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We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.
Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
Kalamazoo
Take me with you?
I want to sit around and drink good beer, lol.
Kalamazoo confirmed they would like A Quick Beer video so I'm heading over there in early March. Will be interesting to check it out, besides going to the Bell's bar I have not done a single thing of anything else there.
So I did a fairly epic Kalamazoo weekend just past, where I went from Thurs-Sat (including a night hanging with Stephen Rich and London beer guy Cory).
Although it may not be the most beautiful or cosmopolitan city, KZOO does have quite a nice beer scene with a wide range of interesting beers. I know it’s been many years that this thread has been going, but I think it’s improved significantly since some of the earlier posts here.
The granddaddy of the scene remains Bell’s, which has their massive production facility in nearby Comstock (only booked tours, no drop-ins) and the original Cafe in downtown. The production facility is very impressive and in line with others of similar size in the U.S.. The Cafe is always a nice spot and I enjoyed a number of nice beers there during a beer dinner generously hosted by the Bell’s folks. The staff speak a lot about how the New Belgium/Lion relationship is a good thing but frankly I increasingly don’t give a shit about corporate ownership anymore as long as the beer is good & kept local and SCOOP! - they said they are in active conversations with the LCBO so if that happens then that could be a good thing for us!
I was able to get to a number of the newer breweries, which included Brite Eyes, Outré, Apoptosis, Presidential, Saugatuck, Wax Wings and One Well. They all had different niches and surprisingly unique beers. Nobody was really a hazy focus which was a refreshing change. Some of the brewers mentioned a few closures during COVID so there might have been a small shakeout. There were other breweries outside of downtown I had on my list, but just couldn’t fit in.
Downtown there was also a number of fun taverns & bars including Green Top (old school bar), LFG (arcade bar) and Shakespeare’s (spacious multi-tap). The Kalamazoo Beer Exchange is still going which does dynamic pricing at night which is kind of interesting but also slightly frustrating. They don’t do it during the day. Lots to keep busy in the downtown area.
Kalamazoo also has a “beer-to-go” zone which is similar to other Michigan cities that started during the pandemic. It was a bit chilly during my time there but I grabbed a Two Hearted and drank it while I walked around just because I could.
Lots of friendly folks there who seemed genuinely interested in why I was there (for the video shoot) and appreciative of the support of the local beer community.
My one big beef was transportation - there are barely any Ubers and seemingly no cabs. So I quickly had to learn the local transit system which is admittedly not something that many would do, especially groups or families. That made it challenging to hit some places on my list.
Head-to-head, GR is going to come out on top vs. Kalamazoo which is about the same distance from the GTA. But I had an enjoyable time and with some nicer weather it’s not a bad spot to explore with lots of options. I’ll have A Quick Beer video at some point in the future!
Although it may not be the most beautiful or cosmopolitan city, KZOO does have quite a nice beer scene with a wide range of interesting beers. I know it’s been many years that this thread has been going, but I think it’s improved significantly since some of the earlier posts here.
The granddaddy of the scene remains Bell’s, which has their massive production facility in nearby Comstock (only booked tours, no drop-ins) and the original Cafe in downtown. The production facility is very impressive and in line with others of similar size in the U.S.. The Cafe is always a nice spot and I enjoyed a number of nice beers there during a beer dinner generously hosted by the Bell’s folks. The staff speak a lot about how the New Belgium/Lion relationship is a good thing but frankly I increasingly don’t give a shit about corporate ownership anymore as long as the beer is good & kept local and SCOOP! - they said they are in active conversations with the LCBO so if that happens then that could be a good thing for us!
I was able to get to a number of the newer breweries, which included Brite Eyes, Outré, Apoptosis, Presidential, Saugatuck, Wax Wings and One Well. They all had different niches and surprisingly unique beers. Nobody was really a hazy focus which was a refreshing change. Some of the brewers mentioned a few closures during COVID so there might have been a small shakeout. There were other breweries outside of downtown I had on my list, but just couldn’t fit in.
Downtown there was also a number of fun taverns & bars including Green Top (old school bar), LFG (arcade bar) and Shakespeare’s (spacious multi-tap). The Kalamazoo Beer Exchange is still going which does dynamic pricing at night which is kind of interesting but also slightly frustrating. They don’t do it during the day. Lots to keep busy in the downtown area.
Kalamazoo also has a “beer-to-go” zone which is similar to other Michigan cities that started during the pandemic. It was a bit chilly during my time there but I grabbed a Two Hearted and drank it while I walked around just because I could.
Lots of friendly folks there who seemed genuinely interested in why I was there (for the video shoot) and appreciative of the support of the local beer community.
My one big beef was transportation - there are barely any Ubers and seemingly no cabs. So I quickly had to learn the local transit system which is admittedly not something that many would do, especially groups or families. That made it challenging to hit some places on my list.
Head-to-head, GR is going to come out on top vs. Kalamazoo which is about the same distance from the GTA. But I had an enjoyable time and with some nicer weather it’s not a bad spot to explore with lots of options. I’ll have A Quick Beer video at some point in the future!
Nice write-up. Bell's would take the sting out of losing Sierra Nevada.
Great scoop! I would buy the heck out of Two Hearted if it showed up around here.