by Cathan Cokely
As of today, the Southern California beer
world will never be the same. What has been anticipated for years is
finally happening, Bell's Brewery is hitting the shelves and on tap
across Orange County. Our shipment arrived today, February 23, and is here waiting for you!
Started
in 1983 by Larry Bell in Kalamazoo, Michigan, he took his humble
beginning with his 15-gallon soup pot and with time, hard work and thoughtful planning, grew into a
countrywide powerhouse, brewing over 310,000 barrels in 2014.
Seizing
the craft beer revolution wave, Bell's Brewery never took a break
from their expansion aspirations, growing their homebrew store and
small brewing operation into a statewide brewing power, increasing
their production up to 500 barrels in 1989. Moving forward to 1993,
Larry Bell opened up the Eccentric Café which was the first brewery
pub located on site of the brew house in Michigan. It was
the early stages of the craft beer revolution and Bell's Brewery initially struggled in the beer industry due to them brewing more
full-bodied, intensely-flavored brews while competing against the
domestic beer companies, who made lighter beers in general, and in greater quantity.
As
the craft beer revolution wave rolled across the U.S., Bell's saw an
opportunity to seize these new growing markets and currently are
distributed in 20 states including Puerto Rico and Washington D.C.
through around 80 different distributors. After the initial struggle
then steady continued growth in the 90s, Mr. Bell looked towards an
even larger expansion in nearby Comstock with a 130,000 square foot
facility on 32 acres in 2003. This was the first major stepping stone
in establishing Bell's Brewery as a widely sought after brew by beer
geeks across the nation. After even more demand from the growing
craft beer world, Bell's Brewery added on a 200-barrel brew house in
2012 including fourteen 400-barrel fermentation tanks, new grain
handling facilities and an employee care area.
The
most recent expansion focused in on adding a new canning line in 2014
along with two 800-barrel fermentation tanks. A main focus for Larry
Bell in the midst of all of this growth over the last 30 years
was to keep the environment and community of Michigan in mind during
every step. The focus of sustainability and support of
the natural environment is something that Bell's Brewery believes is
one of the main factors in being able to brew delicious beers as well
as keep their expanding business profitable and environmentally friendly.
Starting
before and with the farm they expanded to in 2008, Bell's Brewery
made it a goal for their company to be “...aware of how we impact our
surroundings, [so] we can act in ways that provide for economic,
environmental, and social benefits to ourselves (and our children) in
the future.” With environmental awareness accompanying their taste
for continuous expansion, Bell's took every opportunity to lessen
their company footprint on the environment at every step along the
way. Beginning with the 80-acre farm in Shepherd, Michigan, they
committed themselves to producing 100% non-GMO crops and using no-till
farming to prevent soil erosion while also using non-water
contaminating fertilizers that help improve soil quality along the
way.
Once
those grains are harvested, they are brought to the new facilities
that have been recently constructed under the same theme of keeping
an eye on nature and the future. These different facilities have
numerous eco-friendly additions such as the sedum green roof in
combination with a light-colored exterior membrane on the barrel
house that work together to provide insulation, lower heat radiation
and reduce the need for heating or air conditioning. They also use
Geo-thermal heating where tons of piping are laid down underneath the
earth to contribute to heating and cooling of the air being pumped
into these facilities. It's not only the construction that is
green-aware; they also care about the goods coming in and out by
recycling almost everything they can. Whether it be the 50,000 pounds
of spent grain they give to local farmers to feed their cows or their
support of local farms with the Avalon farms partnership they have
that supports local crops, Bell's Brewery is making it a company wide
point to keep the environment and local community in mind.
While
their process and quality standards are something to admire; it is
true that the end product is the real gem of Bell's Brewery: the
delicious brews that arrived at our store today. Below is a list of
all the beers currently available for us with brewery descriptions.
We should be seeing more seasonal brews as time passes but this
massive load of different beers and styles should help keep you busy
till then.
Oarsman
Ale
Designed
as a flavorful session beer,
Oarsman
Ale
uses
a classic German brewing technique to impart a light, refreshing
tartness.
Oarsman
Ale
grew
out of a desire to explore the tradition of session beers, trading
intensity for finesse while still creating a worthwhile experience
for the taster. The grain bill includes a healthy portion of wheat,
while citrusy hops lend bright notes to the aroma. Fermented with
Bell’s house ale yeast,
Oarsman
comes
in at 4.0% alcohol by volume. Rather than being the dominant flavor
note, the tartness in
Oarsman
takes
on more of a palate-cleansing role, making it perfect for pairing
with food.
Bell's
Amber Ale
Amber
Ale
deftly
balances a mixture of toasted grain & light caramel notes with a
range of floral, citrus and herbal hop notes, capped by a clean
bitterness. This balance of flavors makes
Amber
Ale
quite
versatile as a food pairing option, not to mention being rather tasty
in its own right. Whether serving as a jumping point to other styles
or as a familiar standby,
Amber
Ale
is
central to the Bell’s portfolio.
Bell's
Two Hearted Ale
Bell's
Two Hearted Ale
is
defined by its intense hop aroma and malt balance. Hopped exclusively
with the Centennial hop varietal from the Pacific Northwest, massive
additions in the kettle and again in the fermenter lend their
characteristic grapefruit and pine resin aromas. A significant malt
body balances this hop presence; together with the signature fruity
aromas of Bell's house yeast, this leads to a remarkably drinkable
American-style India Pale Ale.
Bell's
Porter
One
of our many award-winning beers,
Porter emphasizes
the darker, roasted aspects of malt. Hints of dark chocolate and
freshly roasted coffee provide the focus, while hops remain in the
background. Not as full-bodied as a stout,
Porter
bridges
the gap between malty brown ales and our more heavily roasted stouts.
Kalamazoo
Stout
Kalamazoo
Stout
represents
stouts in the Bell's year-round roster, offering a blend of dark
chocolate and coffee flavors with just a hint of brewer's licorice.
One of our oldest recipes, it balances a significant hop presence
against the roast malt body.
Commonly
asked trivia
The
brewer's licorice we use is gelatin-free, making it acceptable for
vegetarians; the
label comes from a series of portraits by a local artist.
Third
Coast Beer
Assertively
hopped,
Third
Coast Beer
offers
a crisp, dry bitterness with a mixture of floral & herbal aromas.
Trivia:
A series of 24 different front labels map all 3,288 miles of the
Michigan coastline, touching four of the five Great Lakes.
Bell's
Oberon Ale
Bell's
Oberon
is
a wheat ale fermented with Bell's signature house ale yeast, mixing a
spicy hop character with mildly fruity aromas. The addition of wheat
malt lends a smooth mouthfeel, making it a classic summer beer.
Midwestern
Pale Ale
Brewed
with barley from our farm in central Michigan, Midwestern
Pale Ale stands
apart from the model of completely hop-dominated pale ales, offering
a noticeable degree of malt body to counter the hop bitterness. A
blend of floral & herbal hop notes provide the aromatic &
flavor highlights, alongside the distinctive contribution of our
house ale yeast. A crisp bitterness finishes the experience without
being harsh.
Cherry
Stout
Tinted
ruby-black,
Cherry
Stout
gains
its signature tartness from 100% Montmorency cherries grown in
Michigan's Traverse City region. Rather than doubling up on
sweetness, this tart cherry varietal serves as a counterpoint to the
warm, dark chocolate notes from the malt bill. Lightly hopped for
balance, this stout is one of the cornerstones of the Bell's stout
portfolio.
Double
Cream Stout
Special
Double Cream Stout
derives
its name from its smooth, creamy texture, not the ingredients.
Completely dairy-free, this stout blends ten different specialty
malts to yield a remarkable depth of flavor. With only a touch of
burnt notes,
Special
Double Cream Stout
focuses
on the softer, cocoa & espresso-like aspects of roasted malt.
Java
Stout
Java
Stout
uses
a custom blend of coffee beans, roasted locally for us by Water
Street Coffee Joint, to generate its intense flavor. Possessing an
unmistakable aromatic punch,
Java
Stout
has
long been one of our most popular stouts.
Third
Coast Ale
Third
Coast Old Ale
focuses
on malt, offering notes of burnt caramel & other earthy malt
flavors. Designed with vintage aging in mind, the malt aspect is
matched to a heavy complement of hops. Sharply bitter at first, this
will fold into the malt character over time and bala
nce out the maltiness.
Expedition
Stout
One
of the earliest examples of the Russian Imperial Stout in the United
States,
Expedition
Stout
offers
immensely complex flavors crafted specifically with vintage aging in
mind, as its profile will continue to mature and develop over the
years. A huge malt body is matched to a heady blend of chocolate,
dark fruits, and other aromas. Intensely bitter in its early months,
the flavors will slowly meld and grow in depth as the beer ages.
Read more about the Bell's Brewery story at bellsbeer.com.
"It's the most wonderful time of the year..." Of course, we are talking
about Dry French Rose season which is just starting; we loved this one
so much, we made it our wine of the month. Juliette comes from the
Provence region of Southern France, home of the most exquisite and
traditional rose wines in the world (and you'll see many more in the
next few months!). Produced at the maison of Domaine de La Sangliere,
Juliette is a true expression of a traditional Provencal rose wine.
Dan: Concrete
fermenters at Epoch Estate in Paso Robles. This winery makes some of
the best wines in the region. We just sampled the 2014 Zin out of
tank...and it is AMAZING! Let @hospicedurhone begin! 
It
may seem that Deiss was obstinate or unagreeable, but the converse is
true. He was very giving and took time to answer all of our
questions... well, except for the grape blends in his bottlings! We
continued our discussion, talking about aromatics and ripeness when
he asked to borrow a notepad. He then drew a small graph showing the
intersection of aromatics and time. He illustrated that as the
grapes ripened on the vine, two important things happened. First,
the skin matures and phenolic ripeness grows with the passage of
time. As this occurs, the aromatics increase early in the growing
cycle, reaching a peak, which eventually begins a decline with
continued maturity of the grape. His point was that there is a
“sweet spot” in which to pick the grapes, where the intersection
of grape maturity results in good textural mouthfeel while the
aromatics are still very evident. Once past that peak, the aromatics
continue to decrease, minimizing or reducing the character of the
grapes.
Domaine Marcel Deiss 2012 Rotenberg $57.99 [344104] 
Domaine Deiss 2012 Schoenenbourg Grand Cru $109.99 [344105]
Carlin
de Paolo "Il Giullare" 2013 Rosé Barbera $19.95 [301712]
Carlin
de Paolo 2012 Piemonte Grignolino $17.98 [301708]
Carlin
de Paolo 2012 Barbera d'Asti $19.95 [301702]
Carlin
de Paolo Cisterna d'Asti 100% Croatina (Bonarda) 
