Bell's Brewery, Inc.

cagocubs

Illinois

4.58/5  rDev +12.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Popped in Bells while on a business trip to Kzoo. Finding this place is easy enough as it is off the main street near the Amtrak line running through town. Don't make the mistake of being rerouted by your GPS to their Corporate office-factory in nearby Comstock/Galesburg.

The atmosphere of this place is great. A nice exclusive feel as you walk into a long hallway to get in. There is a fountain and a nice area to stand to enjoy a beer if you want to escape the main cafe section. The place is cozy with wood ceilings and walls. Decorated with cool nick knacks. There is a decent size bartop with plenty of seating and an upstairs area as well.

S: I was at the bar so service was quick and friendly.

Sl: I love how Bells has their taps set up. All the same design and shape minus the unique decal of the specific beer. All the current tapped beers are located on the giant chalkboard above the taps. The bartender offered samples so you could taste different beers. They carry exclusive beers to the Eccentric Cafe as well as their more popular beers.

Food: I had dinner and had no complaints. Not a massive or great menu, but you can definitely find something that you enjoy eating. The Bells porter sauce with the soft pretzels was worth noting.

If you are passing through kzoo, this is def. worth stopping in.

03-08-2012 21:22:37 | More by cagocubs

hotsudge

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -13.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 2 | $$

You go here for the beer. Incredible venue - super cool, I mean really cool building but quite small so we had to stand for 30 minutes before seats opened up.

The beer was great. Great selection and great tasting. Food... well there wasn't much selection and it was unusual that after we ordered it you have to go to the little window to get it. Anyhow the food was fine but overall you don't go there for the food.

The shop next door was fantastic, some of the best brew pub swag around. We bought lots of beer - as much as good from the limited choice left.

Can't wait to go again!

05-12-2013 23:26:34 | More by hotsudge

craft_shannie

Indiana

4.78/5  rDev +17.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Visited early on a Saturday morning & took the brewery tour. beautiful building/facility. the taproom is a bit on the small side: bar seats maybe a dozen, small selection of tables (10-12) with a crows nest space that allows for additional limited seating. there is an outdoor stage in a well manicured courtyard that provides additional space/seating - a perfect spot for a family picnic. company store has a separate entrance & carries typical swag, reserve bottles, and home brewing supplies. employees (pub, tour, and store) are top notch in their knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm. sampled two hearted, larry's latest lager trial, le pianiste, trumpeter's stout, le contrebassiste, and bear hug. really enjoyed the tour - you don't cover a lot of ground by any means, but the guide was extremely knowledgeable & you get to see the tanks where the small batches are made. also get to see some vintage bottles from back when they reused bottles & did so by hand. awesome, awesome spot: lots of history & kickass beer.

04-07-2013 16:05:16 | More by craft_shannie

meanmutt

Ohio

3.9/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

Visited Bell's Eccentric Cafe while in Kalamazoo as a stop on a beer-centric road trip.

My wife and I got there at about 6:30 pm on a Saturday night. The cafe is kinda small and was crowded. No empty spots at the bar (which only has about a dozen bar stools), but we got one of the few remaining empty tables.

You have to go to the bar to place your order, but despite the crowd, they did a pretty good job. There were 5 or 6 bartenders constantly getting beers, so the line at the bar moved pretty quickly.

The wife and I both started off with a Two Hearted, which is one of our favorite beers. I was excited to see that they had several beers on tap that I hadn't had before. The Raspberry Wild One was pretty tasty and so was the Dagger Stout, but my favorite beer of the night was Black Note...awesome stuff.

The food was just OK. I had a catfish po'boy and I thought it was pretty meh. My wife didn't really like her turkey avocado sandwich either.

Overall, I'd visit Bell's again, but I'd probably skip the food.

03-22-2013 21:57:17 | More by meanmutt

sapples

Michigan

3.91/5  rDev -4.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25 | $$

Great tap selection. They had black note, a really tasty mead, and lots of great exclusives. However they waited a half an hour to inform me what I ordered to eat was out for the night, then there was no bar tender to be found for the same amount of time. Everything was great but the service didn't match.

02-11-2013 01:35:33 | More by sapples

Docrock

Illinois

4.08/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4 | $$

Decided to stop in after passing by on I- 94 for years...got there just before noon but already most seats were taken, a few small tables by the street. Ordered food and a 12oz snifter of Hopslam at the bar. Didn't seem like the beer selection was all that great but had to drive anyway so probably a good thing. Food came out quickly ( pulled pork sandwich) and was pretty good, average to slightly better. Not a big menu, but several item that look interesting. The atmosphere is nothing unusual with a few families mixed into the patrons and few business types.

Next door at the general store, nice selection of Swag at decent prices. Beer coolers well stocked and nice selection oh home brewing supplies..

Will visit again to see what the vibe is on a non- weekday lunchtime crowd.

Overall a pleasant experience.

01-12-2013 21:45:06 | More by Docrock

theecaleb

Alaska

4.33/5  rDev +6.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Visited in winter 2012, Saturday afternoon.

V: Nothing really that spectacular. Probably would have been a little better if it was summer and their beer garden was opened up. The eccentric cafe was alright. Lot of strange decor from around the world. No TV's. Actual bar stool seating was limited.

Q: I feel that Bells beer is (and always has been) very high quality. I might be a little bias, because Bells was the first beer that really opened my world to "craft" beer.

S: During lunch at least it was pub style service. Ordered from the bar tender, for food he gives you a buzzer and you pick up your order from the kitchen window. Both the bartenders and kitchen staff was helpful.

Selection was very good, Around 20 taps to choose from. Most of the beers were brewed at their production facility and then shipped to the cafe, however they do have a few on tap that are brewed in house, which i thought was awesome.

F: Wasn't bad, but a little pricey. Mostly sandwiches, a few appetizers, soups and salads.

Their general store was was well stocked. A lot of home brewing supplies that are priced well. Their clothes and other merchandise is a little pricey. Good bottled beer selection available to go.

01-02-2013 17:14:09 | More by theecaleb

tat2matt

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

I have loved Bell's beer since the first Best Brown I tasted, and with one notable exception (which I won't name because...why?), I have loved every Bell's I've had since. When we started to plan breweries/pubs to hit on our trip to MI, Bell's was naturally on the top of the list. It did not disappoint.

The atmosphere was great, an old building with a ton of weird, eccentric stuff that either inspired the name or resulted from the name all over the place. Nothing too fancy, but perfectly interesting.

The barkeep was awesome, friendly and knowledgeable and very accommodating to my girlfriend's hangover from our adventures in Grand Rapids the day before. We had spinach and artichoke dip that was delicious. Their nan bread is excellent.

My only very minute "complaint" is one of preference. Stout is not my favorite style, but we hit town just after some sort of stout extravaganza, so the selection was very stout heavy. I prefer to try things at the brewery that I cannot get in stores, and would have liked to see a more unique variety, but there was something for me to choose regardless. I had the Bourbon Barrel Batch 9000 American Strong Ale and it was very smooth, very tasty. And very heavy. My girl had the Two Hearted, which I finished because of the aforementioned adventures.

The overall experience was great, the prices were reasonable, the appetizer was tasty, and the unique beer I had was worth the trip. It's a no-brainer that any beer fan has to hit this place when visiting MI.

11-07-2012 14:58:00 | More by tat2matt

RobWilson

Indiana

4.6/5  rDev +12.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

I visited Bell's Eccentric Cafe late in my journey home. It was the third brewery of my trip but the one I was most looking for ward to. The guy checking IDs at the door was friendly and explained to me that the swag shop was closed and the bar was open. So I went to the bar.

The beer selection was quite large, lots of flavors to try. The sampler is done where you pick your beers from the menu and they give you a paddle with your beers in the appropriate slots. I had to go for the lower ABV choices because I was driving again and even then I only finished half of each sample. All the samples were to style and delicious.

The kitchen was closed which I found unfortunate.

10-24-2012 02:32:43 | More by RobWilson

jmdrpi

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

My wife and I visited the Ecentric Cafe for dinner and a few drinks. Atmosphere is cool - they have lots of outdoor seating at picnic tables, and they the inside is nice too. Two rooms, one where they serve food, and the other where they have a stage for bands. Rustic wood look.

Beers were great as expected, and they had a big lineup that included 4 or 5 brewpub only beers.

Bartenders were fine, you have to order your food at the bar and then pick it up when your pager goes off.

The only downside was that they do not serve any non-beer alcohol. My wife was bummed they didn't have their Mead or anything else for non beer drinkers.

06-12-2012 22:23:31 | More by jmdrpi