Bell's Brewery

Larry Bell opened a home-brew shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1983 and began selling beer in September 1985, brewed in a 15-gallon soup kettle. It is the oldest craft brewery in Michigan, with a larger brewery at Comstock since 2003. Two Hearted, named after a river in the Upper Peninsula, was voted the best beer in the country by American Homebrewers Association members from 2017 to 2019. The BJCP uses seven Bell’s beers as examples: Two Hearted for American IPA, Oberon for American wheat beer, Amber Ale for American amber ale, Bell’s Porter for American porter, Kalamazoo Stout for American stout, Expedition Stout for imperial stout and Third Coast Old Ale for American barleywine. Larry Bell sold the brewery in 2021 to the Kirin group that owns New Belgium.