Beer Me! — Bell's Brewery Inc. — Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States

Read about our trip to Germany and Prague at
The "Beer Me" Blog!

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Bell's Brewery Inc.

Eccentric Cafe-Pub

(No longer brewing)

355 East Kalamazoo Avenue
Kalamazoo MI 49007
Telephone: +1 269-382-2338
Hours: Monday-Wednesday 11:00am-midnight, Thursday-Saturday 11:00am-1:00am, Sunday noon-midnight.
Brewer: Kevin Stuchell
[Contact] [Update]

Notes

Opened: 1985

Contributors: Diane Crawford, Jason, Mike Feekart, Siegfried Binge

The Eccentric Cafe-Pub is still open; the beer is brewed at Bells' production facility in Galesburg.

Updated: October 26, 2018

News

2011-12-09: Legislation is Good News for Bell's (WKZO)
2007-12-04: Interview: Larry Bell, Bell's Brewery (Chicagoist)
2007-11-08: Don't Call it a Comeback... (Chicagoist)

Beer List

Amber Ale

American-Style Amber/Red Ale
- Date: February 16, 2003 (#4689)
  
  Package: bottled
  
  Place: Woodman's Food Market #20, Green Bay WI
  
  Score: 15 points
  
  Overall Impression (2½)
  Golden, low carbonation, thick head. Mild fruity hop aroma. Medium body, moderate carbonation. Lots of fruity hop flavor with a very mild bitterness. Some sweet grainy maltiness toward the end.
- Date: February 9, 2002 (#4165)
  
  Package: draught
  
  Place: Old Hat Brewery, Lawton MI
  
  Score: 16 points
  
  Overall Impression (3)
  Golden amber, hazy, big thick head. Big fruity aroma. Medium body, huge fruity hop flavor, somewhat-bigger-than-mild bitterness.

Batch 10,000

Best Brown Ale

American-Style Brown Ale

Date: February 16, 2003 (#4688)

Package: bottled

Place: Woodman's Food Market #20, Green Bay WI

Score: 12 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Deep amber, hazy, thick head. Smells like butterscotch and chocolate. Medium body, fairly fizzy. Lots of herbal hops. Chocolatey, caramelly, with lots of butterscotch and a little citrus.
Date: February 9, 2002 (#4170)

Package: draught

Place: Old Hat Brewery, Lawton MI

Score: 12 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Bright brown, thick head. BIG diacetyl odor. Medium body, HUGELY buttery, mild caramel flavor.

Consecrator Doppelbock

German-Style Strong Doppelbock

Date: September 22, 2002 (#4443)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Deep dark red opaque, big thick head. Lots of toasty malt aroma. Big body, huge vegetal hop flavor. Mildly sweet and toasty.

Eccentric Ale

Old Ale

Date: February 15, 1998 (#2396)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Dark red brown opaque, no head. Sweet ginger aroma. Thick, sweet, flat. Some bitterness, some roasty coffee flavor, a fair bit of ginger in the finish. Lingering bitterness. Thanks to Spencer Thomas for bringing this bottle to Hawaii, and also for the excellent bottle of Bell's Expedition Stout, which I neglected to write down.

Date: April 24, 1998 (#2747)

Package: bottled

Place: Sam's Wine and Spirits, Chicago IL

Score: 13 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Amber, moderate carbonation, thick head. Dark caramel aroma. Medium body, metallic, sweet. Reminds me of a Rogue beer.

Date: July 12, 2003 (#4959)

Package: bottled

Place: Peabody's Ale House, Oshkosh WI

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Short fill - at least one inch short. Black beer with a big brown head. Herbal hop aroma, chocolatey. Medium body. Hugely chocolatey. Good hop bitterness is the only thing that keeps it from tasting like a glass of milk chocolate. Good beer.

Date: February 16, 2003 (#4690)

Package: bottled

Place: Woodman's Food Market #20, Green Bay WI

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Yellow, very slight haze, moderate head. Sweet grainy malt aroma. Light body. Sweet, with a vegetal hop flavor and oily bitterness. Thin and unbalanced.

Date: May 16, 1998 (#2804)

Package: draught

Place: Clark Street Ale House, Chicago IL

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Golden opaque, thick head. Tutti frutti aroma. Big body, lots of fruity hops, maybe some wheat.

Date: April 9, 1998 (#2720)

Package: bottled

Place: Sam's Wine and Spirits, Chicago IL

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Golden, fairly high carbonation, big protein flocs. Lots of dark brown yeast at the end of the pour. Candy sweet aroma, citrusy, floral. Medium big body, real nice hop flavor and bitterness, nice malty balance.

Date: June 30, 2003 (#4930)

Package: bottled

Place: Peabody's Ale House, Oshkosh WI

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Golden. Opaque, thanks to my clumsy pour. Thick head. Citrusy, spicy aroma. Medium body. Lots of caramel malt flavor. Lots of citrusy-herbal hops. Moderate bitterness all the way through. Next time I'll be more careful with the pour.

Date: March 21, 2003 (#4737)

Package: bottled

Place: Flanagan's Stop and Shop, Appleton WI

Score: 18 points

Overall Impression (3)
Golden, some yeast haze (my fault), very fizzy, with a big head. Big spicy floral hop aroma. Light-medium body, not as fizzy as it looks. Nice maltiness supports a huge but well-balanced floral hoppiness and a fairly intense but very well-balanced bitterness. Real nice beer.

Date: April 12, 1998 (#2728)

Package: draught

Place: Map Room, Chicago IL

Score: 18 points

Overall Impression (3)
Golden amber, moderate carbonation, thick head. Very very fruity, citrusy, floral aroma. Light body, massive floral hop flavor start to finish. Blows Alpha King away.

Date: January 9, 2004 (#5182)

Package: draught

Place: Peabody's Ale House, Oshkosh WI

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Yellow opaque. Thick dense head. Intense yeasty aroma. Medium body, chewy. Lots of wheat flavor, and lots of yeast. Some hop bitterness in the middle.