Bell's Brewery, Inc. is an American

craft brewing Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

company, with operations in Comstock and

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

. Bell's brews acclaimed beers such as Hopslam Ale, Oberon Ale, and Two Hearted Ale. It operates a

brewpub Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

and a store selling merchandise and

homebrewing Homebrewing is the brewing of beer or other alcoholic beverages on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Beer was brewed dom ...

supplies at its Kalamazoo location. Begun as a homebrewing store in 1983, and producing beer since 1985, it is the oldest existing craft brewery in Michigan and the oldest craft brewery east of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. As of 2021, it was the 6th largest craft brewery in the United States, and was the largest independently owned brewery in Michigan when founder Larry Bell sold the company to

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

Little World Beverages Little World Beverages Pty Ltd (LWB) is an Australian beverage and hospitality company, best known for its ownership of the Little Creatures brewery. Although often associated with the independent craft brewery movement in Australia, Little Worl ...

- an Australian subsidiary of the Japanese Kirin beverage group at the end of 2021. The company also owns Upper Hand Brewery, a separately operated division in

Escanaba, Michigan Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city in Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula. The population was 12,616 at the 2010 census, making it the third-largest city i ...

History

Larry Bell incorporated The Kalamazoo Brewing Company, Inc., in 1983 as a homebrewing supply shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In September 1985, the company began to sell its own beer, brewed in a soup kettle and fermented in open fermenters covered with

plastic wrap Plastic wrap, cling film, Saran wrap, cling wrap, Glad wrap or food wrap is a thin plastic film typically used for sealing food items in containers to keep them fresh over a longer period of time. Plastic wrap, typically sold on rolls in boxes ...

. The company produced 135 barrels in its first year. In 1993 the company opened an adjacent brewpub, the Eccentric Café. In 2003, Bell's opened an additional brewing facility in nearby Comstock, Michigan. The company legally changed its name in 2006 to Bell's Brewery, Inc., reflecting the name by which it was popularly known. A larger production facility in Comstock opened in 2012, increasing the company's brewing capacity from 180,000 barrels to 500,000 barrels per year. In late 2012, the Bell family repurchased all stock held by outside investors, returning the company to full family ownership. The company opened Upper Hand Brewery in the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

city of Escanaba in 2014. This brewery produces UPA (American pale ale), Upper Hand Light (lager), Yooper Ale (pale ale), Escanaba Black Beer (black ale), Upper Hand IPA (India pale ale), and a variety of seasonal and specialty brews. Initially sold only in the U.P., it began limited distribution in the

Lower Peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

in 2020. In 2021, Larry Bell sold his controlling share of the company to Lion

, an Australia-based international producer of alcoholic beverages. A subsidiary of the Japanese Kirin beverage group,

also owns Colorado-based

New Belgium Brewing Company New Belgium Brewing Company is a nationally distributed brewery in the United States. The brand produces Fat Tire Amber Ale, Voodoo Ranger IPA, Mural Agua Fresca Cerveza, and La Folie Sour Brown Ale, among other regular and seasonal beer varietie ...

Beers

Bells produces eight year-round packaged beers, and numerous seasonal and limited-production beers. Many limited-production beers can only be found in their general store in Kalamazoo.

Honors

Two Hearted Ale (an India Pale Ale named for the

Two Hearted River The Two Hearted River is a river in the eastern Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located entirely within McMillan Township in Luce County. The river runs approximately through forested wilderness,U.S. Geological Survey. N ...

in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

) has been ranked by the

American Homebrewers Association The Brewers Association (BA) is an American trade group of over 5,400 brewers, breweries in planning, suppliers, distributors, craft beer retailers, and individuals particularly concerned with the promotion of craft beer and homebrewing. Two of ...

as one of the best beers in the United States, in its magazine ''Zymurgy''. They rated it #2 from 2010 to 2016, and #1 from 2017 to 2019. Hopslam, a double IPA, is very popular among craft beer drinkers and sparks a backlog of demand at its yearly seasonal release; it has also placed within the Top 10.

Availability

Bell's brews its Porter, Kalamazoo Stout, Lager of the Lakes, Light Hearted Ale, Amber Ale, Two Hearted Ale, Hopsoulution Ale, and Official year-round. Several other beers are sold seasonally: Oberon Ale from late March through September (year-round in Florida, Arizona, and Puerto Rico), Best Brown Ale in September and October, Christmas Ale in November and December, and Bright White Ale (formerly Winter White Ale) from November through January. Specialty stouts such as Expedition Stout and Special Double Cream Stout, are released in autumn. Consecrator Doppelbock is released once a year. Additional beers are sold on tap at its brewpub. Bell's beer is distributed in forty-three states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. As of 2021, the states without Bell's beer distribution are Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, as well as California north of Los Angeles County.

Legal issues

In 1998, Bell's changed the name of its flagship summer beer from ''Solsun'' to ''Oberon'' as a result of legal action by Mexican brewing company Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, makers of a beer with a similar name: ''El Sol'' ("The Sun"). Bell's was temporarily pulled from the Illinois market in October 2006 when Union Beverage, its distributor to Chicago, tried to sell its distribution rights to a competitor which Larry Bell did not trust to adequately represent the brewer's full product line. In 2007 the company re-entered the market through new distributors by creating two new beer brands: Kalamazoo Royal Amber Ale and Kalamazoo Hopsoulution. In August 2008, Bell's was able to return its primary brands to the area, after Union Beverage's parent company quit the Illinois market.

References

External links

* {{official website 1983 establishments in Michigan Companies based in Kalamazoo, Michigan Beer brewing companies based in Michigan Companies established in 1983