Bells Brewing
Founded by Larry Bell as a home brewing supply shop in 1983, Bell’s Brewery, Inc. sold its first commercial beer in September 1985. Beer was initially brewed in a 15-gallon soup kettle and the company has grown remarkably from its production of 135 barrels (1 barrel = 31 gallons) in 1986 to over 310,000 barrels in 2014.Originally self-distributed, Larry and his staff of 9 employees bottled and delivered all of the beer to market for the company’s first four years. By 1989, Bell’s was shipping more than 500 barrels annually and assigned its first wholesaler to further establish itself across the state of Michigan. In 1993, Bell’s became the first Michigan brewery to open an onsite pub.