Bell’s New Production Facility Opens May 14

COMSTOCK – After breaking ground in April 2011, Bell’s Brewery, Inc. is proud to announce the grand opening of its brand new production facility in Comstock, Mich.

A week-long celebration will kick-off on May 14 with a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. and a noon press conference at the production facility, 8938 Krum Ave. The celebration will conclude with a public open house from noon to 5 p.m. on both May 19th and 20th.

“All of us here at Bell’s are very excited to open the doors of this brand new facility to our friends, family, business partners and community. 

This new brewhouse reflects not only the hard work of our employees at Bell’s, but the 400 skilled trade people that worked tirelessly over the past two years to create a space that is not only functional, but beautiful. It is a reflection of our community and its creativity, initiative and skill,” said Laura Bell, Marketing Director at Bell’s.

Bell’s new production facility includes an expanded grain handling facility, a 200-barrel brewing system, new fermentation vessels and a sophisticated energy storage system that will continue and enhance Bell’s commitment to sustainability.

The facility has the potential to produce 500,000 barrels annually.

Almost all of the components were made in the USA and lumber for the brewhouse entryway (doors, banisters and railing) was grown, sawed, kilned and finished locally.

Bell’s will host events for its distributors and contractors in addition to industry professionals, vendors and Kalamazoo businesses throughout the week while downtown Kalamazoo restaurants will also join in  the celebration (May 11-20) with Bell’s beer specials, food parings and other events.

The public open house will include free food and soda. Directions to the Eccentric Café and Bell’s General Store will also be available.

A closer look at the new facility:

Grain handling

·         16 main silos, each with a 50,000 lb. capacity

·         10 specialty silos, each with a 4,000 lb. capacity

·         2,000 lbs. of grain can be milled in approximately four minutes compared to one hour on our older 50-barrel system.

200-barrel brewhouse

·         Our new vessels were manufactured by GEA Huppmann and built in Hudson, Wisconsin. Many were transported across Lake Michigan to Ludington on the S.S. Badger.

·         Each brewing cycle yields about 66,000 twelve ounce bottles or about 400 standard-size kegs.

·         A unique kettle, custom designed by Bell’s employees, features an internal heating system that lowers the thermal impact to the wort and improves quality.

New fermentation vessels

·         The fourteen 400-barrel tanks are designed for dry-hopped beers like Two Hearted Ale and manufactured by Paul Mueller Co. in Springfield, Missouri.

Energy storage system

·         A system of heat exchangers and energy storage captures heat at multiple points in the brewing process and uses that reclaimed energy to pre-heat water and wort prior to boiling, effectively reducing overall energy needs and waste.