Bells Oberon Ale

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

Update 4/11/04. Pours cloudy yellow-orange with a medium off-white head and abundant sediment. Tangy, floral, yeasty aroma. Flavor is spicy and tangy with orange and other citrus, finishing slightly bitter. This year's batch is enjoyable, but I am adjusting my rating to more accurately represent the beer's current status.

Old rating: Here's a great summer beer. This one is thick and unfiltered, with a golden color and pungent, citrusy aroma. The flavor is strong, murky, and citrusy. Take this one to the front porch on a nice spring or summer day. And swill. Note: the 2003 incarnation has, to this point, been very disappointing. I will leave my rating intact, knowing how unique this brew once was. Major consistency problems this year.
Rating: 9 4 8 4 17

Bottled (thanx to the american bunch). Hazy yellowish golden coloured with a small head. Sweet and malty with notes of citrus and hops.

bottle, cloudy golden yellow color with nice thin foam, aromas of lemon, florals, flavor is good hoppy wheat and lavender, some hops to finish

bottle. hazy yellow body, liberal carbonation, and a lush white head. aroma consists of grass, cookies, faint hops, and a little bit of spice. I haven’t had many American Wheats but this is by far the best. Very nice wheat character along with spicy notes. This is a killer thirst quencher for the summer.

Pale yellow in color, with a thin, white head that left copious lace down the side of the glass. There is a subtle wheat beer tang with hints of spice and banana. I don’t find this beer as refreshing as I like in a summer seasonal, but it is a good American wheat beer.

[draft - 10th Annual PA Microbrewers Fest - Pennsylvania Brewing Co. - Pittsburgh, PA] Poured a cloudy yellow color with a thick white head and good lacing. Spicy wheat aroma. I detected some orange zest and possibly some coriander in addition to the malt and wheat. Very zesty and spicy flavor with mainly malt rather than wheat as the big taste. Spicy finish with a nice wheat bite at the end.

Pours with a typical chalky and chunky foam which is dense and creamy. Aroma is straight yeast, hints of butter, citrus, marshmallow, and whispers of coriander. Flavors are again, yeasty, with an array of oaty goodness that coats the mouth. This has drastically improved since they’ve acquired their new brewing system and rigorous QC. Very good considering the dull style.

A top 2% american wheat, very clean and doesn’t taste overly wheaty, which I like. Has a medium body. Hop character is fairly understated but there’s mild spiciness there. Hazy copper color, smallish head.