"
Kalamazoo Brewing Company, founded by
Larry Bell as a
home-brewing supply shop in 1983, sold its first
beer in 1985. Originally brewing in a 15-gallon soup kettle, the company grew rapidly on top of its first year's 135 barrels (BBL = 31 gal.) of production.
Kalamazoo Brewing Company stands as the oldest craft-brewer East of
Boulder,
Colorado. Originally self-distributed, Larry and crew brewed, bottled and delivered all of the beer to market for the company's first four years."
From bellsbeer.com.
Bell's Amber,
Bell's Pale,
Bell's Porter, Bell's
Kalamazoo Stout,
Third Coast Ale and
Two-Hearted Ale are all available year-round.
Bell's
Oberon is available from March through October.
Bell's
Best Brown is available from September through March.
Bell's
Double Cream Stout, Bell's
Cherry Stout,
Third Coast Old Ale and
Expedition Stout are all available from October through March.
The
Consecrator Doppelbock is available during the second half of February.
Bell's Amber is a medium-carbonated amber, with medium+
malting and a sharply bitter undertone. More heavily hopped than most ambers, and good for session drinking.
Bell's Pale is a thinner
American pale ale, with quite open wheat flavors and hints of spicyness. Decent as a summer drinker, this is probably one of the least interesting Bell's brews.
Bell's Porter is a heavily-roasted American porter, with very little hops and a complex, robust taste. A little thin, but full of flavor.
Bell's Kalamazoo Stout is a
sweet stout (or "
milk stout") with chocolate overtones and coffee undertones. Very creamy, great with vanilla ice cream as a
stout float.
Bell's Third Coast Ale is another American pale ale, this time with significantly more bitterness, with citrus and vanilla tones. Very yeasty, very hoppy.
Bell's Two Hearted Ale is an American
Indian pale ale, and is one of the biggest
IPAs in America. Very hoppy open, again with citrus tones, and a smaller, malty finish. Delicious and highly recommended for anyone who likes their beer hopped.
Bell's Oberon is an American wheat ale with a lot more body than most weisses. Golden, cloudy, again with the citrus from Bell's. Some love it; some hate it. I think it's tasty, but it loses
drinkability points due to high acidity.
Bell's Best Brown is an English-style brown ale, with heavy caramel and brown sugar tones. Sweetness turns dry as the beer goes down. This beer is one of the best brown ales made in America, hands down.
Bell's Special Double Cream Stout is a sweet milk stout that pours very dark with little head, and is mostly dark malt taste balanced with some coffee. A very sweet stout that, while enjoyable, is sometimes too much sugar to finish the glass.
Bell's Cherry Stout is a dark, very fruity sour stout. The tart cherries take over where usually the hoppy bitterness would balance the beer giving a unique flavor. High alcohol taste at 8%
ABV.
Bell's Third Coast Old Ale is a, well,
old ale with thick brown ale tones (and soft hints of malt). As an aged beer, the caramel main tones and hopped edges have mellowed considerably, making this beer much more drinkable than most. Much better than the similarly named Third Coast Ale.
Bell's Expedition Stout is a
Russian imperial stout, black as night and thick as mud. Heavy dark chocolate flavors and a well-balanced palette of fruits below the surface. One of the most fun beers to drink from Bell's, but it's hard to drink more than one at a sitting. Still, great for winter months.
Consecrator
Doppelbock is a red doppel with a thin, yeasty body. Lots of fruit, but not a lot of follow-through. Kind of standard, even though a lot of people swear by it (probably because of its limited availability).
Kalamazoo Brewing Company beer is available at most multi-tap bars in Michigan, and at
packy stores across Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. The old brewery in downtown Kalamazoo also offers food and entertainment, but the brewing has moved to a new location outside the city.