(Kalamazoo, MI) – Bells Brewery was named as the co-brewer for next year’s Signature Series collaboration with De Proef in Belgium. Bells’ John Mallet will travel over to Europe to work with De Proef’s Dirk Naudts this coming March. Past collaborators include Tomme Arthur from Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey and Jason Perkins from Allagash. Both beers were Belgian styles and it would be assumed that is the way the series will continue to trend. That said, Bells’ vast collection of beers only includes a relative handful of Belgian styles to date; it will be interesting to see what brew comes out of this joint effort.

For those who aren’t familiar with these collaborations, I’ve attached the full press release after the jump (below).

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For Immediate Release:

Bell’s Brewery named as partner for 2009 De Proef Brewmaster’s Collaboration
Series

Seattle, WA December 1, 2008 – SBS Imports of Seattle, Washington is pleased
to announce that Bell’s Brewery has agreed to be the 2009 partner for the
latest brew in the De Proef Brewmaster’s Collaboration Series. The yet to
be designed beer will be brewed in March at De Proef in Lochristi, Belgium
and released to the USA market in September 2009.

The initial beer in the series was Signature Ale – originally brewed in 2007
with Tomme Arthur of Port Brewing/Lost Abbey. Jason Perkins of Allagash
collaborated in 2008 on Les Deux Brasseurs. Both beers have been
exceptionally well-received by beer enthusiasts.

“Each year it is my pleasure to invite a noted American brewer to
participate in this series,” noted SBS Founder Alan Shapiro. “I am thrilled
that John Mallet & Bell’s have agreed to be the 2009 partner.”

“I am really looking forward to this project,” added Bell’s Production
Manager, John Mallet. “I have several family ties to the area which makes
this invite to brew with Dirk Naudts at De Proef even more special.”

Bell’s Brewery of Kalamazoo, MI is one of the most highly regarded and
creative breweries in the country, known for its bold, unfiltered,
bottle-conditioned beers. Since its founding in 1983 by Larry Bell it has
garnered numerous medals and accolades. Its 2007 production of over 90,000
barrels ranked it among the top 15 of American craft breweries. More
information on Bell’s is available at www.bellsbeer.com.

De Proef Brouwerij of Lochristi, Belgium was created in 1996 by highly
regarded brewing engineer and professor, Dirk Naudts. The ultra-scientific
brewery blends modern equipment and technologies with both traditional and
new world brewing techniques. SBS imports a unique range of beers from De
Proef under the De Proef Brewmaster’s Collection branding.

SBS Imports was created in 2002 by specialty beer industry veteran Alan
Shapiro. In addition to the DeProef brands, SBS represents Aspall Cyders
from Suffolk, England and Batemans beers from Wainfleet, England. More
information on the SBS portfolio is available at www.sbs-imports.com.

For further information contact:

Alan Shapiro John Mallet
SBS Imports Bell’s Brewery
206.527.4191 269.488.1624
[email protected]
[email protected]