Some new stuff mixed in with the Bell’s classics!
Tag: Bells Brewery
Bell’s Brewery 2017 Release Calendar
Here’s Bell’s 2017 release calendar. They will be giving Mars: The Bringer of War double IPA its second-go round. Check out the calendar below for more releases. Cheers!
Reds Alehouse Tapping Bell’s Hop Grandslam Tuesday April 19th
If you are a Hopslam lover then this is right up your alley and will be a can’t miss event. Red’s Alehouse in North Liberty is 
receiving 1 of the 3 kegs supplied to Iowa from Bells of their Hop GrandSlam! Hopslam dry hopped and more honey added, it comes in at 10.5% and Reds wants to try to set their personal best record of emptying a keg. Can 14 minutes be topped? Here’s more from Reds on this exciting event!
BREAK THE RECORD WITH BELL’S BREWERY!Most likely, the majority of you know of a little beer made by Bell’s known as Hopslam. But, we’re guessing the majority of you have not heard ofBELL’S HOP GRANDSLAM!The first year Bell’s has made this mystery beast of a beer, it’s Hopslam dry-hopped at twice the rate and even more Michigan honey and coming in at a whopping 10.5%. The kicker? Only 3 kegs were sent to this state.So, what should we do with it? Obviously, throw a party!April 19th, we’re hoping to break our personal best time of emptying a keg from start to finish! Can we finish this keg in under 14 minutes? We sure gosh-darn think so! But we need your help!To even further incentivize you to show up and help us, we’re tapping the following the same day:Bell’s The Wild OneBell’s Barrel Aged Consecrator DopplebockMilchkaffee Milk Stout
Coming to Shelves: Boulevard Tropical Pale Ale cans, Lagunitas Waldo’s Special Ale, Summit Pils, New Holland Sour Series, Bells Session Pale Ale
A few news tidbits from around the web this week with some updates of beers that should be coming to Eastern Iowa at some point. Have any news? Drop me a line @benmed15@yahoo.com:
**Boulevard Brewing Tropical Pale Ale – what started as a collaboration with Cigar City is now turning into a canned version solely released by Boulevard. Tropical Pale Ale will be released in cans. No word on if there will be a recipe change from the original and no release date yet. Stay tuned for more on this one.
**Lagunitas Waldo’s Special Ale – part of Lagunitas’ One-Hitter Series returns for a brief time and release date looks to be 4/20. This is a double IPA that in past checked in around 10.8% ABV and this year will be available in 12 oz bottles. Really excited for this one in bottles!
**Summit Brewing 30th Anniversary Pils – Summit’s 30th 
Anniversary coming out and another beer they’re releasing in celebration is a Keller Pils. This unfiltered German-style pils will come in at 5.1% ABV and be available in 12 oz cans and be released late spring/summer this year.
**New Holland Mischievous – part of New Holland’s Sour Series is Mischievous. This is an American Wild Ale that is fermented with brett. This beer checks in at 5.5% abv and will be available in 22 oz bottles. Here’s more from the brewery:
Mischievous presents flavors derived from its 100% brettanomyces fermentation. This wild yeast contributes earthiness, spice, mineral-character and slight tartness.
**Bells Oatsmobile Ale – a session pale ale brewed with oats is 
coming from Bells this April. At 4.3% ABV, this hop-forward pale ale is dry hopped with Mosaic, citra, and amarillo, amongst others and the using malted oats to give it that unique body. Here’s more from Bells:
COMSTOCK, Mich.—Bell’s Brewery will roll out a brand new beer in April. It is the first new addition to its year-round lineup since 2010.
A hop-forward session Pale Ale brewed with oats, Oatsmobile Ale (4.3% ABV) will be available on draught and in 12 oz. bottles, packaged in six-packs across Bell’s distribution footprint.
Oatsmobile is dry-hopped with a blend of classic and modern Pacific Northwest hops, including Mosaic, Citra and Amarillo, for a pungent blend of stone fruit and tropical aromas.
“This beer is unique. Aromatics may drive it, but the signature ingredient – oats – are what really makes this beer stand apart and also where the name comes from. It’s approachable and intriguing with a fun personality,” said Bell’s Vice President, Laura Bell.
“The use of malted oats help give it a body that you don’t see in most other session Pale Ales. Once we tweaked the recipe to combine the body from the oats with those powerful hop aromas, we thought it would make a great addition to our year-round portfolio,” she said.
This 100% all-malt Pale Ale was first brewed in 2013 to explore the use of oats in a Pale Ale at Bell’s original brewery in downtown Kalamazoo. Initially Oat Ale, it was renamed Boiling Pot Pale Ale when it was released as a limited specialty draught option in select markets.
Oatsmobile launch events and additional details will be shared at bellsbeer.com and on Bell’s social media as it becomes available.
Coming to Shelves: Black Butte XXVII, NB Farmhouse, Next Stone Enjoy By Date, Bells 30th Ann. Imp. Stout
Quite a few tidbits so far this week and some big hitting beers that we will be seeing coming between now and the fall months. A new BBQ joint opening up in the old Old Capital Brew Works site called Mosleys. It’s coming from the owners of Reds/Big Grove/30hop/Pullman so you know it’s going to be legit. Hope to have more info soon after I talk to one of the owners. Onto the news for the week:
*Deschutes Black Butte XXVII – a beer I look forward to every year since their arrival in Iowa has been Deschutes’ Black Butte Porter. A different spin on this imperial porter has it being brewed with rose water, cocoa nibs, pomegranate molasses. Here’s more from Deschutes:
Our 27th Anniversary Imperial Porter was brewed with Theo’s cocoa nibs, pomegranate molasses and select spices, blended with apricot puree, and then aged in bourbon barrels. The result is a truly exquisite ale with bold chocolate character, inspired flavors of fruit, and just a pinch of spice. The perfect way for us to celebrate our golden birthday with you!
Malt: Pale, Wheat, Midnight Wheat, Chocolate, Crystal
Hops: Millennium, Cascade, US Tettnang
Other: Theo Chocolate Cocoa Nibs, Apricot Puree, Pomegranate Molasses
Barrel-Aging: 6 Months in Bourbon (50%)
*New Belgium Long Table Farmhouse Ale – a new beer to the breweries 12 oz releases is a Saison that checks in at 6.2% ABV and will be a seasonal release. More from the brewery:
An ode to the communal Saison, LONG TABLE Farmhouse Ale brings together the juicy flavors of Belgian yeast and Nelson Sauvin hops with the spicy and toasty notes of Munch and Rye grains. Grab a seat!
*Stone Enjoy By 10.31.15 – the latest release on this wonderfully popular beer will start brewing, as of this post in 72 days, 10 hours, and 1 minute. It will be hitting Iowa in both 12 oz and bombers. Here’s more from Stone:
This exquisite liquid patchwork of more than a dozen hops is a devastatingly fresh double IPA. Freshness is a key component of many beers – especially big, hoppy IPAs – but we’ve taken it further, a lot further, with this one. We brewed this IPA specifically NOT to last. We’ve gone to extensive lengths to ensure you get your hands on this beer within an extraordinarily short window, and we’ve sent a very clear message in the name of the beer itself that there is no better time than right NOW to enjoy this IPA!
*Bells 30th Anniversary Ale – 30 years for beers and what better way to celebrate than to pay homage to their Expedition Stout. The 30th Anniversary will be dark fruit filled, roast, and chocolate. A great beer to age due to the dark malt. It will check in at 11% and be available in 6 packs, not sure if sold as singles or not.
Bells Brewery Kick Off to Christmas Dec. 19th @ Reds Alehouse
I just received the following email from Reds Alehouse. Sounds like Bells is bringing some heavy hitters on the 19th! Some things we haven’t seen in Eastern Iowa before and Oracle on tap will be really nice! Hope to see you there! Here’s the list of brews:
Coming to Shelves: NB Rampant cans, Boulevard, Sierra Nevada, Bells Wheat Beer Glass
Payday coming up on Thursday and I’m looking forward to adding a few beers to my fridge this week. I still haven’t gotten my hands on Pirate Bomb! from Prairie yet and hopefully I can still find it, and I’m hoping Toppling Goliath makes an Eastern Iowa drop this week as well. I need to find some of Millstream’s Raspberry Latte Stout and stock up on that as well. Last week I was able to pick up some Bells Double Cream Stout which is a favorite this time of year and I was lucky enough to get a few more bottles of New Belgium’s fantastic Hop the Pond the IPA which would be a welcome sight if it went year round. Hoping to see a few of you Friday night at Blackstone’s Border War! Onto some news tidbits!
**New Belgium Brewing** – the can craze continues as New Belgium will be offering their Rampant IPA in cans. The following comes from beerstreetjournal.com:
The hop profile heavily features Mosaic and Calypso, bringing stone fruit flavors to the front seat. We’re talking peaches, apricots, things like that. Centennials are in there too, rounding out the aroma with a big citrus blast. Rampant also offers a sturdy malt backbone to balance the flavor in such wonderful way. It is a really great beer, like really great…
New Belgium Rampant IPA will be available in 12oz cans. Release date to follow.
Style: Imperial IPA
Hops: Mosaic, Calypso, Centennial
Malts: Pale, BlackAvailability: 12oz Bottles, Draft. 12oz Cans (Soon)
**Boulevard Brewing** – Boulevard will be releasing “Last Splash” will be their 3rd release in their Backroads Beer series and this one is a wet-hopped ale. From Boulevard’s Instagram:
We’re bottling Last Splash, an upcoming wet-hopped Backroads beer, for an early November release today. This beer showcases Nugget hops that were shipped to us within hours of being harvested.
**Sierra Nevada**– this December Sierra Nevada Brewing will be sending out a wild hop IPA. According to their website these are southwest hops that were found “while scrambling down hillsides near their home in New Mexico”. This will be the 5th and final release of the Harvest series of 2014 and the hop varietal they are using is called “Neomexicanus” which has melon, citrus, and apricot aroma and flavor. Here’s some quick stats from the fellas thefullpint.com:
Quick stats on Harvest Wild Hop IPA:
- ABV—6.5%
- BU—55
- Hop(s)—Neomexicanus
- Malts—Two-row Pale, Caramel
**Bells Brewing** – Bells Brewing has released a glass designed specifically for wheat beers. Here’s the description of the glass from Bells.
Bell’s was approached by renowned Austrian glassware manufacturer Spiegelau with an exciting partnership opportunity to create a custom Bell’s Wheat Beer Glass. Knowing how big of a role wheat beers play at Bell’s, we were excited for the opportunity to give wheat beers some attention and elevate the experience of drinking this flavorful, complex style of beer. Designed to elevate the experience of drinking not only Bell’s Oberon Ale, Winter White and Oarsman Ale, the glass is poised to become the new standard for enjoying all wheat beers.
What makes the Bell’s Wheat Beer Glass enhance the enjoyment of wheat beers more so than a standard pint glass or hefeweizen glass?
• Raw quartz silica combined with Speigelau’s state of the art production methods help beer sustain head retention and carbonation
• Ultra-pure quartz material makes for unsurpassed clarity and flawless true color presentation of wheat beers
• Laser cut top lip of the glass resulting in crisp, clean delivery of the beer during each sip
• Larger body / bowl of the glass to capture and concentrate more of the delicate, complex aromas that are unique to wheat style beers
• Mouth opening delivers beer evenly across the palate to enhance the distinct mouthfeel, and harmony of sweetness and acidity that comes from the wheat malt in the beer
• Lip at the bottom of the bowl that results in a slight “slosh” after every tip of the glass, causing the carbonation to be re-activated, releasing more of the aromatics after each drink
• Thin walls maintain proper beer temperature longer
Bells Planet Series “Venus” coming next!
I found the following information on http://beerstreetjournal.com/new-releases/. Bells Planet Series is coming with the follow up to Mars and 2nd of the series, according to Beer Street Journal, Venus is bottled and ready to ship. I really enjoyed Mars and and Venus will be quite a bit different but it sounds damn tasty all the same. It’s going to be a blonde ale with vanilla beans, cardamom, apricot juice, and honey. It will come in at 7.5% and be available in 12 oz bottles. Here’s more courtesy of Beer Street Journal and Bells press release:
The second release in our Planets Series starts with spicy, fruity and light citrus notes along with herbal notes from cardamom in the aroma. Apricots contribute a very distinct tart character and sweetness from the vanilla rounds out the finish. More than 60 pounds of hand sliced vanilla beans were used to ferment this strong fruit and spice beer with a complex herbal fruit character.
Bell’s “The Planet Series” coming in August
Bells Brewery will be releasing a “Planet Series” of beers according to http://www.beerpulse.com and a Bell’s press release. The list is below and there are some very intriguing offerings that will be coming out, but it looks like it’s going to be limited. Here’s more:
(Comstock, MI) – In the same tradition as our Batch and Wheat Series,’ Bell’s Brewery, Inc.is proud to announce The Planet Series.
It will feature seven different beers each inspired by a different piece of music from the composer Gustav Holst. Each beer will be limited and released both in six-packs and on draft according to the arrangement of Holst’s composition across all area’s Bell’s distributes to.
The first Planet beer will be released this August with each successive entry debuting about every two months after. The final beer is scheduled for release in July 2015.
“Our two most successful brands come from a couple of my great literary references. This time, I took inspiration from a great piece of music,” said Larry Bell, Bell’s President and Founder.
“This piece, being in seven movements, gives us a lot of freedom to innovate and create,” he added.
Holst conceived the idea for “The Planets” in 1913 with the first complete performance occurring in 1920. Each movement of the suite is named after a different planet and its corresponding astrological character
The lineup:
“Mars, The Bringer of War” – Double IPA
“Venus, The Bringer of Peace” – A Blonde Ale brewed with honey, apricot, vanilla and cardamom
“Mercury, The Winged Messenger” – A Belgian Single
“Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity” – A malt forward Brown Ale
“Saturn, The Bringer of Old Age” – A Bourbon Barrel-aged Barleywine
“Uranus, The Magician” – Black Double IPA
“Neptune, The Mystic” – A beer inspired by Dr. Bell’s Medicinal Stout, one of Larry Bell’s homebrews that also helped inspire Eccentric AleMore information will be released as it becomes available on the Bell’s website (bellsbeer.com) as well as on its social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Google+).
Coming to Shelves: Bells Cans, Sierra Nevada Hoptimum/So. Hemisphere
Eastern Iowa should be seeing some familiar faces on shelves soon but in a different form. Bells will be releasing Oberon and Two Hearted Ale in cans, (who’s ready to tailgate?). Did everyone get some Blacknote? I have one and am looking forward to popping the top! Also coming is Sierra Nevada’s Hoptimum and Southern Hemisphere Fresh Hop IPA. Here’s more courtesy of http://www.beerpulse.com:
Four-packs of both Oberon and Two Hearted (16 oz. cans) have begun shipping from our brewery.
Sierra Nevada:
Five hop varieties conspire for flavor domination inHoptimum®, our hopped, dry-hopped and torpedoed Imperial IPA. We’ve made every one of its 100 IBUs count, so hold tight on the whirlwind journey of grapefruit rind, pine, herbs and tropical fruit.
The second of five beers in our 2014 Harvest series, Southern Hemisphere Harvest®capitalizes on the springtime hop harvest in New Zealand—yup, opposite of our fall hop harvest! Several varieties are picked, dried and shipped to us within just seven days, and we pack their fresh floral and herbal flavors and aromas into this complex, kiwi-inspired IPA.
iabeerbaron.com 
