Bell's Brewery (Kalamazoo, MI)

This was our second trip to Bell's... yes, it is that good!

The atmosphere at Bell's helps make the experience more rich. The beer stands on its own as one of the best but drinking the fresh Two Hearted Ale in the large, bustling pub is both exciting and relaxing at the same time. We started upstairs in the loft area where the view of the pub is magnificent.

After some chips, salsa and guacamole (and Two Hearted Ales) we moved to the main level and watched the band set up.

We knew that we couldn't stay too long since we had a two and a half hour drive back to Indiana so we savored every sip of beer and took in as much of the pub experience as we could.

As Tony moved on to the Amber Ale he noted that, "It is a nice come down after an IPA."

I couldn't pass up a Java Stout but I went with the 12 oz. It was as good as ever.

To finish, we shared a 12 oz. of the Third Coast Beer - a crisp and refreshing way to finish the afternoon.


No trip to Bell's is complete without a visit to their General Store. We each found t-shirts that we'll proudly wear as we spread the gospel of microbrews to the poor, disadvantaged "champagne of beer" drinking masses who need to be saved from their evil ways.

Arcadia Brewing Company (Battle Creek, MI)

Arcadia Brewing Company is located in the heart of downtown Battle Creek, Michigan. I'd visited Battle Creek many times as a kid when my Mom and my Auntie Gerry took us kids to tour the Kellogg's cereal factory. I looked for the giant "Tony the Tiger" but I didn't see it on our way through town.

Little did I know then that Battle Creek would also be home to Arcadia Brewing Company. Having only had their IPA, Tony (my Tony - not the tiger) and I decided to try the sampler.

Nick brought us Angler's Ale, Whitsun (wheat), Amber Ale, London Porter, Starboard Stout, IPA, Nut Brown Ale and their two seasonal beers - Cereal Killer Barley Wine and the Cocoa Loco Triple Chocolate Stout.

As we engage in the many tastings we are reminded that we almost always enjoy our favorite style of beer more than any other kinds but tasting the various beers is always fun. So, no surprise we liked the IPA, the Amber, the Angler's Ale (English Pale Ale), the Porter and the Triple Chocolate Stout.

The food was quite a treat, too. Tony ate the California Reuben (turkey, coleslaw, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing on rye toast) and I had a slight variation of the Arcadia Special (roasted garlic & herb olive oil, artichoke hearts, fresh zucchini, mozzarella and I substituted caramelized onions for the sun dried tomatoes).

The pizzas are cooked in an Italian pizza oven located just off the dining room. Frank did a great job with the pizza and was happy to pose for a picture for the blog.

The bar area was spacious and well designed. Although not very crowded on the day after Thanksgiving (when everyone else is out shopping), I can picture it full of beer-loving people enjoying the many flavorful beers - like we did.

Dark Horse Brewing Company (Marshall, MI)

Traveling on I-94 on the evening before Thanksgiving was probably not the best idea but we were determined to make it to Marshall, Michigan, home of Dark Horse.

Wow... what a find! First of all it is non-smoking which makes it easy to sit, relax and taste the beer.

Tony and I started with the old favorite - the Crooked Tree IPA. A tasty, hoppy 5.8% alc. brew. This beer is an old favorite which we can purchase in bottles in Indiana. But tasting the fresh brewed beer, sitting in the pub where it was made was fantastic.

We started off with chips, salsa and guacamole but quickly realized that the pizzas looked amazing.

We split the Chicken Feta Pizza (red sauce, chicken, artichoke hearts, spinach, red onion, feta and mozzarella cheese).

Tony and I both rank the pizza as a perfect 10. If we had a mini fridge in the room we probably would have ordered a second one to eat for breakfast the next day.

We moved from IPA to the Reserve Special Black Bier. You can see it in my glass. Dark, tasty and heavy with a chocolate and coffee flavor. It was delicious. We brought back two growlers (one to keep and one for our beer aficionado friend, Steve.)

The unique mug club display caught our attention right away. The mugs appear to be hand-made. They hang on the walls and from the ceiling rafters in a numbered order. We saw mug club members coming and and grabbing their mug off the wall to take to the bar. We wanted to join but they are out of mugs right now. We may try to come back in mid-December when their new shipment of mugs come in and grab two for ourselves.

We couldn't leave without trying a few tastes of some of the seasonal beers. We sampled the Perkulator Coffee Dopplebock and the Too Cream Stout.

As always, we met some wonderful folks... a family from Kalamazoo (who we may see at Bells on Friday) and three gentlemen from Marshall. We talked about beer, hockey and the town of Marshall.

Tasting the different seasonal beers is fun and exciting but we're always happy to have a pint of our ol' favorites.

Beer Tasting Trip Planned

Our usual Christmas break trip has been moved up to Thanksgiving this year.

We're planning to visit Dark Horse Brewing in Marshall, MI (makers of Crooked Tree IPA), Arcadia Brewing in Battle Creek, MI, and a return visit to an old favorite - Bells Brewery and the Eccentric Cafe.

This will be my first time having Thanksgiving away from "home." I've always had dinner at my house or some other family member's house. But this year we will dine at Webster's in Kalamazoo. Lucky for us the restaurant is located in the hotel where we'll be staying so when we're so full and sleepy from the turkey we can just stumble to the elevator and head to our room!