(Comstock, MI) – One hundred and twenty six entries were submitted for the 3rd Annual Bell’s Homebrew Competition and Nick Rodammer took first prize with his Belgian black IPA.

All of the winners were announced during All Stouts Day on Nov. 4 at the Eccentric Café.

Rodammer will get to brew his recipe with Specialty Brewer Zeke Bogan at Bell’s original brewery in downtown Kalamazoo to then go on tap at the adjacent Café.

This is the same brewery where many of Bell’s smaller batches are brewed including The Wild One, the Jazz Series, Roundhouse IRA, Kal-Haven Ale, Harvest Ale, a number of specialty stouts and more.

Overall, judges were very impressed with the caliber of entries this year, noting lots of experimentation and a lot of hops.

There was also a good presence of beers made with wild yeast and bacteria, said David Curtis, Bell’s General Store Manager and coordinator for the competition.

Last year’s winner, A Bit of Heat, from Geoff Groff was brewed with paradise seeds, rose hips and habaneros.

Look for details for the 4th Annual Bell’s Homebrew Competition to come in 2013.

The complete list of winners follows – cheers and congratulations to all.

1st place: Nick Rodammer, Belgian black IPA
2nd place: Jay VonBuskirk, hoppy beer brewed with mango
3rd place: Adam and Britani Wisniewski, brown ale brewed with smoked malt

Runners-up
Sam Mirto, coffee porter
Jerry Pardeik, citrusy IPA
Richard Dueweke, weissbier
Matt Holley, black IPA
Brad Wyant, coconut cream stout
Chris Carr, a beer fermented with lactobacillus and aged on oak and brettanomyces
Alex Mantakounis, chocolate peanut butter cup porter
Scott Fitzsimmons, citrusy pale ale
Sam Bailey and Kyle Smith, tropical IPA

ABOUT BELL’S BREWERY, INC.
Bell’s Brewery, Inc. began in 1985 with a quest for better beer and a 15 gallon soup kettle. Since then, we’ve grown into a regional craft brewery that employs more than 200 people over an 18 state area, in addition to Puerto Rico and Washington DC. The dedication to brewing flavorful, unfiltered, quality craft beers that started in 1985 is still with us today. We currently brew over 20 beers for distribution as well as many other small batch beers that are served at our pub in Kalamazoo, the Eccentric Cafe. Our ongoing goal is to brew thoughtfully, creatively and artistically. We strive to bring an authentic and pleasant experience to all of our customers through our unique ales and beers. For more information, please visit bellsbeer.com.

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