Alcohol in the news: Extra on Tap Episode 12

A closer look at Bells Brewery, thier history, featured beers, and much more! Listen now!

Aaron Young talks about Bell's Brewery. Remember, if you are going to the Illinois game at Michigan State, Bell's Brewery is kind of on the way.

They sip on Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock. (This was the episode Kridz and I heard last week)

Big Ten Road Trips, part 6, Michigan State

So, you are taking the trip from Illinois to Michigan State University, in East Lansing. From Champaign to Spartan Stadium, it's about a five and a half hour drive. (Since the University of Michigan is closer to Detroit, Detroit will be featured in the next segment).

On your way up, you'll pass a couple of breweries that were featured in the Northwestern trip, Flossmoor Station, and Brick Stone. Once you turn east onto interstate 80, you get the opportunity to go to some really great breweries.

The first that you'll come across is in Munster, Indiana. It's Three Floyds Brewing Company. Three Floyds is awesome. Go there. If you've been before, go again. If you haven't gone, it's well worth the trip. They make awesome beer. They make Dark Lord. Their current tap list is amazing. From their usual suspects that are great (Alpha King, Gumball Head, Dreadnaught) to the things that are rarer (Admiral Lord Nelson, Ruggoop, Moloko, Munsterfest) to the things I've never heard of from them before (Sodom, Ice Grill, Owd Engwish Barley Whine) you're sure to find something you like.

A little further down I-80 is BrickWorks Brewing Company in Hobart. If you took the turn off of 80 and went up 94 along the coast, you are close to Shoreline Brewery and Restaurant in Michigan City, Indiana. (I went to Shoreline in March of 2008, shortly before starting this blog). Shoreline is really on the shore. This weekend may not be the greatest time to go there, but if you want to go to the beach and have a beer, this place would make a great day trip.

As you continue up 94, you'll pass Round Barn Winery, Distillery and Brewery, in Baroda, Michigan. A little further up 94 is the Livery, in Benton Harbor. I've tried some of their beers at the Great Taste of the Midwest, and was impressed. Next is Old Hat Brewery and Grill, in Lawton.

Keep driving, and you get to Kalamazoo. Home of Bell's Brewery, and the Eccentric Cafe. They have a live updating tap list. It's not easy to read. Hell Hath No fury is on tap, as is Expedition. Those are worth stopping in for.

From Kalamazoo, there are two ways to get to East Lansing, stay on 94 and go to 69, or... go up 131 to Grand Rapids. Neither are bad options.

On the I-69 route, you go to Marshall, Michigan. In Marshall is Dark Horse Brewing Company. Some of my favorite beers from Dark Horse are Double Crooked Tree, Three Guy Off the Scale Barley Wine, and Plead the 5th Imperial Stout.

If you went up to Grand Rapids, you can go to Founders. As of today, they have Breakfast Stout, Nemesis, Looking Glass, and some other good beers on tap. When Kridz and I went there in 2008, they had just moved locations and their deli wasn't up and running. If you are going up Saturday, October 16 for the football game, it's their 7th Annual Harvest Party, for their release of Harvest Ale. It costs $8 for admission, for that you get a pint of Harvest Ale, and can keep the glass (while supplies last).

Once you get to East Lansing, it seems the only place that brews their own is Harper's Restaurant and Brewpub. They appear to have 6 original beers on tap.

If you are looking to take a different route back, than the one that got you there, there aren't too many other options (other than the ones listed).

If you are looking to hit the best breweries and not get off the path too much, here's the route I recommend.

Take 57 to 80 to 94 to 69 up to Lansing. You'll be able to hit Three Floyds, Shoreline, the Livery, and Bells. On the way back, take 96 to 196 to 94 to 80 to 57. You'll be able to hit Founders, and in Holland, Michigan, New Holland Brewing (along with going past Shoreline, and Three Floyds, Flossmoor and BrickStone).

If planned correctly, with enough time budgeted, you can get some great beers, from some great breweries. It's a good 5+ hour drive each way, so if you leave Saturday morning, (they are an hour ahead) you'll have to leave by 5am. But, most of these breweries are also bars, so they are open late. It's a good drive, and worth it. If you want to pick up extra beer, you can ask at the brewery where they recommend purchasing their beer at (if it's not sold there, Three Floyds and Founders do sell on site).

Crane Alley Bell's Beer Dinner

On Monday, March 15, Crane Alley held a Bell's Brewery beer dinner.

Tickets were $65 each. It included almost all the beer you could drink, not that there was very much room for much beer.

Prior to the first course, Bell's Oarsman Ale was served. It's sort of a Berliner Weisse style beer. It's not high in alcohol, but it does have lots of flavor. Berliner Weisse normally is a very tart beer, but this one wasn't too bad on the tartness. The beer was served as a palate cleanser. Additionally, that glass was refilled as much as needed during the evening. Oarsman is currently on tap at Crane Alley.

The first course was a Monkfish Ceviche. It was served on a Belgian Endive. It was citrus cured, with scallion, red onion, oregano and cilantro. On top was some avocado and tomato. It was a pretty good ceviche. This was paired with Bell's Sparkling Ale. The beer was described as a Belgian Triple. It was a pretty good pairing with the ceviche.

The second course was a braised bison short rib. It was served with a mirepoix, oyster mushrooms brussel sprouts and Mangalitsa bacon with a walnut cream sauce. Several of the people at my table considered it to be the best course of the night. The meat was very tender and slide right off the bone. This was paired with Bell's Amber. Bell's Amber will always hold a soft spot in my heart, as it was my gateway beer.


The third course was roasted duck leg with pan seared foie gras. It was served in a prickly pear sauce, and was paired with Bells Two Hearted Ale. Someone at another table took offense to the beer being named an "ale" because it's listed as an "IPA". Well, what does the A in "IPA" stand for?

The main course was Snake River Farms Kurobuta pork tenderloin. This was served wrapped in the mangalitsa bacon. It was served with beet gnocchi, in a maple syrup reduction made with Bell's Consecrator Dopplebock, it was served on frisee. It was paired with Bell's Consecrator Dopplebock. This was my favorite meat of the night. The sauce was excellent, and the pork was delicious. Wrapped in the fancy bacon, it was outstanding.

The final course was a sweet potato doughnut. It was served with vanilla bean ice cream and topped with pralines and spun sugar, that looked like wheat. It was served with Bell's Java Stout. Several people would have claimed this was their favorite, if that honor didn't go to the short rib.

Upon completion of the dinner, Bell's Batch 9000 was tapped and served. This is a special beer commemorating the 9000th batch of beer made at the brewery. It's a really good beer. Crane Alley was serving it for $5 in a snifter (about 6-8 ounces). It's definitely been aged in barrels. It's listed as an imperial stout, but it seemed like an American strong ale, similar to Lost Abbey the Angel's Share. It was very rich and flavorful. It was almost hard to finish the snifter, even though there was only about 8 ounces.

It was a good dinner. I didn't leave hungry. I don't think anyone else did either. The meal wasn't rushed, giving you time to appreciate each dish. The beer was plentiful, even though only served in the sampler glasses, they kept the glasses full. They didn't take away any glasses that still had beer in them, allowing you to have an entire collection in front of you at the end of the night, if you really took your time. There wasn't too much time in between courses, which was nice. Sometimes there is a lag as the kitchen is trying to get caught up, but this time, there was just enough to take a quick break and then head back up.

I'm not sure what the next dinner will be, but if you hear about it (look at the "Beer Weekend" posts) you should consider going. At $65 it is a bit expensive, but there are quality ingredients going in to the food. At one of the dinners, I overheard one of the kitchen staff thanking Aaron (the Crane Alley GM) for letting him help on the dinner. He was happy that he got to work with some really good "product". So if people who work with the food are impressed with it, you probably might be too.