Need some inspiration? Watch Bell’s Brewery employees read Walt Whitman poetry

The father of free verse is the focus of Bell’s Brewery cool new Leaves of Grass series. The Michigan-based brewery, which officially brews some of the best beer in the world, is creating seven brand new Bell’s beers inspired by Walt Whitman’s literary classic, which is a personal favorite of President and Founder Larry Bell.

Staring in May, a beer will be released about every two months. The May edition was a German-inspired American IPA called Song of Myself. To promote the series as well as Whitman’s 200th birthday (May 31, 1819), Bell’s asked employees to two read selections of the poems that inspired its Leaves of Grass series. Enjoy above. Maybe you’ll catch the inspiration bug.

Leaves of Grass series at a glance

• May 2019: Song of Myself — German-Inspired American IPA (6.5 percent ABV)
• July 2019: The Prairie-Grass Dividing — Gose-Style Ale Brewed with Plum, Salt & Coriander (4.5 percent ABV)
• September 2019: Oh Captain! My Captain! — TBA
• November 2019: To a Locomotive in Winter — TBA
• January 2020: Song of the Open Road — TBA
• March 2020: Salut Au Monde! — TBA
• May 2020: Spontaneous Me — TBA

Series of Bell’s past

1992-2010: Batch Series — commemorative batches released at specific milestones, concluding with batch 10,000.

Late 1990s: 10 Stouts of November (original inspiration for Bell’s annual All Stouts Day celebration in November at its Eccentric Cafe).

2005: Wheat Series — Five beers that experimented with multiple, custom wheat malts fermented with blends of several different yeast strains.

2014-2015: Bell’s Planets Series — Seven beers inspired by Gustav Holst’s musical composition, “The Planets.”