Ring the Bell!
I became a fan of Bell's beer about five years ago. It looks like I merely jumped on a big drunken bandwagon: "The beer business is apparently booming and Kalamazoo's Bell's Brewery is expanding just outside the city. . . Bell's has gotten the green light from Kalamazoo County to brew a lot more with a $17 million dollar expansion. . . . Bell's beer sells at a rate of 300,000 kegs a year, and the expansion will put that number closer to a million. For perspective, the Boston Beer Company which makes Sam Adams, sells about two million." Link. I'm hoping the expansion allows them to brew Oberon year-round. According to their site, it's still just a seasonal beer. * * * * * * * Man, those people in New York get all the good stuff: "We happened to encounter the store/bar's owner, David, an amiable guy who told us that he'll be selling a fairly mind-blowing 900 varieties of beer. He's focusing on domestic brews with an emphasis on the Northeast, but will also carry a selection from countries like Belgium and Germany. Regardless of their origin, all of the beer will be craft beer -- Coors, Budweiser, and their dubious corporate ilk are not welcome here. In addition to bottles there will be growlers, and the bar will have 12 beers on tap." Link. * * * * * * * There was a great bar in Ann Arbor that offered hundreds of beers. It was called "The Full Moon." I learned earlier this week that it just shut down. * * * * * * * Wouldn't you know? Just as I learn about them, some courts are beginning to brand them nuisances and shutting them down: Beer Bikes. "Beer bikes, also known as 'pedal pubs' or 'mobile conference tables,' allow up to 16 drinkers to sit around a beer-barrel table, help themselves to on-tap beer, and listen to music while pedalling around the city. They are steered by a non-drinker employed by the operator." * * * * * * * My word, I think beer violence is becoming an epidemic: "They aren't hanging out there to talk to people - it's predatory," Desautels said. "When someone walks out of there with beer, they are on them like white on rice." * * * * * * * To my Maryland readers: Enjoy Baltimore Beer Week. I'm sure it would've made Mencken proud. * * * * * * * Only in California (I hope): Beer floats.
