Here is a look at some Bell’s beer events this week in Kentucky, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Kentucky

Bell’s Day at The Nachbar

When: Sep. 20

Where: The Nachbar, 969 Charles St., Louisville

Details: Hopslam will be available and a special keg of The Oracle will be tapped at 10 p.m.

More info: Call 502-637-4377

Indiana

Oracle Tapping

When: Sept. 22, 6 p.m.

Where: The Heorot, 219 South Walnut, Muncie

Details: Two Hearted, Amber, Oberon, Porter, Octoberfest, and Oarsman Ale will also be on tap. Oracle pints will be $5.25. Other Bell’s pints will be $2.25.

More info: Call 765-287-0173

Wisconsin

Bell’s Prom

When: Sept. 24 at 9 p.m.

Where: The Cowtown Saloon aka The Livery, 316 Wisconsin St., Eau Claire

Details: Eccentric prom attire required.

More info: Call 715-833-7666 for more information.

Looking ahead to next week

Three chances to sample Q-Falls in Pennsylvania, tailgating in St. Joe Michigan, Elliott Street Art & Flux in Atlanta and more.

You may have noticed that the online version of the Bell’s General Store has been undergoing some major renovations over the last few weeks.

Not only has the store been given a face-lift, but the entire site has been redesigned from the bottom up.

"It’s now more secure. Processing orders is faster and overall, it’s a more pleasant and modern shopping experience,” said Drew Bell, General Store Online Manager.

The website debuted in 2001 and hasn't had a major update like this in at least four years.

Drew and Adam Stubbs of Advantage Communication Enterprises, a Kalamazoo based web development company, have been planning and developing this latest overhaul for the last year-and-a-half.

“This is an ongoing process. We will continue to make improvements over the next few months and beyond to make sure our customers have the best possible experience. We want to make sure it’s hassle free, that customers get a good price, they are happy with their purchases and they get them on time,” said Drew.

Some of the new features include:

• Faster image and page loading

• Improved site search and navigation: The search tool will offer suggestions with images to help you quickly find what you are looking for.

• Sharable wish lists: Add as much as you like and share with your friends and families. Use them for holidays, birthdays and more.

• Additional account management tools and easier tracking: Manage multiple shipping and billing addresses, view your order status and track it from home as well.

• New Bell’s saver shipping and free shipping on select items: Choose the most economical and preferred shipping method while saving money.

• Up to date information pages: Stay current on return and exchange policies – quick and easy.

The Bell’s online store will also start accepting additional payment methods including Master Card, VISA and Discover soon. Gift cards that will be redeemable online, in person at both the General Store, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. in downtown Kalamazoo, or at the adjoining Eccentric Café will also be available in the next few months as well.

Explore the redesigned website here.

ENGLAND – Bell’s Brewery sent one of its own more than 3,000 miles away from home to help create a new beer.

This beer will help those who frequent about 850 establishments across Britain get to know both Bell’s and American brewing a little better.

Bell’s Production Supervisor John Mallett arrived in the UK early last week to help brew about 300 barrels of Kalamazoo Black Silk, an oatmeal porter at Marston’s Brewery in Burton upon Trent.

“I want it to drink silky smooth and be a very traditional cask conditioned beer with an American twist. It will be very flavorable, but very low in alcohol,” he said by phone after his arrival.

J.D. Wetherspoon, the largest pub chain in England, will serve this new creation during what they are calling the world’s biggest Real Ale & Cider Festival.

Wetherspoon invites international brewers to selected UK breweries, which gives them a chance to try something different, but it also has benefits for the visiting brewer as well.

In England, most people have already heard about Kalamazoo. It has resonance, but no one really has any idea where it is, Mallett said.

“It’s a great opportunity to brew in a different environment. It enhances the Bell’s brand; it gets our name out there and even promotes beer tourism,“ he said.

Marston uses a recirculatng fermentation or union system (pictured above) that features a row of casks connected to a common trough with a series of pipes. As the beer ferments and carbon dioxide is produced, the barrels foam over. A swan neck pipe with a 180 degree turn pours liquid into the trough above. The yeast settles out to be used again and the beer flows back into the casks.

The brewery even has an active union cooper constantly rebuilding the system using some pretty old school tools (photo at right).

While it won’t be available here in the U.S., brewing Kalamazoo Black Silk will still have some additional benefits for beer fans back home.

Mallett said he is very interested in working with some unusual ingredients at Bell’s downtown Kalamazoo brewery that he had never come across before including golden naked oats and malts from a Dutch malting company in Northern England.