Bell's Brewery (and Eccentric Cafe)

Bell's Brewery, Inc. formerly Kalamazoo Brewing Company, founded by Larry Bell as a home-brewing supply shop in 1983, sold its first beer in 1985. Over twenty years of brewing, Bell's Brewery has built a nationwide reputation as a creative and talented brewery, playing a significant role in changing the beerscape of the nation. The craft brewery produced 90,000 barrels in 2007 to rank No. 24 among U.S. brewing companies in terms of volume of sales. That's stacked up against giants such as Anheuser-Busch Inc. and Miller Brewing Co. On the back of its popular seasonal wheat ale, Oberon, and other brands like Two-Hearted Ale and Amber Ale, Bell's won the Readers' Choice Award for Best Locally-made Beer. It has been named best locally brewed beer in the Kalamazoo Gazette’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2009.