Watch: Larry Bell drinks a 34-year-old beer. Spoiler: ‘[It’s] really not very good’

Bell’s Brewery has a rich history. Founder Larry Bell opened his homebrew supply store, a precursor to the brewery, on Burdick St. in downtown Kalamazoo in 1983 under the name Kalamazoo Brewing Supply Co. Bell’s Brewery Inc. officially began in 1985 with a 15-gal soup kettle. Today it’s grown into a craft powerhouse that distributes to 43 states, in addition to Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. The company currently brews more than 20 beers for distribution as well as a variety of small batch brands that are served at its Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo.

Today brands like Two-Hearted Ale and Oberon Ale are mainstays in the national beer circuit, but do you know what Bell’s first beer brand actually was? It was simply called Bell’s Beer. In fact, an unopened bottle of Bell’s Beer was uncovered while “rooting around the cellar,” says Bell in the video above. It was bottled in February of 1987. “This could be the last full bottle that’s around,” muses Bell, before popping off the cap and sipping the rediscovered brewski.

How is it?

“That’s really not very good,” he surmises, “but it’s 34 years old. It’s not supposed to be very good.”

Next, Bell pops the crown off a fresh version of Bell’s Beer. Yes, Bell’s Beer is making a very special comeback with an exclusive release in six-pack bottles from Bell’s General Store, and it will also be on tap at the Eccentric Cafe on Wednesday, June 23. Even cooler, at the Eccentric Cafe on Wednesday, June 23, Larry Bell will be available in the Beer Garden for poster signings and conversations. Maybe he’ll drink an old nostalgia beer with you. Only one way to find out. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3wwt1aG.