With apologies to Susan Sarandon in "Bull Durham," "This is the damnedest year. The Cubs and Sox are both in first place and Bell's is back in Chicago." Yes, it is and all is right with the world for now. Except that the Bell's product won't be rolling out fully until we can finish the Kalamazoo brands. Both Larry Bell and Bell's local sales manager Jim O'Connor told us that the Kalamazoo line will......

We'd been hearing rumors about Bell's coming back to Chicago almost from the moment they launched the Kalamazoo line last autumn. Local media were sent a press release this morning making the rumors official. Bell's has struck distribution agreements with the three wholesalers they currently use to market the Kalamazoo line. We spoke with Larry Bell by phone this morning. While Bell downplayed the recent acquisition of Union Beverage by Judge & Dolph as the......

A conversation we had with our downstairs neighbor and good friend last night as we were preparing to clean out Sam's Wine and Spirits out of what was left of their closeout sale: Her: Have you tried this beer yet? Chicagoist: What is it? Her: Kalamazoo Royal Amber Ale. Chicagoist: I have. Her: What does it taste like? Chicagoist: Bell's Amber. Her: Why do you say that? Chicagoist: Because that's what it is. You really......

We get letters: Chuck, Please tell me you're going to review Christmas Ale from Great Lakes Brewing Co., it's pretty top notch! And pretty much sold out everywhere, the Binny's locale on 3000 N. Clark told me on Monday that I'd purchase their last case. Any way it's a nice beer if you can get it! Cheers, Chris Sauve Although it's rare that we take requests, we were fortunate that we didn't have to travel......

Brewer Larry Bell...

Bell's beer fans don't start celebrating just yet, but Larry Bell himself weighed in on the Beer Advocate forums yesterday about a possible return to Chicago. "Bell's continues to work on a way to return to Illinois... I have had discussions with other wholesalers and there is a possibility that we would return, but not with any brand we currently produce... Chicago is my home town and I would love to sell beer there again.......

This week, just for "guest", Chicagoist decided to tie this installment of the "Buffet" into Lollapalooza. We also have an update on Bell's, some other newsworthy items, and the usual complement of events. - A forum thread started at Beer Advocate earlier this week asked the million-dollar question: When is Bell's coming back to Illinois? Standing out among the speculation was a reply from Larry Bell himself. Bell told the forum that he's been talking......

It's been nearly six months since Bell's Beer founder Larry Bell pulled his product from the Illinois market in a dispute with distributors over the Beer Industry Fair Dealing Act of 1982. Readers will remember that that specific law, enacted at the time to protect distributors from the loss of a giant beer account on the level of Anheuser-Busch or Miller should they decide to move to greener pastures, doesn't give mid-level craft breweries like......

You're reading that headline correctly. A Bell's beer is this week's "BotW" selection. But don't get too excited. Larry Bell hasn't changed his mind and decided to start shipping his beer back to Illinois while we weren't looking. We just went to one of the few places we knew that still had an inventory of the beer. That should appease the cynics and set you off running to free them of it. Anyway, we're on......

Not to toot our own horn, but Chicagoist might have been the first to break the news about Bell's leaving Illinois. Now that other media outlets are finding the story newsworthy, it's time for us to play a bit behind the eightball. This evening at West Lakeview Liquors, Jim O'Connor, Bell's Illinois and Wisconsin market representative, is hosting a farewell tasting from 6-9 p.m. Word has it that there will be some of this years'......

If you notice a reduced presence of Bell's beer on the shelves and in bars in the coming weeks, there's a reason. Bell's delivered their last shipment of beer to Illinois last week. Here is some of what Bell's founder Larry Bell wrote last week regarding the situation on a forum thread at the Beer Advocate website (post number 32): "I'm very tired and sad tonight, but I will share thoughts with this group soon.......