The wort will be minimally boiled and entirely unhopped, giving you complete freedom for recipes and allow your imagination to run wild from there. However, homebrewers will have to complete the kettle boil on their own systems. There are no restrictions or style guidelines for the final beer, so long as it uses the base wort from Bell's Brewery, Inc. Competition entries (four 12 oz. bottles) are due to the Bell’s General Store by 7 p.m., Sunday, October 29. For more on this year's competition, go here. 

We will invest more than $7 million in capital improvement projects related to quality, sustainability and beer production in 2017 and 2018. The majority of these projects will involve our locations in Comstock, but will also include our Kalamazoo brewing operations. “We are deeply committed to our community in Comstock and will continue to invest additional resources so that we remain top in class further ensuring our commitment to quality,” Larry Bell, Bell’s President and Founder said. “We also want to offer our partners and customers additional options. These new projects will help us accomplish both,” he added. This significant investment will include the addition of a pilot brewery and a new specialty packaging line, among other beer production related projects, at our Comstock Brewery. A smaller pilot brewery will also be added to our original brewing location in downtown Kalamazoo, adjacent to our pub and restaurant, the Eccentric Café. Other new investment projects include additional office space at our home office as well as a project to divert waste related to brewing. Instead of sending low pH yeast to Kalamazoo’s waste water treatment facility, it will be reclaimed and sold to local farmers to feed their animals, further enhancing our commitment to sustainability. Additional details will be shared here on our website as they are finalized. For updates on these and other initiatives, follow us on social media.