Two Hearted Ale (IPA) by Bell’s Brewery (photo courtesy of Bell’s Brewery)

Two Hearted Ale Review: A Timeless Classic from Bell’s Brewery

When it comes to American IPAs, few names resonate as strongly as Two Hearted Ale. Brewed by Bell’s Brewery, this iconic beer has consistently ranked among the top in various beer competitions and is beloved by craft beer enthusiasts. Let’s dive into what makes this ale a timeless classic.

Two Hearted IPA by Bell’s Brewery

Beer: Two Hearted IPA
Brewery: Bell’s Brewery
Style: IPA – American
ABV: 7%
IBU: 55
Untappd Description:

Brewed with 100% Centennial hops from the Pacific Northwest and named after the Two Hearted River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, this IPA is bursting with hop aromas ranging from pine to grapefruit from massive hop additions in both the kettle and the fermenter.

Perfectly balanced with a malt backbone and combined with the signature fruity aromas of Bell’s house yeast, this beer is remarkably drinkable and well suited for adventures everywhere.

Appearance

Two Hearted Ale pours a vibrant amber color with a slight haze, topped with a frothy, white head that lingers beautifully. The carbonation is lively, contributing to the visual appeal and ensuring a refreshing sip every time.

Aroma

The aroma is where Two Hearted Ale truly shines. It bursts with the scent of fresh pine, citrus, and floral notes, thanks to the generous use of Centennial hops. There’s a subtle malt sweetness that balances the hoppy bouquet, making it inviting and complex.

Taste

On the palate, Two Hearted Ale delivers a harmonious blend of hop bitterness and malt sweetness. The Centennial hops dominate with flavors of grapefruit, pine, and resin, while the malt backbone provides a smooth, slightly caramelized sweetness that rounds out the bitterness perfectly. The finish is crisp and clean, with a lingering hoppy aftertaste that invites you for another sip.

Mouthfeel

The mouthfeel is medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, offering a smooth and slightly creamy texture. This balance ensures that Two Hearted Ale is both refreshing and satisfying, making it suitable for any occasion.

Overall Impression

Two Hearted Ale by Bell’s Brewery is a benchmark for American IPAs. Its well-balanced profile of hops and malts, combined with its iconic aroma and flavor, make it a must-try for any craft beer lover. Whether you’re a seasoned beer aficionado or new to the world of IPAs, Two Hearted Ale is a timeless classic that never disappoints.

Pairing Suggestions

To enhance your Two Hearted Ale experience, try pairing it with spicy foods like buffalo wings, bold cheeses like blue cheese, or even a hearty burger. The beer’s hoppy bitterness complements spicy and rich flavors, making it an excellent companion to a variety of dishes.

Final Thoughts

Bell’s Brewery has crafted a masterpiece with Two Hearted Ale. Its enduring popularity is a testament to its exceptional quality and flavor. If you haven’t tried it yet, now is the perfect time to see why this IPA is considered one of the best in the world.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.94 (as of 7.23.24)

Literary Connection: Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River”

Big Two Hearted River by Ernest Hemmingway

One of the unique aspects of Two Hearted Ale is its connection to Ernest Hemingway’s novella, “Big Two-Hearted River.” The beer’s name pays homage to this classic literary work, which is set in Michigan’s wilderness, much like Bell’s Brewery itself.

In Hemingway’s story, the protagonist, Nick Adams, finds solace and healing in nature after the trauma of war. The serene and restorative qualities of the river in the novella mirror the experience of savoring a Two Hearted Ale. Just as Nick reconnects with himself through the simplicity and beauty of nature, enjoying a Two Hearted Ale can be a similarly grounding and enriching experience.

The beer embodies the spirit of the story—simple yet profound, familiar yet deeply satisfying. For fans of both craft beer and literature, this connection adds an extra layer of appreciation and enjoyment.

I just recently finished the novella, and it immediately clicked in my had the connection between Hemingway’s “Big Two Hearted River” novella and the beer by Bell’s Brewery (Two Hearted River IPA / Ale). Its amazing how I never put the connection together before I picked up the novella at the Hershey Public Library and read it.

We also reviewed the novella as well.

You can read our review here:

• Book Review: Big Two Hearted River (by Ernest Hemingway)

FAQs about Two Hearted Ale

Q: What is the ABV of Two Hearted Ale?
A: Two Hearted Ale has an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 7.0%.

Q: Where can I buy Two Hearted Ale?
A: Two Hearted Ale is widely available in many liquor stores, supermarkets, and online beer retailers. Check Bell’s Brewery’s official website for a store locator.

Q: What awards has Two Hearted Ale won?
A: Two Hearted Ale has won numerous awards, including being named the best beer in America multiple times by the American Homebrewers Association.

Q: Can I visit Bell’s Brewery?
A: Yes, Bell’s Brewery offers tours and has a taproom where you can sample their beers. Visit their official website for more information on visiting.

More Articles About Bell’s Brewery

• New Belgium Brewing and Lion Acquire Bell’s Brewery

Busy Week

Whew, what a busy week. On a personal note, just wanted to say what all has been going on with us. In the past week we did our video review of The Acolyte’s finale (Episode 8) with Knights of Nostalgia. You can view that here: The Acolyte – Episode 8 Review. Then on Thursday, we (Ben, Amy, and Josh) hung out with Jesse and Amanda of Sworn Brewing to do a one year follow up article with them (look for that soon), and then on Friday and Saturday it was Ffej of July (Ffej of July 21!), then Sunday Josh got to go to the Boneshire Mug Club Meeting (I unfortunately had to work), and then tonight is the Foo Fighter’s Concert. Tomorrow and Thursday (Wednesday and Thursday) we are going to be in Richmond Virginia visiting breweries like The Veil and The Answer, as well as doing some sight seeing and visiting other breweries.

So its certainly been a busy last few days and a busy upcoming few days!

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

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You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #8 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2023.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

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If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

Founders Brewing Company Announces Closure of Their Detroit Taproom

Just a little bit ago (about a hour and a half ago) (at 6:30PM EST), Founders Brewing Company posted on their social media accounts that they are closing their Detroit Taproom.

Citing COVID-19 related issues and other economic related causes. (Founders Brewing Company also disabled comments on their Facebook and Instagram announcement posts.)

Their announcement reads:

It is with with great sadness that we announce that the Founders Detroit Taproom will be permanently closings its doors today.

Unfortunately, our Detroit location has not been immune to the struggle to regain foot traffic after temporary Covid closures that have impacted restaurants and bars across the nation. We are working diligently to find new positions within the company for the employees impacted by this closure.

We would like to thank all of our loyal customers, Mug Clubbers, and friends for your support and business over the years. It has been a great pleasure to serve you.

Founders Brewing Company – Facebook Post

The Detroit Free Press had more information as per their closure.

The Grand Rapids-based brewery, Michigan’s largest, cited “an ever changing craft beer market, coupled with the struggle to regain foot traffic after temporary COVID-19 closures” as the reasons for shuttering its second location, which originally opened in late 2017 at 456 Charlotte in Midtown Detroit.

“This decision involved a lot of careful consideration of each aspect of our business, and ultimately, what we felt was best for the company and our employees overall,” said Founders CEO Elton Andres Knight in a statement. “We explored every possible avenue to course correct the business and gave it as much time as we could. We are now working diligently to find new positions within the company for the employees who are displaced upon this closure.”

Founders Brewing Co. closes Detroit taproom, cites ‘ever-changing’ craft beer market

Racial Discrimination

In October of 2019, Founders Brewing Company announced that they were closing the Detroit taproom “until further notice”.

Michigan’s largest brewery sent an email to ticket-holders of this weekend’s highly anticipated Canadian Breakfast Stout release and party in Detroit that it’s canceling said release and party while closing the popular Detroit taproom indefinitely “in light of the recent events” and due to safety concerns for its employees.

Those “recent events,” of course, include the pending racial discrimination lawsuit that reached national news this week when a leaked deposition first posted by the Detroit Metro Times sparked a social media firestorm and led to some Detroit shops, bars and restaurants pulling Founders products from their shelves.

Founders co-founder and president Dave Engbers told the Free Press on Friday afternoon that the brewery closed its Detroit taproom out of an abundance of caution for employee safety and that it has “every intention” of reopening the taproom.

Founders Brewing closes Detroit taproom indefinitely amid racial discrimination lawsuit

Founders, which had announced a majority-stake sale to Spanish beer company Mahou San Miguel just weeks earlier, temporarily closed its Detroit taproom in October 2019 after a racial discrimination lawsuit a former employee filed against the company made national headlines and caused a social media firestorm. It reopened the taproom in February 2020 with plans to donate 100% of the profits from the taproom to charities and community organizations through “at least 2022” (it continued that commitment through Sunday, the company said). The COVID-19 pandemic began a month later.

Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers co-founded Founders in 1997 and, along with Larry Bell and Bell’s Brewery, helped lead the Michigan craft beer boom into the 2000s and 2010s. Founders became best known for its sessionable All Day IPA, which represents more than half its output, as well as its Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Dirty Bastard scotch ale and Centennial IPA.

Stevens stepped down as CEO in 2022. Engbers is still with the company as president.

Founders Brewing Co. closes Detroit taproom, cites ‘ever-changing’ craft beer market

Founders Brewing Company

Founders Brewing Company was certainly one of the early craft giants of the 2010s, but their market share, and value has greatly declined over recent years. While still greatly available and distributed, they have fallen off many ‘favorites’ lists.

Their controversies and issues have also certainly caught up to them over the years.

Lawsuits, racial discrimination cases, employee issues, and much more has caused them heartache throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s.

COVID-19 and the coronavirus has probably been the least of their issues in recent years.

For further information on craft beer market share, check out our two articles here:

• Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies (2023)
• Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies in the United States (2023)

For More Information About Founders Brewing Company

The following comes from Untappd. Founders Brewing Company is a macro brewery, and a subsidary of Grupo Mahou-San Miguel, from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They have 975 unique beers, and over 7 million ratings, with a global average rating of 3.96 (as of 5.1.23). Their Untappd description reads: We don’t brew beer for the masses. Instead, our beers are crafted for a chosen few, a small cadre of renegades and rebels who enjoy a beer that pushes the limits of what is commonly accepted as taste. In short, we make beer for people like us. Founders. Brewed for us.

You can follow them on their social media pages here:

• Founders Brewing Company – Official Website
• Founders Brewing Company – Instagram
• Founders Brewing Company – Twitter
• Founders Brewing Company – Facebook
• Founders Brewing Company – Untappd

Articles we have written:

• Beer Reviews: Green Zebra (Founders) and Next Coast (Goose Island)

Brewery News

Interested in finding out about many other brewery openings, new locations, closings, movings, and in general brewery news? You can check out our links below:

• Other Half Brewing Company Opening Friday 2.18.22 in Philadelphia
• Midwest Coast Brewery Opening
• Boulevard Presidents Steps Down Amidst Allegations
• Brewery Opening: Howling Henry’s (Hummelstown)
• Brewery Opening: Highway Manor (Camp Hill)
• Brewery Opening: Rotunda Brew Pub (Hershey)
• Is JB LoveDraft’s Opening a Brewery?
• Tattered Flag at Hollywood Casino – Grantville – Opening Their 5th Location
• JB LoveDraft’s Grand Opening (Mechanicsburg)
• ZeroDay Opens Their New Tap Room (Harrisburg)
• Victory Brewery Fire and Explosion (Kennett Square)
• Sign of the Horse Brewery is Expanding in Hanover (Taking Over the Old Miscreation Brewery)
• Brewery Tour: Couch Brewery (Pittsburgh)
• Brewery Visit: Mellow Mink (Mechanicsburg)
• A Sneak Peak at the new Rubber Soul Brewery (Hummelstown)
• Rubber Soul Grand Opening (Hummelstown)
• VooDoo Lancaster Closing
• River Bend Hop Farm and Brewery Closes
• Homaide Brewing Says Goodbye To Their First Home
• Grand Opening of Hemauer Brewing (Mechanicsburg)
• Rally Point Tap Room Opening – Cox Brewing Company – Elizabethtown
• Spigot Brewing Closes
• Full Pint Brewing Closes
• Night Shift Brewing Cancels Expansion
• Mikkeller Brewing NYC Closes Permanently
• Pilger Ruh Brewing Needs Your Help (Pottsville)
• Official BBQ (Pizza Boy Secondary Location) (Rutherford)
• Aslin Beer Co. Now Ships to Pennsylvania
• Boneshire Brew Works to Open Second Taproom in Harrisburg (Harrisburg)
• Aslin Beer Company Confirms Expanding to Pittsburgh
• Rural City Beer Company Coming to Beamstown PA
• Grand Opening of Forest and Main’s New Brewpub
• New Bells-gium – New Belgium Owned Company Buys Bell’s Brewery
• Human Robot Expanding to Jenkintown
• High Road Brewing Company Coming to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania in Summer 2022
• YAH Brewing’s First Can Drop
• RAR Brewing’s Star Wars Can Drop
• Arboretum Trail Brewing Company Opens Their Doors Tomorrow
• Macklin Brewing Company in Development
• Michaux Brewing Company Grand Opening
• Shy Bear Brewing Announces Two New Locations
• Newfangled Brew Works Announces Closure
• Fourscore Beer Company Celebrates Their 3rd Anniversary
• Penn Brewery Announces Sale and Owner’s Retirement
• Voodoo Brewing Company To Open Brewpub on North Shore of Pittsburgh – August 27th
• Truth Beer Company’s Grand Opening
• Sobel’s Obscure Brewery’s Grand New Location and Opening
• AleCraft Brewing Company Expands Into Pennsylvania
• Boneshire Brew Works Celebrates 6th Anniversary
• Funk Brewing Company – Elizabethtown Brewery – Fire
• Funk Brewing Company – Elizabethtown Brewery – Fire Update
• Victory Taproom in Kennett Square Re – Opens
• Pour Man’s Brewery Is Moving Their Tap Room
• Qatar Bans Alcohol Sales at World Cup 2022
• Second Sin Brewery Company Celebrates Third Anniversary
• Round Guys Brewing Company’s Brewpub in Lansdale is Getting a Revamp
• VK Brewing Officially Opens at Historic Ship Inn
• Rocket Frog Brewing Company Announces Closure on December 11th
• Where to Watch the USA vs Netherlands World Cup Game – in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia
• Liquid Noise Brewing Company Announces the Show is Ending (Brewery Closure)
• Looks Like Homaide Brewing Company Might Be Done (January 2023)
• Old Soul Brewing Starting up in Waynesboro Pennsylvania
• Cox Brewing Company Returning to Their Roots
• Helping the Hemauer Family
• Cellar Works Brewing Closing Cooper Station
• Imprint Beer Company Unveils The GNARCADIUM
• Blueprint Brewing Company Announces Their Closing on March 31st
• Pilger Ruh Brewing is Expanding into Gettysburg
• Back Porch Brewing Grand Opening
• Jigsy’s Old Forge Pizza and Brewpub is Expanding into Hershey
• LoveDraft’s Brewery Sabotaged
• Homaide Brewing Company Resurfaces
• Sign of the Horse Brewery Announces Closure of Zeichen des Pferdes and Re – Branding
• Mount Gretna Craft Brewery in Palmyra Announces Closing Immediately
• The Englewood Announces Re – Opening
• AB InBev Closes Cleveland’s Platform Brewing Company
• Full Tit Brewing Closing
• Camp Hill Brewery – High Road Brewing – Plans Scrapped
• YAH Brew is Coming to Hershey in Spring 2023
• Bespoke Brewing Moving and Expanding
• BrewDog Pittsburgh Has Closed
• Isle of Que Brewing – The Que Brew Crew – Has Announced Their Closing
• Fermentery Form Announces Temporary Closure
• Separatist Beer Project Announces Temporary Closing of Both Locations
• Fermentery Form Cited for Failing Health Inspections
• Guinness Brewing is Closing Their Maryland Production Facility
• Cox Brewing Company Celebrates 8th Anniversary
• Human Robot Expands into the Schuylkill
• Cape May Brewing Company Acquires Flying Fish Brewing Company
• Our Town Brewery Expanding into Philly
• Smoketown Creekside – Brewery Operations For Sale
• Founders Announce Closure of their Detroit Taproom
• Brewery Closings – Archives
• Brewery Openings – Archives

Thank You For Reading

Thank you for reading everyone. We are gearing up for the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) this upcoming week. We are traveling down Saturday and Sunday, and going to be at the conference late Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

We are totally psyched and cannot wait.

Will you be there? What do you hope to see, learn, do? Anything cool we should check out? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

Cheers All!

-B. Kline

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #8 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2023.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.