‘Tis the season to gather with friends, and Indiana Beverage has just the brew for Region residents. While visiting one of Indiana Beverage’s many vendors throughout the Region, consider picking up a beer from Bell’s Brewing Inc. The award-winning brews are bound to be a hit at the next holiday party.
Matthew Johnson has been with Indiana Beverage for 10 years and is the craft and specialty brand manager. Bell’s Brewing Inc. is one of the largest craft breweries that he oversees. Indiana Beverage has been distributing products from Bell’s Brewing since 2012.
“It's been an amazing partnership since then. We love working with people there, and we love their culture. Obviously, we love the beers that they produce. They make some of the best beers in the world,” said Johnson.
Johnson isn’t the only person who believes Bell’s makes the best beer. Bells Brewing is an award-winning brewery.
“In fact, they've been voted by the Home Brewers Association as the best brewery in the country for the past four years. Leading the charge for them is Bell's Two Hearted Ale, which has been voted the best beer in America for the past four years. So, it’s pretty cool to be able to be partners with a brewery like Bell’s. We know the quality product that they make and that the people they employ are top notch. That makes our job as a distributor pretty fun,” said Johnson.
In the past, the brewery would feature a seasonal series of beers. This year, Bell’s is focusing its attention on its wheat beers.
“For years, they did a seasonal series that was anchored by Oberon in the summertime. It's Northern Indiana and Michigan's official summer wheat beer,” said Johnson.
Oberon is a classic beer made for backyard barbecues and summer evenings spent at the ballpark, which was Bell’s Brewing Inc. owner Larry Bell’s intent.
“Oberon is that summertime wheat beer that is always released about a week before Major League Baseball season starts. Larry Bell is a huge Chicago Cubs fan. He created that beer to be his summertime baseball beer. So that's why it's always released before the Cubs’ season starts. That way everybody can have a tasty Oberon ready before baseball season rolls around,” said Johnson.
Oberon was a successful beer for Bell’s, which led the brewery to create rotating wheat beers for every season.
“They took the popularity of the wheat beer and really just extended its concept. So, Bell’s doesn't do a traditional seasonal series anymore. They changed it to a wheat seasonal series,” said Johnson.
Bell’s rotates four seasonal wheat beers.
“After Oberon came a new beer called Rind Over Matter, which is still being sold out in some places now,” said Johnson.
Rind Over Matter is a citrus wheat ale with notes of lemon and orange zest: a perfect beer to transition between the summer and fall.
“After Rind Over Matter, they feature a beer called Bright White, which actually was a part of the seasonal series before, so they just kept it a part of the wheat series,” said Johnson.
Bright White challenges the typically heavy and dark stouts for the winter and offers customers a refreshing wheat ale with notes of fruit and clover.
“Going hand in hand with everybody's New Year's resolutions, Bell’s releases a new beer at the new year. It's called LoSun, and it'll be low-calorie and low-ABV,” said Johnson.
Customers in the Region have a lot to be excited about from Bell’s. Aside from the rotating wheat beers, customers can look forward to a newly announced partnership between Bell’s Brewing Inc. and New Belgium. View this press release to learn more about the partnership and continue to visit the Bell’s Brewing Inc. website for further updates.
Interested in taking some brews from Bell’s to the office get-together or family party? Check out Indiana Beverage’s Facebook page for more information on great beer offered throughout Northwest Indiana.