A Second Round: Homebrew winner hot and hoppy

The Second Annual Bell's Homebrew Competition and Expo culminates this Saturday, July 21, at 3 p.m. at the Eccentric Cafe with the tapping of A Bit of Heat, an IPA with a habanero pepper kick, created by Climax home brewer Geoff Groff.

The first portion of the event, which took place last September at Bell’s downtown Kalamazoo brewery, gave area brewers of all skill levels a chance to compete to have their beer brewed at Bell’s original downtown brewing facility and be featured on tap alongside brands such as Two Hearted, Oberon and Java Stout.

Though creating a beer both hoppy and hot may seem to be the work of a maniacally focused savant, Groff admits that up until competition time last September he hadn’t even invented it yet. It actually was all new and unplanned.

"I hadn’t given the peppers much thought, other than I've wanted to use peppers for a while," Grof says. "I had also not made the base IPA before either."

The idea that hundreds of strangers will be trying his brew is also a new experience for Groff, who admits that he’s both "excited" and "nervous."

Groff, alongside Brewery Manager Andy Farrell and Specialty Brewer Zeke Bogan worked to translate the original 10 gallon recipe so that it worked on the 10 barrel project.

"Brewing at Bells was quite cool," Groff says. "The brewers Andy and Zeke were fun to be with, and (I) got the opportunity to see some differences in homebrewing vs. larger scale."

Groff describes his brew, A Bit of Heat, saying it is "well balanced and is not as spicy as people may think. The spice is enough to recognize that it's in there and that it is peppery."

And it’s also quite a bit different than the beer he entered in last year’s competition -- a raspberry wheat for which he took third place.

With 12 years of brewing experience and one competition victory under his belt, the substitute teacher and member of the Kalamazoo Libation Organization of Brewers, a local homebrewing club, may need to start getting used to his beer being consumed by more than just his friends and family.

Groff says he would like the opportunity to start brewing professionally or to even open his own brewery.

But before that day comes, Groff has the responsibility of leading several area drinkers in a toast to his most recent, and perhaps most unique creation.

Cracking open a few more:

• Sunset Blvd Brewing Company, currently located at 4212 Portage Road in Kalamazoo, has made public its plans to move to a downtown location. A Facebook announcement the company posted on July 16 says the move is prompted by the need for a safer location for employees and customers in light of recent criminal activity in the neighborhood, including two meth busts and a Sunset patron who was mugged. Mug club memberships are on hold while they await the move and all coupons will be honored upon reopening. "The happy news is we will be relocating downtown so you will be able to soon and enjoy not only Bells, but Sunset Blvd and Arcadia's beer all downtown."

There is no word yet on when the move will take place or to where it will be. Sunset Blvd also quashed a rumor that the brewery will be taking over the former Strutt building at 773 W. Michigan Ave. saying: "In all fairness, we are deciding on one of two locations downtown and neither one is the former Strutt."

• Beginning Friday, July 20, Bell’s will partner with the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange to celebrate Kalamazoo Restaurant Week. The event will include a three course dinner paired with Bell’s beer. Bell’s reports the menu will feature: Amber Ale, fresh gazpacho with goat cheese croutons and vodka; Two Hearted, red wine and horseradish flank steak with bleu cheese mashed potatoes and bacon collards; and Oarsman Ale, strawberry gelato with dark chocolate tart shell and candied sugar.  

• PBS will be making a stop Friday, July 20, at Arcadia Brewing Company’s Battle Creek location to film an episode of "The Great American Beer Trail."

Jeremy Martin writes A Second Round for Southwest Michigan’s Second Wave.

Photos of Geoff Groff courtesy Bell's Brewery.