Another Winner from Bell's
Written: Jun 20 '06 (Updated Jun 20 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Decent representative of style, good for multiple drinks
Cons: Not as distinctive and flavorful as some of their other brews
The Bottom Line: Bell’s hit their mark and this one. It’s a nice choice for a wheat beer and an afternoon of buddies, beers and spectator sports.
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| Saxguy's Full Review: Pale Ale |
One of the advantages of living in the Chicago area is that it is in the distribution range for the fine products produced by Bell’s Brewery, Inc. of Kalamazoo, MI, formerly known as the Kalamazoo Brewing Co. Bell’s puts out a number of year-round and seasonal beers and ales, and has delighted with a couple of great limited edition ales in the past year, 20th Anniversary Ale and Bell’s 7000 Ale of which I have one bottle remaining which I hope to drain if and when the Chicago White Sox repeat as World Series Champions.
So, when I saw their summer wheat brew, Oberon Ale, on sale at the local grocery store for $6.99 a six-pack, I snapped one up and put a couple in the refrigerator for tonight’s game 6 of the NBA Finals. While I am not a fan of wheat beers by any means, I have nothing against the style. Bell’s does a great job with all their beers.
Bell’s web site reports this has an abv of 6.0% and "…American wheat ale brewed with Saaz hops. Spicy and fruity" before slipping into hyperbole.
Here goes:
The NoseMild hop aroma, a hint of citrus.
The Pour A pleasant straw color with a quick-forming and long-lasting head. Nothing new in the aroma.
The Taste Much milder than the typical Bell product, at least the ones I drink. Mild fruit taste, very bland, not hoppy at all. Mild grain taste. Not distinctive, but pleasant enough. Lightly carbonated. The second bottle I had was not as chilled. It had the same flavors but a little more intense. However, I liked it better when older.
The AftertasteMild hops on the finish, very clean, a little sweetness, a pleasant buzz. I didn’t get any spiciness out of the first bottle on the finish. I got a little on the second. .Interestingly, the website doesn’t mention this as bottle-conditioned, but there was a very small amount of sediment.
Food Pairings You could pair it with finger food, chips and sandwiches. It’s really not suited to heavier type meals. This would also work very well alone. That’s how I had it tonight.
Final Thoughts I’m used to heavier, more flavorful brews from Bell’s. However, this is very good within it’s style and would be well-suited for an afternoon of sports, brews, snacks and finger food. I could see buying it again for that purpose.
4 stars
Thanks for reading. God bless!
Please check out my reviews of other Bell’s products
Bell’s Third Coast Old Ale
Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout
Bell’s 20th Anniversary Ale
Bell’s Batch 7000 Ale
and some of my other beer reviews:
Founders Black Rye
Founders Red’s Rye
Founders Pale Ale
Founders Imperial Stout
Baltika #9
Chimay Blue Belgian Ale
Unibroue Terrible Belgian-style Ale
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Goose Island Oatmeal Stout
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Goose Island Demolition
Recommended:
Yes
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