Bell's 25th Anniversary: Toasting a Quarter Century of Michigan Craft Beer

Every craft beer drinker in Michigan is familiar with Bell’s—the Great Beer State’s oldest and largest brewery.  Last week while I was drinking a few Bell’s Two Hearted Ales (one of my all-time favorite beers) I started thinking about the legacy of this brewery.  Bell’s Brewery, founded in 1985, celebrated its 25^th Anniversary over the past year, and the festivities continue this week at Ashley’s in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, February 23^rd with 25 Bell’s beers on tap, including a few special and limited releases (see All the Brews for more info).

Bell’s has come a long way since its humble beginnings with a soup pot and Saran Wrap covered open fermenters in 1985.  In many ways, all Michigan craft beer drinkers have grown with Bell’s over the years.  Personally, Bell’s Oberon was one of the first craft beers I tried, and it opened my mind to exploring new beers beyond the bland and overly commercialized Miller/Bud/Coors macro brews.  Slowly I began to expand my horizons by exploring more Bell’s beers—Pale Ale, Kalamazoo Stout, Java Stout, and others.

The success of Bell’s paved the way for other microbreweries to begin brewing in the Midwest.  Shortly after Bell’s opened in 1985, Great Lakes Brewing Co. opened in Cleveland (1988), followed by even more Michigan microbreweries throughout the 1990s—Founders, Arcadia, New Holland, Dark Horse, Atwater, and more.  The rapid growth of the craft beer movement continued during the first decade of the 21^st century, and today it’s one of the fastest growing industries in Michigan.

It all started with a soup pot and a dream back in 1985.  Frankly, there’s no telling where the craft beer movement would be today if it weren’t for the courage and vision of Larry Bell to start brewing and selling beer in Kalamazoo 25 years ago.  The Michigan craft beer community owes a great thanks to Larry Bell for all that he’s done for Michigan craft beer over the last two and half decades.  Let’s all raise a glass (of Bell’s beer) and toast to the next 25 years of craft beer in Michigan being as great as the last!

Bicycles, Beer & Chili: Depot Town, February 20th

The anticipation of a refreshing craft beer might be one of the best motivators to get through a workout.  The Beer Runner (Tim Cigelske) recently wrote an excellent piece about this phenomenon.  If you missed it, you should go check it out after you read this (“Beer and running makes you happy”).  The same idea Tim wrote about for running can apply to cycling, or really any other type of workout for that matter.

 

As the Beer Runner says, anticipation can contribute to our happiness both in running (or cycling) and in drinking craft beer.  During a workout we anticipate the positive impact it has on our health, body, and life, which subsequently makes us happier.  A similar anticipatory happiness applies to craft beer drinking.  Whether you’re eager to drink one of your old favorites or looking forward to trying a new beer that you just discovered, the anticipation can certainly add to the enjoyment of actually drinking the beer itself.  

Experienced cyclists and beginners alike can participate in “Another Chili Ride!” presented by Wheels in Motion and the Corner Brewery this Sunday, February 20th.  Wheels in Motion is encouraging people to get out and enjoy a nice winter ride (don’t worry, it’s not a race!), so this event is FREE for all riders.  Depending on what type of ride suits you, there are three different routes available for the event—28, 12, or 4 miles.  All routes start at Sidetrack in Depot Town (come join me for a pre-ride beer) and end at Corner Brewery.

After the ride you can partake in the Depot Town Chili Challenge.  Chili bowls are available at Frenchies (next to Sidetrack) for $5.  You can fill your bowl with chili at any of the five restaurants participating in the challenge—Aubrees, Sidetrack, Ypsi Food Coop, Café Ollie, and Corner Brewery.  All proceeds for the event go to SOS Community Services.  Corner Brewery will be serving drinks at Happy Hour prices for the duration of the event, so come to Depot Town, get a good ride in, then enjoy some beer and chili!

For more information, routes/state times, or to register for the ride you can go to www.wheelsinmotion.us or call 734-971-2121.

Pints for Prostates: Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery 2/18

There are many ways to raise cancer awareness—some walk, others wear ribbons, and a few drink beer.  You heard me right, drinking for cancer awareness.  Pints for Prostates is a national campaign that raises awareness for prostate cancer through the universal language of beer.  Over 200,000 men in the US are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.  In most cases it is a slow growing cancer, often with few noticeable symptoms, which makes annual screening imperative to detecting prostate cancer. 

Rick Lyke, a prostate cancer survivor, founded Pints for Prostate in 2008 because he wanted to share his message with other men.  The goal of the campaign is to educate men about prostate cancer, and the importance of early detection through prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing.  Pints for Prostates recommends that men over 40 have an annual PSA test—a blood test that can detect early stages of prostate cancer, when treatment is most successful.

If you enjoy beer, and want to help raise awareness for prostate cancer, then head on over to Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery this Friday from 3-8pm.  Pints of beer will be $1 for anyone brave enough to sit in the outdoor patio (sidewalk), with 1/2 of sales going to prostate cancer research.  There will also be discounted bowls of chili and 1/2 off mug club memberships for those sitting outdoors.

For more information call Blue Tractor at (734) 222-4095, visit the U of M comprehensive cancer center website, or go to www.pintsforprostates.org.

Strong Ale Tasting at Arbor Brewing Company

If these dark, cold, dreary days gotcha’ feeling down, there’s no better cure for the Michigan winter blues than drinking some big beers.  That’s exactly what Arbor Brewing had in mind for their monthly beer tasting last Thursday.  Yours truly, along with dozens of other local beer enthusiasts gathered at Arbor Brewing to taste a variety of Strong Ales from Michigan and around the world.

What is a Strong Ale?  It’s not necessarily a specific beer class on its own; the Strong Ale category encompasses several different styles—including Barleywines, Old Ales, and Scotch Ales.  Generally, the Strong Ale category includes all ales over 7% ABV, and the folks at Arbor Brewing had twenty-five different big beers for the crowd to enjoy.

The selection included five house brews from Arbor Brewing—my favorite was the Strawberry Blonde, a flavorful fruit beer that was a new one for me.  Typically I’m not a huge fan of fruit beers, but this was an exception.  The mild strawberry taste was surprisingly enjoyable, but unlike some other fruit beers the fruitiness was not overwhelming, as the description said—this fruit ale doesn’t forget it’s a beer.

There were several other Michigan made beers from Bell’s (Batch 10,000 and Third Coast), Founders (Backwoods Bastard), Dark Horse (Scotty Karate and Reserve Special Black Ale) and New Holland (Pilgrims Dole).  Recently, Bell’s Batch 10,000 has become one of my favorite beers.  The complexity of this beer is astounding, which I suppose is to be expected from a beer with over 100 malts and 60 hops.  I have a case of this in the cellar, and will be curious to see how the beer evolves over time.  Backwoods Bastard was another new one for me.  It sure is a unique tasting beer; there is a very strong oaky bourbon aroma, followed by a similarly bourbon-esque taste.  Backwoods Bastard was one of the most memorable beers of the night, but not a beer that I could drink too often.

In addition to the Michigan beers, there were many others from around the US and even some international beers.  Most of these beers, like many at this tasting, were new to me, but there were also some familiar favorites, including Stone Arrogant Bastard (speaking of Stone, have you tried the Jolly Pumpkin/Stone/Nøgne Collababiere?).  Some of the other beers I enjoyed were Unibroue Trois Pistoles, Avery Hog Heaven, and Duvel. 

This tasting provided the opportunity to sample some remarkable beers (especially beers that I normally might not pick on my own), and I look forward to going again in the future.  In case you’re interested in attending a future tasting at Arbor Brewing, they are the second Thursday of the month from 7-9pm with a different beer style featured at every event.  The style for March is Stouts, and IPAs are coming in April.  You should reserve tickets ahead of time to get a slight price break.  Arbor Brewing’s phone number is 734-213-1393.