Bell’s Brewing

Bell’s Brewery to Distribute to Southern California

Bell’s Brewery (Comstock, MI) will add distribution to Southern California in February, 2015. The brewery has signed a partnership with Craft Brewer’s Guild of Los Angeles.

Initially, Bell’s beer will be available in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura, Imperial Continue Reading →

Bell’s Debuts New Spiegelau Wheat Glass

Bell’s Brewery (Comstock, MI) has teamed up with Austrian glassware maker, Spiegelau, to create a glass perfect for American wheat beers and witbiers.

The approach was to create special glass that enhances the experience of the beer style (similar to the IPA glass.) Bell’s worked closely Continue Reading →

Bell’s “Venus” Ready to Ship

The second edition in Bell’s Brewery’s Planetary Series, Venus has been bottled and ready to ship. This edition is a blonde ale with apricot, honey, cardamon, and vanilla.

The second release in our Planets Series starts with spicy, fruity and light Continue Reading →

Posted in Bell's Brewing, Headlines, Seasonal Return

Bell’s Hopslam Ships The Month. The Brewery Answers Questions

Bell’s Hopslam is nearly ready to be released. The brewery has reached out to answer a few questions ahead of launch.

Q: Is there more this year?

A: We try to brew more every year, although it will still be limited.

Q: When/where will Hopslam be available?

A: As with all of our beers, that too will also depend on when our distributors from each area are able to pick it up at our brewery, then deliver it to its final destination. Hopslam will make its way to all states we currently distribute to including southern California (but only in Imperial and San Diego counties this year).

Here is how shipping schedules breakdown by state (please note, this is when shipping begins).

Week of Jan. 12: Michigan and Missouri

Week of Jan. 19: Virginia, Washington DC, North Carolina, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Pennsylvania and California

Week of Jan. 26: Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Puerto Rico and Arizona

Week of Feb. 2: Minnesota, North Dakota and Indiana

Other ways to get this year’s Hopslam –  

• Check our website’s Event Calendar for Hopslam events (we will be adding them as details are finalized).

• Our Beer Finder: Please keep in mind, the beer will have to travel first to our distributors and then make its way to bars, restaurants and retailers. Please be patient when checking with your local establishment and remember to call ahead before heading out the door.

Q: When will it be available at the Eccentric Café/Bell’s General Store in downtown Kalamazoo?

A: You can keep an eye on our Draft Cam as well as the Café’s Facebook page.

Q: Will there be Hopslam mini-kegs?

A: Sorry, no mini-kegs this year.

Q: Can I buy a keg for my home bar/kegerator?

A: (Again) Sorry, no. As in past years, all kegs are reserved for bars and restaurants. We want to be able to spread as much of this beer to as many people as possible.

Q: Can I save or cellar this beer for later/when a friend from out of town visits/other special occasion?

A: There are some beers that we brew that are meant to be cellared, Expedition Stout and Third Coast Old Ale for instance. Hopslam is not one of those.

Hopslam is meant to be enjoyed as fresh as possible. Please drink it.

Image via Bell’s Brewery

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Bell's Brewing, Distribution Expansion, Don't Miss This

Bell’s Brewery to Distribute to Southern California

Bell’s Brewery (Comstock, MI) will add distribution to Southern California in February, 2015. The brewery has signed a partnership with Craft Brewer’s Guild of Los Angeles.

Initially, Bell’s beer will be available in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura, Imperial and San Diego counties.

“We are constantly addressing capacity constraints and building on last May’s initial launch in San Diego, along with growth at our Comstock Brewery, we are able to gradually increase distribution,” said Laura Bell, Bell’s Vice President.

Expect launch events the week of February 23rd, 2014. Launch beers will be each of the brands according to their release schedules.

Oberon will be year round in Southern California.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Bell's Brewing, Headlines, New Releases

Bell’s Debuts New Spiegelau Wheat Glass

Bell’s Brewery (Comstock, MI) has teamed up with Austrian glassware maker, Spiegelau, to create a glass perfect for American wheat beers and witbiers.

The approach was to create special glass that enhances the experience of the beer style (similar to the IPA glass.) Bell’s worked closely with Riedel owner Georg Riedel and Spiegelau vice president Matthew Rutkowski in addition to brewery experts, going over 50 different glasses for this project.

“As with previous workshops, we challenged conventional thinking and presumption of what a wheat beer glass should look like. … The new glass works to bring faint aromas into sharp focus,” Rutkowski said.

Now Bell’s and Spiegelau proudly unveil the Wheat Glass, a well crafted glass for the wheat beer (and craft beer) enthusiast. Perfect for Bell’s Winter White, and of course Bell’s Oberon in the spring/summer.

The Wheat Glass features:

  • Large, voluminous bowl harnesses and retains the delicate aromas of this beer style
  • Open bottom glass base drives beer and aromatic foam upward into main bowl
  • Ultra-pure quartz material makes for unsurpassed clarity and flawless, true color presentation of wheat beer
  • Tapered, conical bowl provides superior flow to mid palate, improving the taste, mouth feel and finish of wheat beers of all varieties
  • Stark, angular shape and open base creates dramatic visual cascading effect into glass as beer is poured.

The Bell’s Wheat Glass is on sale now on sale at bellsbeer.com. A special event will take place at the Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on November 18th.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Bell's Brewing, Don't Miss This, New Releases

Bell’s “Venus” Ready to Ship

The second edition in Bell’s Brewery’s Planetary Series, Venus has been bottled and ready to ship. This edition is a blonde ale with apricot, honey, cardamon, and vanilla.

The second release in our Planets Series starts with spicy, fruity and light citrus notes along with herbal notes from cardamom in the aroma. Apricots contribute a very distinct tart character and sweetness from the vanilla rounds out the finish. More than 60 pounds of hand sliced vanilla beans were used to ferment this strong fruit and spice beer with a complex herbal fruit character.

Bell’s Venus is available in 12oz bottles. In Roman mythology, Venus was a goddess that encompassed love, sex, prosperity and fertility. The first release in the Plantary Series was Mars, The Bringer of War.

Style: Blonde Ale (w/ Vanilla Beans, Cardamom, Honey, Apricot Juice)
Availability: 12oz Bottles
Arrival: December, 2014

7.5% ABV

Read more: Bell’s Planetary Series

Image via Bell’s 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Bell's Brewing, New Beers

Bell’s Mint Chocolate Chip Double Cream Stout

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Bell's Brewing, New Beers

Bell’s Mocha Porter

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Bell's Brewing, Coming Soon, Headlines

Bell’s Planetary Spotlight: Saturn, The Bringer of Old Age

Bell’s Brewery (Comstock, MI) celebrates Gustav Holst’s classical masterpiece “The Planets”, with a specialty beer series that starts this year.

Each offering is a different interpretation of the composer’s movements, like the above Saturn, The Bringer of Old Age. Saturn is the only barrel-aged beer in the series, a bourbon barreled barleywine that went into the barrels in July, 2014.

Expect Bell’s Saturn sometime in April, 2015.

Style: Barleywine (Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles.
Arrival: April, 2015

Read more: Bell’s Planetary Series

by Reid Ramsay