Good read. As to regards to Bell's, on a tour of Bell's they said they ferment pretty hot, how hot was not mentioned. Their house yeast gives an orangey aroma, and I wonder if that is accentuated with higher temps. They also ferment dry hopped beers in 400 bbl fermenters, and others can be in 400 or 800 bbl fermenters.
A local brewery used to use Ayinger's strain before White Labs offered it, but switched to the high pressure lager yeast to minimize tank time. So many of the folks around Ann Arbor know this.
http://www.whitelabs.com/yeast/wlp925-hp-lager-yeastThere are still production breweries that use open fermentation, and many of the Franconian lager breweries use open fermentation. Maybe tradition, or maybe better tasting beer? As I have many fermenters, I am not usually in a big hurry (my fermentations go pretty fast).