Bell’s Brewery was named in the 2018 Best Beers in America survey conducted by Zymurgy magazine. Now running in its 16th year, the survey asks members of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA), which publishes Zymurgy, to choose up to five of their favorite commercial beers available for purchase in the U.S.
Bell’s earned the #1 spot in the Top-Ranked Beers category with Two Hearted and the No. 4 spot for Hopslam Ale. This is the second consecutive year that Two Hearted has claimed this honor. It came in second to Russian River’s Pliny the Elder for seven straight years previously.
Bell’s was also #1 in this year’s Top-Ranked Breweries list.
“This is an incredible honor, one that means a great deal to me personally and to everyone at the brewery. We have never sacrificed quality and this is a testament to the hard work and dedication from everyone involved in getting this beer to our fans,” said Larry Bell, president and founder.
“As brewers, the members of American Homebrewers Association can discern the subtle differences between a good beer and an outstanding beer,” said Gary Glass, director, American Homebrewers Association. “Zymurgy’s Best Beers in America survey showcases which commercial beers are truly the best of the best out there, and all the breweries who made the list should be proud.”
The American Homebrewers Association has worked on behalf of the homebrewing community since 1978 and celebrates a membership of 46,000 homebrewers.
Bell’s general store has been supporting homebrewers in Kalamazoo and beyond since 1983 and predates the brewery. Larry Bell founded our company originally as a homebrew supply store.
Love singletrack? Wished you could ride the trails you see crisscrossing the Iceman course? Here’s your chance: Traverse City Trail Festival!
The second annual Traverse City Trail Festival presented by Short’s Brewing takes you onto 40 or 25 miles of unmarked singletrack, starting and finishing at beautiful and rustic Ranch Rudolf. That’s right, this is the only day of the year that these trails are marked, giving you the perfect chance to follow some of the best trails in Northern Michigan.
It’s a celebration of trails, bikes, and our mountain bike community, and we mean everyone! Both 40 and 25-mile distances offer the option to race, or just tour at your own pace with friends. There’s also an 8-mile kid’s race presented by Norte, as well as a balance bike drag race!
The TCTF is the biggest fundraiser of the year for Northern Michigan Mountain Bike Association. Our region’s trail stewards build, maintain, and protect trails from Bellaire to Leelanau County, Traverse City, and the Cadillac Pathway. NMMBA also grooms over 50 miles of trail all winter long, offering year-round non-motorized recreation opportunities for individuals and families.
For the third year in a row the June 9 Love Ludington weekend will feature an attempt to break a world record (actually TWO this year). All we need is 1,500 folks with a bicycle, helmets are strongly encouraged.
The Shoreline Cycling Club is partnering with the Love Ludington committee and hopes to claim the records for the longest parade of bicycles (1,186) as well as the longest line of bikes in a row not moving (1,448).
All events will be at the Gaylord and Tinkham corner of Oriole Field (700 W. Tinkham Ave.)
* Friday packet pick up is from 5-8pm on June 8 * Saturday registration starts at 7:30am, if you picked up your packet Friday you can arrive at 8:30am Saturday * Parade for record 1 kicks off at 9:30am * Registering before June 6 at 10pm enters you into a drawing for a $250 gift card (of two available) to either Spindrift Cyclesports or Trailhead Bike Shop.
Riders participating in the first record should have a functional bicycle, a helmet is stongly encouraged, and be able to ride between 3-5 miles to participate. Smaller children and all others who don’t think they can make the ride will be able to participate in the second record.
Riders participating in the second record will line up after the last riders leave Oriole Field, probably around 10:15.
Visit www.shorelinecyclingclub.org to be best prepared for the event. Then remember to stop by Oriole Field Friday night or early Saturday morning during the weekend of the event to pick up your number plate and for children to pick up their free ice cream cone certificate from House of Flavors.
Over 70,000 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every year, but you can join the fight against skin cancer at the 6th Annual MSU Grand Fondo, Saturday, June 23rd. The MSU Grand Fondo is a fundraising event offering four different cycling routes for riders of all ages and abilities. The MSU Grand Fondo has generated over $900,000 for skin cancer research during the last five years. The MSU College of Human Medicine is the beneficiary of the fundraising and they’ve recently discovered a promising new drug that stops melanoma from spreading by 90%.
Raise funds for a worthy cause, ride with 1,500 cycling friends, and celebrate afterwards at the best street party in Grand Rapids. More information can be found: msugrandfondo.org
“I did this ride (Split the Mitt) last year. It was awesome. This year is going to be awesomer. It’s a great organization, and I’d love to wrangle more people into riding it”, said Tim Pulliam of Keen Technical Solutions in Traverse City.
Less Cancer’s Bike Ride, Split the Mitt, was established for cyclists to raise funds and awareness in support of Less Cancer’s efforts to end preventable cancers. This year’s event has riders covering 238 miles from Flint to Traverse City in two days, June 23rd &24th. Registration is $100 and is limited to 100 riders. Less Cancer’s goal for 2018 is to raise $200,000.
Racing for Home is a brand NEW Northern Michigan cycling event brought to you by Habitat for Humanity – Grand Traverse Region. The race will be jam-packed full of fun and excitement and will be open to bikers of all ages and skill levels.
Join them for our inaugural event located at 45 North Vineyard Trail in Lake Leelanau, Michigan.
We want to thank the 300 or so riders that made their way to Bell’s Taproom in Kalamazoo and 7 Monks in TC on Friday, March 2nd for the in-person registration parties. A good time was had by all. Thanks to Bell’s and Clif Bar for the swag.
Now it’s on to online registration.
Online registration opened for riders that participated in 2017 (or entered & had to transfer their entry) on Friday March 9th at 9:00 am.
Online registration for new Bell’s Iceman riders opens the FOLLOWING Friday March 16th at noon which provides returning Bell’s Iceman riders a week to register before registration is completely open.
As Michigan slowly emerges from this lingering winter it is important to remember that riding muddy trails during the thaws is really bad for trails. In most cases volunteers spend time away from their friends and families maintaining our fantastic network of Michigan trails and to have a few individuals who ignore chains across trails and trail closed signs is discouraging to say the least.
Save the date!
Our friends with the Shoreline Cycling Club in Ludington are trying to break the Guinness World Book of Records for the longest line of riders in a single line on June 9th. If you’ve always wanted to try to attempt such a thing stay tuned to the Ludington CVB calendar for more details as they emerge.
If you’ll recall last summer when we asked the Iceman tribe to urge the Grand Traverse County Board to accept the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy’s bid to purchase 160 acres in the Pere Marquette State Forest. The Iceman riders as well as Mud, Sweat and Beers race through that section of forest. As it turns out they need to raise some money to help pay for some of the expenses incurred untilthey can sell the land back to the state. You can read more about that and make a donation here, Iceman is matching what comes in up to $20,000
“The registration protocol of the last three years has allowed riders to register for the Bell’s Iceman races at a time convenient to them and greatly reduced stress levels for everybody across the board so we’re planning on replicating that process for 2018”, said Steve Brown, Event Director.
“Registration for 2018 kicks off with our on-site registration party at Bell’s Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo onFriday, March 2nd from 10 AM to 4 PM. This year marks the 6th year of the registration party at Bell’s Eccentric Café and the response has been very positive. It has become a celebration about the upcoming cycling season more than registration for the races. “Riders from the past season know they’re guaranteed a spot in 2018 but they still come to Bell’s Eccentric Cafe and register. It must be the Bell’s beer”, quipped Brown.
Registration forms will be available and Iceman staff members will be entering riders directly into the 2018 database on site. Personal attendance is required in order to get registered at Bell’s on March 2nd.
Can’t make it to the Eccentric Café on March 2nd?
2018 Iceman and Slush Cup online registration opens for riders who participated in 2017 (or entered & had to transfer their entry) on Friday March 9th at 9:00 am which provides returning Bell’s Iceman riders a week to register before registration is completely open. (Don’t worry about the invitation code…it’s built into your Iceman account and will allow you to complete your registration).
Online registration for ALL Bell’s Iceman and Meijer Slush Cup riders opens Friday March 16th at 12 noon.
Thus, for riders new to the Bell’s Iceman, there are two options to register. Option #1 is to attend the Bell’s Iceman Registration party at the Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo on Friday, March 2nd from 10 AM to 3 PM. The second option is to register online beginning Friday March 16th at 12 Noon.
A total field limit of 4,500 Iceman riders and 400 Slush Cup riders will be accepted. The March 16th online registration opening for all riders will operate on a “first come – first served” method. The number of entries available on March 16th for the Bell’s Iceman and Meijer Slush Cup will be determined by the number of entries previously received.
The Bell’s Iceman entry fee for 2018 is $100.00 and includes the USA Cycling One-Day License and the online registration fee. USA Cycling members with an annual license will receive a $10 rebate upon showing their license at packet pick-up in November. The $10 USA Cycling annual license rebate is not available for riders in the Pro/Category 1 races.
2018 Meijer Slush Cup entry fees are $70.00 and include a USAC one-day license and the online registration fee.
The 2018 online registration system utilizes your Ice Society account on the www.iceman.com website. Thus, all registrants need to have an active account within the Ice Society. A new capability of the Ice Society is to allow parents to manage their children’s accounts with the same email address.
To eliminate confusion, tandem entries follow the one bike – one entry system. Tandem captains can enter their stoker’s name on their account page.
An USA Cycling account number (not an annual license) is required for each rider. For riders without an account number, you can create an account with USA Cycling by looking for the “sign-up” button in the upper right-hand corner of the www.usacycling.org website.
