Bells Oberon Ale

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Wheat Ale
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in Shaker, Weizen

Everyone seems to worship this beer except for me. It was quite yeasty and citrusy... certainly not anything I look for in a beer. Go get a hard lemonade or something. I actually mixed it with a cream stout to mellow out the flavor, because it had way too much for me. WAIT A MINUTE... retried this on tap, and I finally see the hype. Damn good. I curse the old place I tried this at... I guess that’s why you keep trying sometimes. Has to be my favorite wheat beer.

Bright orange-golden with a trace of fine bubbles. Fruity-floral almost cidery aroma with hints of resin and caramel. Fairly full mouthfeel, moderate carbonation. Mild sweetness and bitterness with a caramel-resin finish. I could drink a lot of this.

Pours straw yellow. Light citrus nose. Not sweet, not hoppy, just perfectly balanced.

I'm glad to find that this is a wheat ale, because that's what I suspected (it wasn't listed as such), so I guess I'm getting better at this tasting thing. Light golden with the look you'd expect from an American wheat. It's smooth with a grainy flavor and a bare citric edge. Good.

UPDATED: AUG 23, 2009 So it is about time I rated this beer, this one has along story behind it. Being from the east coast, and especially Larry Bell’s favorite state, I did not get a chance to come across many Bell’s products. And when I did, through trades or tasting, Oberon was not something sought after, I mean really who wants something so un-imperial or that easily attained. So I spent many years not really caring about going out of my way to try another American wheat. Then in 2007 someone had a brand new mini-keg of this at BCTC (maybe dmac, can’t be sure cause he spent most of that weekend passed out in his tent). But I tried it and was seriously impressed. But with all the festivities (and beer) I put it in the back of my head and moved on. Then time came for me to move out to the untamed and uncharted Midwest, a dangerous and wild life change on my part. So here I was, in Kansas with a world of new beers at my disposal. So what do I try first, well mix-a-six, duh! Any real beer tick, ugh, I mean geek can tell you that. But, even though I had it I needed to throw Oberon in there as well. And was I ever impressed, blown away once again. However, a few months go by before fate leads me back to the Oberon. I go to a liquor store and what do I see, an Oberon six pack on sale, all the way down to $5.50 and its the last one. Well being January I had no notions of this being fresh but at that price it was worth the gamble. So what do I have here a batch # 8546 Oberon ale packaged on June 10, 2008, meaning it is about 8 months old. . I slowly drink the sixer and I can finally rate this.

The bottle pours out into my Cuvée René wide tumbler with a very small head. The color of the beer is a very autumn-like orange amber, like a light pumpkin color. The beer is generally clear but within the body small specs of yeast remnants are left over. They float but with enough time some of them settle at the bottom of the glass, just as if a little bit of sand had settled down there. The floating specs mix with some upward shooting carbonation bubbles. It is really fun to look inside and watch the action of this beer, a story can be told. And as I tilt the glass around I can move that bit of sand at the bottom of the glass. Aroma is itself a thick, dry raisin biscuit with citrus highlights. Taste is similar with some light tea aspects and some more sweet dry fruits. At the finish there is a hint of spiciness but its is all wrapped around a fruity pie crust. The un-freshness of the beer is apparent throughout the beer. However, it is not a detracting quality. As opposed to lesser beers, time has just added a heft to the malt character, what I am calling dry and heavy is really just a slightly aged malt character. Throughout the beer there seems to be a Belgian like (or at least European) feel to it. The yeast is not as clean as most American yeasts (or at least does not come off that way). The malts are also much more apparent with the hops in the back there. The mouthfeel is full yet quenchable, the beer is not watery but felt on the cheeks yet super easy to keep putting down. I do not know what it is but this beer just does it for me. As a style, the American wheat is almost useless in my mind but this is the exception being an exceptional beer, one that I will continue to drink as long as I live here in the great untamed Midwest. 8/4/9/4/17.

A more fresh version, code 9226, bottle on June 25, 2009, consumed 2 months later. I bought these because I wanted to use the clean yeast in a brew I will be making but it also gives me a chance to re-experience this brew. Poured into a La Fin Du Monde tulip glass. Still that beautiful orange-amber color with visible carbonation (this time the sediment went to a greater endeavor). Same small strong head with a lightly sticky lacing. Aroma is light esters, a thick but strong graininess, and layers of other malt characteristics including wheat bread. Taste has a bit of a hop bite, nondescript in type though. A thick mouthfeel for the structure makes it very felt yet a stronger carbonation makes it sparkling on the palate. A bit of a different experience but I will keep the other rating, apparently I like this beer with some age. But this is still great to drink with really body and heft and strong flavor yet easy drinking at the same time.

A wonderful summertime beer. Terrific by itself, improved with a squeeze of lemon. Important to serve in a glass, as you should properly mix in the malt residue at the bottom of the bottle. Cloundy golden color, wonderful nose. What a freshing summer been should be.

This poured out a very murky and cloudy yellow with a white head that almost shot up over the top of the glass. The head stuck around for a bit and left rings of lace as this was drank. The aroma was yeasty with a bit of spice and a lemony zip to it. Also there was a good amount of sweetness present in the nose. The flavor started off with doughy malt and lemony notes and a bit of banana. There were also notes of various spices through that taste. It finished with a dry spicy after taste. Mouthfeel is medium and feels pretty heavy on the tongue. This is pretty tasty and wheat beers are usually not my thing, but I could drink a lot of this if I was in the mood. Great example of the style and a great beer.

As long as you don’t get the bottom of a keg, this is a keeper. I love Oberon in bottles and on tap. Though I miss my Moose Drool and Fat Tire back home in Montana, I love that I can get Bell’s in Indiana and Illinois. If you like wheat beers at all, go for this one.