Bell’s 25th Anniversary Weekend Details
From Laura Bell via Ratebeer.com We’re just a few weeks away from our 25th anniversary weekend and I wanted to share with you the official press release and full schedule of events.
(Kalamazoo, MI) – A quarter of a century ago, Larry Bell set out like a modern-day frontiersman with a 15-gallon soup kettle and a dream as he traversed the wilderness of beer brewing. Okay, maybe a little less Grizzly Adams than that, but 25 years later – the landscape of craft beer has been changed by the innovative beer stylings of Bell’s Beer. Far from those meager beginnings as a homebrew supply shop, Bell’s is now the oldest craft brewery east of the Rocky Mountains. What was once a 135-barrel a year operation in 1986, grew into a company producing over 125,000 barrels in 2009. “In some ways it seems like just yesterday when I started this adventure,” says Larry Bell, “I’m not sure I could have imagined where it would take me.” In honor of the journey Larry Bell took with a few loyal customers, that grew into a massive following, Bell’s will be hosting a weekend of events to celebrate the brewery’s 25th Anniversary from September 9-12. “It’s our customers who have made this all possible. It’s amazing to have people who are as passionate about innovative and exhilarating beer as I am,” said Bell, “This weekend is about celebrating our customers, enthusiasts and fanatics. And,of course, it’s about really great beer.” The 25th Anniversary Celebration weekend will feature live music (no cover), lots of great food, public tours of the brewing facility and all the great beer that put Bell’s on the map – including a special 25th Anniversary Ale. $1.00 off pints until 9:00 pm on Friday and Saturday and all day Sunday, if you’re wearing Bell’s gear.
A full schedule of events follows:
Thursday, September 9th:
9:30 pm: West Side Winders
Friday, September 10th:
2:00 pm: Press Conference in the beer garden
3:00 pm: Music starts and continues all night with:
• The Kalamazoo Dixieland Band
• Great Lakes Grass
• Black Jake & the Carnies
• Greensky Bluegrass
$1 off pints until 9pm on Friday if you are wearing Bell’s gear.
Saturday, September 11th:
11:00 am – 4:00 pm: The Galesburg Brewery will be open to the public for tours.
There will be grilled food and soda available.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm: Bell’s celebrates homebrewers. You bring a 5 gallon carboy to the Eccentric Café, we fill it with cold wort made with our Michigan barley at no cost. Take it home, hop it, ferment it and send 2 bottles to us no later than November 1st for judging. Guidelines and more information available when you pick up your wort. There will be a limited amount, so get there early! Winners will be announced on All Stouts Day, November 7th. Limit – one entry per person.
1:00 pm: Music starts and continues all night with:
• Ein Prosit! (40+ member, traditional German band)
• Deal’s Gone Bad
• Rolling Head
• My Dear Disco
$1 off pints until 9pm on Saturday if you are wearin
