Friday, December 7, 2012

Bell's Oberon

Bell's Brewery   Kalamazoo, MI

Notes:
Wheat Ale
12oz
5.8% ABV


Appearance:  Pours a orangish golden color…somewhat transparent, though it’s clouded with sediment…some whitish head, about a pinky width…(4/5)

Smell:  Bitter and kinda skunky…wheat, grass and malt dominant…not too much hops to speak of…no citrus aroma which is suprising…(3.5/5)

Taste:  Malt base, with some citrus tones…definitely a wheat ale, there’s some toasted bread flavor, some grass flavor and a touch of hops…not very dramatic or robust, it’s a light, crisp summertime ale that starts malty and ends with some skunky bitterness...(3.5/5)

Mouthfeel:  Light and crisp…medium to lots of carbonation…tons of bitter tones all over the palette…(3.75/5)

Overall:  I grew up drinking Bell’s and have always loved their brews…I know that Oberon over time has changed in formula and whatnot, so maybe I’m just not used to the “new” Oberon, but I unfortunately have to say this isn’t as good as I remember…it is perfect for summer, I can imagine drinking a couple of these on the disc golf course on a warm day, but the flavor is kinda basic and is a bit too bitter for my liking…the bottle that I’m using for this review may have been skunked or processed on a Monday or something, so I’ll definitely be buying this again, but if this wasn’t a Bell’s, I probably wouldn’t try again…Oberon has a super reputation amongst beer drinkers so I recommend everyone trying it at least once…(3.5/5)

Score:

(3.61/5)

2 comments:

  1. Its definitely changed since the 1997-2000ish halcyon days of Oberon. The appearance is much more transparent and tends towards brown. It used to be orange and completely opaque. The overall taste seems weakened and watered down, although I feel back in the day we always drank it with an orange, so maybe its unfair to compare without. Still a good beer.

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  2. i couldn't agree more, it's changed for the not as good...i also had to look up the word halcyon, but that's cool...and no fruit with beer...

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