Bell's Brewing, Kalamazoo

So here it begins, my first new post from the Midwest. Since I visited last summer, I have gotten married, moved to Indiana, and listened to everyone tell me about how shitty the winter is going to be.
 

Don't worry, I'm sure it will be awful.

I have also heard relayed with the same passion how great the beer is out here. Again, this is not anything that I doubt, but have you been to Portland, Seattle, and Bend? We did pretty well out west with our beer.

Sometimes it snows there too.

I admit that people in the Northwest have a tendency to talk about the local beer scene like they are the only ones in the country, but shit, I think we can claim some expertise.

Now with all that being said, Kalamazoo, Michigan is a damn good beer town. I have no complaints, but it isn't Portland yet. It isn't even Bend. It is about even with Spokane--and that's okay--there is good drinking in Spokane. It's way better than Boise.

Way better.

Fortunately I have people in Kalamazoo, so if I have too much of their better-than-Boise beer, I can call someone for a ride.

On this particular trip, my parents from Washington state were visiting so we took them to Bell's. I had been to Bell's a couple years before and had enjoyed it. Midwest Beer 101 at the University of Beer Drinking starts with a lesson at Bell's.

The time I had been before, we took the kids (because Michigan lets you take kids to a tavern) and sat outside. The young man who is now my stepson was four years old and took his wiener out and pissed on a tree. It startled me when he did because I was pretty sure he wasn't drunk.

This time, he was six years old, and was one of five cousins his age in a one table party of eleven. We sat inside and the place packed. Since my previous experience, they had built an addition to the indoor seating area, and hired a bunch of waitresses so you didn't have to order at the bar.

I don't mind ordering at the bar--especially when I can send a kid up to get me another pitcher. You can't always count on a waitress to come by or get your shit right.

When our waitress finally came by, she didn't get our shit right.

My wife didn't drink on this adventure and ordered some sort of tea because, well, who the fuck knows. They never brought it.

I inquired about buying a growler to add to my collection. I couldn't get one in the restaurant. I had to leave through the bar, out the front door, through the parking lot, go around to where their store was. Then when I got there, they only had four beers on tap and I couldn't sample at the store, I had to sample at the bar.
 

Well fuck that. I would rather call my cable provider.

The growlers were pretty bad ass though. They were the big beer stein style and only cost $18, but since I couldn't sample, I had to settle for some of their Two Hearted Ale that I could just as easily get at the store. It wasn't worth taking a risk and winding up with a growler full of something shitty.

I have to give Bell's credit though. The shitty service and the run around to get a growler added to the Seattle ambiance that this place has. They are a very good joint to sit and drink at, and they keep hipster waiters and waitresses on hand to really send home the authenticity. There was even a butchy with a blue mohawk. The 65 degree July day made may really feel at home as well.

This is the brewery that the rest will be compared to.