Bell's Eccentric Cafe

Founded by Larry Bell in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Bell's Brewery, Inc. sold its first beer in September 1985.  Beer was initially brewed in a 15-gallon soup kettle and the company has grown remarkably from its production of 135 barrels (1 bbl = 31 gal.) in 1986 to a capacity of more than 500,000 barrels today. Originally self-distributed, Larry and his staff of 9 employees bottled and delivered all of the beer to market during the company's first four years. By 1989, Bell's was shipping over 500 barrels annually and assigned its first wholesaler to further establish itself across the state of Michigan. In 1993, Bell's became the first Michigan brewery to open an onsite pub. After struggling several years to produce and sell robust, full-bodied ales against a tide of mass-market domestic beer, Bell's began to see the demand for craft beer grow dramatically and expanded into new markets. Bell's currently sells beer across an 41-state area in addition to Puerto Rico and Washington DC through a network of more than 60 quality wholesalers.In 2003, Bell's opened a new brewery in nearby Comstock. This facility has now seen five expansions since then.