Bells Oberon Ale

Bottled. Pours Pale solid ochre, plenty of beautiful sediment. Looks like a cloud inside of an orange ice sickle. Nice frothy head that laces down the glass. Nose is sweet bread (yeast), citrus leaves (Saaz I’m sure), honey, hint of spicy wheat, flower petals, and slightly sweet malt. Flavor is mellifluous and orange citric up front, mellow spicy yeast, and well balanced by light malt. Palate is crisp and smooth, slightly effervescent. Good beer.

12oz bottle. Pours a hazy and very deep gold with light orange highlights and a medium-thin white head that is persistent and leaves light streaks and spots of lace on the glass. The aroma is bready with a touch of spice/herbs (Saaz) and a light touch of sweet honey. Flavor is bready with very little sweetness and a strong herbal quality from late Saaz hop additions. The finish is less dry than expected from the lack of up-front sweetness with a firm spicy/floral bitterness and some wheat flavor. The mouthfeel is crisp and refreshing with a good bit of carbonation and a body that is actually medium-full but feels lighter due to the suds. Overall, an interesting and tasty wheat ale - the distinct Saaz flavors make it refreshing -- almost reminiscent of flavors in a Bohemian Pilsner...

Pours hazy yellow with a smallish white head. Aroma is flowery spices. Taste is malted wheat, light malt and flowery spices. Refreshing and easy to drink, but I would way rather have any real hefe than this kind of wheat beer.

Bottle. Pours a nice yellow color with a rather large, frothy head that is white. Aromas of bananas, roasted wheat, and hints of hay. Very smooth taste with a creamy and oily texture. Almost the perfect summer beer as it is smooth, easy drinking, and has a refreshing aftertaste. Sunshine in a bottle.

12 oz bottle

I finally got around to trying this after too many pints to count. It is just as average as I remembered. Perfect for drinking on a summer afternoon at the Memorial Union or while grilling out I’m not so sure this would be my preferred daily drinker. Freshness is the key with this one; don’t try to age it or you’ll be fairly disappointed with the results.

Aroma / Appearance - The short lived white head disappeared into the pumpkin colored body. Perfect for the season it smelled of orange slices, buttered scones and sweet hops. Very mellow by the time I got to it I can only imagine it was much better within a month or two of bottling.

Flavor / Palate - Orange slices dipped in a thin layer of inexpensive chocolate filled the mouth. Carbonated only slightly the mouthfeel trickles over the throat. A hint of white bread touches the tongue towards the end. Relaxing for a summer afternoon I still don’t know that I would prefer this over other local options.

Awesome wheat!! Nose bananas and light fruit. Mouth quite tart a little bitter with flavors of light hops, citrus, bananas, oranges. Cheers!

12oz bottle thanks to Travisd13. Pours slightly hazy light orange with a thin, crisp white head. Smells cereal and malty with a hint of light citrus. Tastes light and sweet citrusy with a solid malt and grain backbone that lingers, sweet. Pretty good I guess. Medium body, ok carbonation.

As a 25 year resident of Kalamazoo, I’ve been swilling Oberon ever since that first summer when it was Solsun and only available in 22oz bottles. It was startling outstanding and unique at the time, and the glam has never worn off. Excellent aroma of grain and hops, cloudy tawny gold color with a great head, flavor is sweet /sour wheaty with a touch of spice, excellent light hops bitterness in the finish. Palate is just plain excellent. Still has a bit of yeast residue in the bottom of the bottle. Not quite as distinctive as some other wheat brews out there, but one of the best.