Film explores the art of Bell’s iconic Two Hearted Ale
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — There’s little debate that West Michigan’s craft beer scene is one of the best in the country. While Grand Rapids may hold the moniker of “Beer City, USA” — the entire region feeds into the phenomenon, including Comstock’s famous Bell’s Brewery.
Few craft breweries stand taller than Bell’s. And few brews have made an impact on the craft beer industry like Bell’s Two Hearted Ale.
Two Hearted was an early staple on the craft beer scene, making its debut in the late 1980s. Now, the iconic beer — and its iconic label — have its own documentary, diving deep into the art that sets Two Hearted apart.
Watch: Trailer for “A Two Hearted Tale”
Co-directors Bret Miller and Rory McHarg will host a special screening of their documentary, “A Two Hearted Tale,” this week at KP Cinema Theater in Kalamazoo. The event will feature the documentary and a question-and-answer session with the directors and local artist Ladislav Hanka, who created the artwork used on many of Bell’s brews, including the Two Hearted Ale.
McHarg recalled his first introduction to Two Hearted years ago and being enamored with the “fish on the label.”
“I actually moved to Michigan about five years ago from New York, and I was looking for an IPA,” the New Zealand native told News 8. “(A friend said) ‘You gotta try this: Bell’s Two Hearted.’ … I had never even heard of Bell’s being from New York and New Zealand and a bunch of other countries. Then somebody said, ‘Oh yes, the one with the fish on it.’”
“It just fascinated me that anybody would put a trout on the label of their beer,” McHarg continued. “Obviously I tried the beer, and I was sold.”
McHarg’s curious mind drifted down an internet rabbit hole, looking to learn more about the person who designed Bell’s unique labels.
“Every beer was like a Miller Lite or a Budweiser. The label is the same. The logo is the same. It never changes. There was this monotony in the design of these things,” McHarg said. “And I’m not saying Bell’s was first, but when you look back to the ’80s and when it started, this was one of the brands that did that. Now you go into the Kroger or the supermarket and there’s 190 different designs on every single bottle and they are all competing with each other to be the coolest.”
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Eventually, McHarg connected with Hanka and the idea for a minidocumentary quickly came together.
“Instantly, he was a character,” McHarg said. “It just sort of spiraled from there. … Anyone that knows making good cinema and good film is a character study. If you’ve got a great character, you’ve probably got a good film.”
McHarg and Miller had worked on several projects in the past. Miller’s love of Bell’s made it an easy decision to partner up once again.
Miller, a Michigan State University graduate who met his wife while living in West Michigan, said the documentary has been years in the making.
“I remember meeting the week before I got married. I remember talking about coming together and shaking hands, like, ‘Let’s do this!’” Miller told News 8. “It would have been March 8 or March 9 of 2020, because I got married on March 14th and then the doors just shut” because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A snapshot of some older labels of Bell’s Brewery beers designed by Ladislav Hanka. (Courtesy Woodward Original) A snapshot of some older labels of Bell’s Brewery beers designed by Ladislav Hanka. (Courtesy Woodward Original)
Miller says the team used that down time to focus on planning and crafting the story behind the scenes, ultimately waiting until October 2020 for their primary shoot.
“We felt like we really got the bones of the story there. We got a lot of great interviews, a lot of great subject stuff, some interesting footage of (Hanka) fishing,” Miller said. “But in documentaries, the great thing about it is that we had the time to breathe. We took some time, took several months to edit, to mold, to do this or that. We made other calls to different people to have new interviews with new subjects.”
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The long process allowed the directors to walk away satisfied with their work.
“Because we are positioned to let the film breathe — we don’t have clients and distributors and executive producers breathing down our throats. We really felt like we got the best out of the film in that way,” Miller said.
Ladislav Hanka shows off his artwork that was used in the label design for Bell’s Brewery’s Two Hearted Ale. (Courtesy Woodward Original) Ladislav Hanka works inside his studio in Kalamazoo. (Courtesy Woodward Original)
The directors say the feedback has been very positive.
“The real validation was the Fresh Coast Film Festival in Marquette. That’s where it played in October of last year and it won best feature of that festival,” McHarg said.
“A Two Hearted Tale” has also been featured in the Indy Film Fest in Indianapolis, the Freep Film Festival in Detroit and the Capital City Film Festival in Lansing.
“People love it for different reasons, and we love screening it in Michigan because they feel there is like a pride to it, right? It’s like drinking a Vernor’s or wearing a Ford Motor Company shirt. There’s a pride to local brands, and especially local brands that the rest of the world recognizes,” Miller said. “It’s fun that people really attached to it because it is a local film made by local film makers. … It’s not even about growing up here, but about being a part of this (craft beer) community.”
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“A Two Hearted Tale” will be shown at KP Cinemas in Kalamazoo May 2 through May 9. The 7 p.m. screening on May 2 will include the Q&A session. The film is also set to be screened on May 29 at Wealthy Street Theatre in Grand Rapids.
You can learn more about “A Two Hearted Tale” at Woodward Original’s website.
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