Kalamazoo Brewing Company

Larry Bell founded Kalamazoo Brewing Company in 1983 along with his homebrew supply shop. The company sold its first beer in 1985. Originally brewing in a 15-gallon soup kettle, the brewery grew rapidly on top of its first full year's 135 barrels (BBL = 31 gal.) of production. K.B.C. has grown from a tiny operation renting one section of a building formerly used as plumbing supply warehouse, to a bustling craft brewery, utilizing three brewing systems and now owning the entire cluster of buildings at 355 E. Kalamazoo Avenue, in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan. Besides its production facilities, the brewery also includes the Eccentric Cafe; the pub nestled between the production buildings and Bell's General Store for wearables and homebrew supplies.