Bell's Brewery, Inc.

FanofHefe

Illinois

4.45/5  rDev +9.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Made a visit to the Eccentric Cafe with a friend a couple of months ago and HAD to get around to a write up. We arrived around 4 PM and enjoyed a couple of brews at the bar. Hopslam was on tap and was incredible. The service was excellent and the prices reasonable.

We moved to a table upstairs to have some dinner and watch the band play. Another enjoyable experience. The food is pretty good and the tap selection was great, especially with the beers not available in bottles.

Overall, an excellent experience. If you love Bells beers like I do, you have to make a trip here. Come on a night they have a band and expect to stay a while. Highly recommend.

05-10-2011 02:45:32 | More by FanofHefe

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.45/5  rDev +9.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Went to the brewery a little while back, had a great time at the world class craft beer place.

Overall the Brewery, like many others, is in an odd location in a seemingly not great part of town in Kalamazoo, but the building is pretty cool though it seems strange that their store is kind of outside the brewpub. The inside is pretty cool with a huge chalkboard for the beers they are serving.

The quality and selection was of course excellent, never had two hearted that fresh before. Also, I appreciated the fact that their tap list had a huge amount of styles and beers to choose from including big stouts to super hops, belgian to german styles. Great!

The food was not overly memorable, I think I had may a sandwich wrap, maybe chicken and my wife had a tempe wrap, both were decent but not memorable.

Overall, a cool place, I think their beer is stunning, the place just needs maybe an overhaul as well as their food a little bit.

07-09-2011 19:27:07 | More by Dreadnaught33

trxxpaxxs

New York

4.44/5  rDev +8.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

After stopping by Dark Horse, I dropped by Bell's on my way back to South Bend.

The Eccentric Cafe is pretty great. At roughly 2pm on a Friday, this place was busy. There were a good amount of people inside, but on a beautiful Michigan day, there were a ton of people chillin' on the patio.

The beer list was ridiculous... They had all of their standout regulars with a bunch of different one offs on draft. (Raspberry Wild One, Hopslam, Experimental 2011-2, Experimental 2012-2, etc.) They offer a sampler platter of six beers for $13 bucks, and you choose which six you want to try. In hindsight, I should had gotten that.

The wait staff were incredibly friendly, and very knowledgeable. I over heard them giving recommendations to many of the customers who wanted the sampler.

The next time I'm in Kalamazoo (who knows when that will be) Bell's is the first stop on my list. Cool place.

05-19-2012 22:20:49 | More by trxxpaxxs

NVbeer

Nevada

4.43/5  rDev +8.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Took a small detour on my way from Cleveland to Chicago. I am quite glad I made the trip. Not horribly hard to find, drove past once, but hit side street, and came around back. Walked in, through a large entryway into a very open, airy bar area. they had a few tables, a small stage, and the bar that seat 7-10 people. The bartender was quite friendly, and helpful in selections as well as willing to allow us to try a few samples. The food is ordered from a walk up window, no wait staff other than bartender. Food was quite good, I had the angus buger, my friend enjoyed the bison, both cooked quite well.
The beer....oh the beer. I would guess 7beers on tap at the time, with special release bottles available.
The general store had a great selection of their beers, available in 6 packs, cases, or by the bottle. Store also doubles as a homebrew store.
Overall this is a place i would drive out of my way for again. Will enjoy the beers I brought back for a few months.

04-16-2006 20:38:18 | More by NVbeer

BMoney575

Michigan

4.43/5  rDev +8.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $

Once you find the entrance, which has no sign or indication of a bar, you're ID checked and sent on your way. I had to pay a $5 cover, but that was because there was live entertainment. The main bar area is much smaller than I expected, with maybe a half dozen tables and a fair amount of seating. There is a balcony with more tables, and the beer garden outside. The decor is very nice, the brick walls and dim lighting add a very urban flair. They had maybe 10 beers on tap, mostly Bell's standards, I had the Oatmeal Stout, which was the only thing that really jumped out at me. I would bet that the selection gets better or worse depending on the time of year, so I won't hold it against them. They also had another 6 or so beers by the bottle, including Expedition Stout and Old Coast. The pricing was very good, most pints were between 2.75 and 3.50. Overall, Bell's was much less touristy than I expected. The crowd seemed older and local. The live band was great, and it made for a very enjoyable evening. I'll definately be going there regularly.

10-28-2007 21:36:54 | More by BMoney575

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

4.43/5  rDev +8.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Took a trip to K'zoo to visit Bell's and was happy that I did. The bar is a cool place that is clean, has a unique atmosphere and just the right size to still feel cozy while not being too small.

The taps were great - with a great selection or regular offerings, seasonal offerings and a few experimental beers. Roundhouse Red was probably my favourite tap room only beer that I had but it was great to finally try Hopslam on tap as well. The experimental beers that I tasted were great as well.

Only disappointment was not finding Expedition on tap.

03-16-2012 02:15:30 | More by TheSevenDuffs

beerinator

Illinois

4.4/5  rDev +7.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $

I was tempted to skip on the Eccentric Cafe after reading some of these beerfly reviews. But, boy am I glad I did not miss this one!

First off... Finding the entry door is not easy. The signs are all facing Kalamazoo Ave. But those are the signs for the building, not for the Eccentric Cafe. Underneath those signs appear to be the Bell's Brewery offices. You can't eat in there... Go around the back onto Porter Street to find a parking lot and the entrance to both the General Store and the Eccentric Cafe. Neither entrance is marked very well.

I was prepared for "locals only" type of service here after reading a lot of these reviews. And I was totally suprised when I received great bar and food service. Each pint came quickly, even though the place was slightly crowded. The bartenders were helpful and even provided us a sample of the Cyser and answered a few questions about it when we asked.

There were 12 taps, all full of juicy Bell's products. The Cyser and Hell Hath No Fury were the only two that I've never seen before. But you have to enjoy a place that's offering you $3 to $3.50 Imperial Pints of Kalamazoo (the locals say "kay-zoo"), Two Hearted and Java Stout! Mmmm.

The food was good. I had the Ostrich Burger (tastes like buffalo!) and my wife had the Cobb Salad. Both were tasty, next time I'm trying the Rabbit and Rattlesnake Sausage Kabobs. Don't worry they still have regular cheese burgers and normal type fare, but it's nice to see interesting/eccentric offerings in a beer joint.

Service was great, selection was great, prices were great and the atmosphere is casual. Oh, and no smoke! You have to love leaving a place like this satisfied and smelling like the beer you drooled down your chin rather than the smoke from the guy sitting down the bar.

Eccentric Cafe, I'll be back.

02-28-2006 13:56:46 | More by beerinator

JDizzle

Indiana

4.4/5  rDev +7.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

I have been to Bell's about 8 times and it has yet to disapoint as far as beer and food.

They always have a great tap list with a few you can only find there as a one off.

I love how often they offer the seasonal beers in the off season of that beer. I recently tried Black Note and Dagger Stout a week after
"All Stouts Day". The staff is helpful, but not overly friendly.

The food is up to par,not great, but worthy of a solid lunch or dinner. They offer a lot of veg meals + meat based meals. Good eclectic mix.

For a while it was cash only, which was a bummer. Now they accept cards, so all good.

11-19-2011 04:03:28 | More by JDizzle

david131

Michigan

4.36/5  rDev +6.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I was really excited to finally make it to Bell's, and was not disappointed. The place is beautiful inside with stained glass windows and a lot of cool trinkets hanging on the wall and an upstairs lounge. There isn't a lot of seating, but quite a few people standing around. There was an overall merry and calm atmosphere, which I loved. Although it was quite chilly outside, the patio/ beer garden was still open for seating. I could tell this place would be amazing in the summer with a small stage at the end and some trellises for hops. The beer is cash only and served at the bar only. I didn't mind this at all, the bartenders where polite and efficient. I was just a tad disappointed with the tap list. All the standards were there- Best Brown, Two Hearted, Amber, Third Coast Beer, Pale Ale, and Porter. Some of the more notable beers were 8000, Scotch Ale, Oatmeal Stout, and Rye Stout. I was kind of hoping for Expedition, Third Coast Old Ale, or something barrel aged, but looking back at what I just wrote that they had, there really isn't a lot to piss and moan about. There is food available, but you have to order it at a window I think, but it seemed to be pretty decent for what I saw. Overall, I will definitely be going back, the place is awesome.

11-06-2007 02:58:35 | More by david131

HopDerek

Pennsylvania

4.36/5  rDev +6.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $

Stopped in on a Friday evening and manged to find some parking in the lot. After a quick stop at the neighboring General Store it was off to the Eccentric Cafe to enjoy a few brews at the source. Walking in we were confusedly carded; just two guys sitting there talking, then looking up at us as we walked by. After I asked if they were there to check IDs, they muttered something, checked our IDs and went back to awkwardness. Shortly thereafter we realized they also had a register there, so apparently there was a cover charge too, as a band was about to go on. Bad communication, but I gave them a 4 rating because the bartender made up for it.

The place is set up much like TGI Fridays meets Disney's Adventurer's Club with random attic junk scattered about on the walls, shelves, and tables mixed in with tiki masks, paintings, and beer paraphernalia. Lots of tables, an upstairs seating area, and an outdoor seating area as well as tables by the stage and a nice sized bar, which we lucked out and found 4 seats at.

11 different Bell's beers on tap including some brewpub exclusives like the Wild One and Poolside Cherry Wheat. The lighter beers area availabe in 3 different sizes, and all others in both 16oz and 20oz, the latter being $5, the former varying on style from 3-4.

There is food available, but we didn't check it out as we were full from our meal earlier. The place had a very jazzy laid back vibe to it, and the bartenders were very fast and efficient, and still managed to converse with the patrons. Seeing how we were only staying for one round and I was finished with my beer faster than the rest of my party finished theirs, the bartender even poured me a nice sample of HopSlam for free, just so I had something to drink. (I think he knew I liked hoppy beers since I was wearing a Hop Rod Rye shirt). Really a great place, looking forward to returning and spending more time at again soon.

05-01-2008 03:17:12 | More by HopDerek