Brewed fresh to drink fresh: Bell’s Sideyard Ale will return with limited, expanded distribution (in 2021) along with two brand new fresh-hopped beers.
Joining the brewery’s Fresh-Hopped New England-style IPA this year will be Sideyard Crystal Ale and Sideyard Triumph Ale, both will showcase a different, single hop varietal (Crystal and Triumph).
“All three are nods to the beers we know and love from the Pacific Northwest. This year, we wanted to take advantage of two sizable, additional harvests and really celebrate the aroma and flavor of the harvest,” said Andy Farrell, Bell’s Innovation Manager.
As each hop varietal is harvested, it will head straight to Bell’s Innovation Brewhouse to brew each of these harvest ales. Sideyard, brewed with Chinook hops grown onsite, is massively dry-hopped, aromatic, juicy, and hazy.
“Using fresh, locally grown hops has a long tradition here at the brewery,” said Larry Bell, President, and Founder of Bell’s.
Hop harvest in Comstock coincides with Yakima Valley where Bell’s sources a large percentage of the hops it uses in beers like Two Hearted, Hopslam, Oberon, and many more (Michigan-grown hops are also used in Two Hearted).
“Our employees have always come together to help with the harvest. Over the last few years, our Land Stewards have put in a lot of hard work to cultivate and make this Hop Yard what it is today. It may not compare in size to our partners out west, but that dedication to quality is still very much the same.”
All three Sideyard beers will be initially released within 12 hours of packaging. Sideyard will be distributed in areas here in Michigan and for the first time, in Ohio and Indiana. Packaged in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans, it will be very limited.
Sideyard Crystal and Sideyard Triumph will be available exclusively at Bell’s Eccentric Café (on draft) and at the Bell’s General Store (bottles to go).
Release details
- Sideyard Triumph Ale (6.5% ABV): 6-packs of 12 oz. bottles will be available starting at 11 a.m. on Sept. 30. The Café will have it on draft starting at 3 p.m.
- Sideyard Ale (6.8% ABV): 4-packs of 16 oz. cans will go on sale and on tap at the Café at 11 a.m. on Oct. 8.
- Sideyard Crystal Ale (6.5% ABV): 6-packs of 12 oz. bottles, along with draft pours, will be available starting at 11 a.m. on Oct. 15.
About Bell’s Sideyard
Located next to the brewery’s Comstock Brewery, the two-acre field is used to grow a few different varietals. This year, that includes Crystal, Triumph and Chinook (Sideyard Ale). Work began on planting a hop field at Bell’s in the mid-2010s on top of where a geothermal is located to help heat and cool the brewery.
