On September 12th, 2015, 4,000 craft beer fans took to Homer Stryker Field in Kalamazoo, to celebrate Bell's Brewery 30th Anniversary of brewing beer in Michigan. The "Funvitational" brought over 100 beers from all around the country, giving us the rare treat to try offerings not distributed in our area, such as Creature Comforts and Cigar City. Bell's re-brewed a number of out-of-production recipes, like Batch 1000 through 5,000 as well as limited releases like Double Two Hearted, Spruce Two Hearted, Larry's Stupid Quadrupid IPA, Coffee Mustache, Sherry Bull in a China Shop, to name a few. And of course – the 30th Anniversary Imperial Stout.
“We have been brewing in Kalamazoo for almost 30 years and we are extremely proud of where we got our start. This festival is a celebration of that heritage, our community and our fans.” - Bell's Vice President, Laura Bell
One of the highlights – an appearance by guerrilla brass band, The Detroit Party Marching Band.
As with any festival, you just can't taste them all, but here are our favorite stand outs:
As with any festival, you just can't taste them all, but here are our favorite stand outs:
- Double Two Hearted, Bell's Brewery - Double IPA, 11.5% ABV
- Batch 1500, Bell's Brewery - American Barleywine recipe from 1994, rebrewed for the fest, 10% ABV
- Crazy Brewer Beer, Bell's Brewery - American Strong Ale brewed with cinnamon, ginger, salt, dark brown and turbinado sugar, 9.2% ABV
- Bourbon Barrel-Aged Expedition Stout, Bell's Brewery -
- Liquid Lunch, Terrapin Beer - Peanut Butter & Jelly Porter, 7.7% ABV
- Tropicália, Creature Comforts - India Pale Ale, 7% ABV
- Athena, Creature Comforts - Berliner Weiss, 4.5% ABV
- Imperial CoCoNut Porter, Maui Brewing - Porter, 10% ABV
- Brombeere, Odell Brewing - Blackberry Gose, 4.8% ABV
- Barrel-aged Neopolitan Stout, Saugatuck Brewing - Bourbon barrel-aged Milk Stout, 6.5% ABV
- Wine Barrel-aged Burn the Witch, Tapistry Brewing - Weizenbock aged in Chardonnay and Merlot barrels, 9% ABV
- Paris, Brewery Vivant - Sour ale aged in red wine barrels with Brett, 5.5%
- Autumn Maple, The Bruery - Dark Ale brewed with yams and spices, 10% ABV
- Zwickel, Urban Chestnut - German Lager, 5%
- Daymark, Rising Tide - Pale Ale, 5.5% ABV
- Abraxas, Perennial - Imperial Stout, 10% ABV
- Blå Spøgelse, Mikkeller/Three Floyds - Blueberry barrel-aged Lambic, 7.7% ABV
- Mélange Á Trois, Nebraska Brewing - (Reserve Series) Belgian blonde ale aged in French oak chardonnay barrels, 10% ABV
The food was just on a whole other level of satiation. The grill area featured a number of beer infused meats. We tried the Two Hearted Infused Hot Dog w/ Potato Salad and the infamous Bear Claw Burger (topped with mac & cheese, pulled pork and cole slaw in a Sweetwater donut bun). There was also a wood fired pizza oven serving 5 options, including a Porter Pork Belly Pizza and a Vegetarian Oberon Chili Pizza. There were a number of desserts, but we never made it that far.
ABOUT BELL’S BREWERY, INC.
Bell's Brewery, Inc. began in 1985 with a quest for better beer and a 15 gallon soup kettle. Since then, we've grown into a regional craft brewery that employs more than 333 people over a 20 state area, in addition to Puerto Rico and Washington DC. The dedication to brewing flavorful, unfiltered, quality craft beers that started in 1985 is still with us today. We currently brew over 20 beers for distribution as well as many other small batch beers that are served at our pub in Kalamazoo, the Eccentric Cafe. Our ongoing goal is to brew thoughtfully, creatively and artistically. We strive to bring an authentic and pleasant experience to all of our customers through our unique ales and beers. For more information, please visit bellsbeer.com.
