This is how a Summer Beer Should Taste!
Written: May 14 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Full- bodied taste, unlike other wheat beers; complex
Cons: No cons at all!
The Bottom Line: This is one of the best wheat beers on the market, full of spicy, well- hopped, citrus, and wheat flavors
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Pale Ale |
Kalamazoo Brewing Company, centered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is one of my favorite craft brewers in the United States. This regional brewery produces many outstanding products and I have had the pleasure of sampling most every beer on the Bell’s menu.
There are, however, a few Bell’s products that I have yet to try. On a recent visit to my local beverage store, I came across a product from Kalamazoo that I had not yet tasted. It’s called Bell’s Oberon Ale, a wheat beer brewed only from May to September each year.
Basic Characteristics of This Beer:
Oberon Ale pours to a golden/yellowish color with a white head of foam. This beer, like Bell’s other beers, is not filtered so it has a cloudy appearance. Also, there is some sediment in each bottle. Looking at my beer in the glass, I could clearly see the small particles suspended in the body of the beer. This isn’t necessarily good for appearance, but the taste is more intense.
The flavor of this beer is one of wheat grain, spice, and citrus. The citrus- like quality is not as bold as some of the more hop- intense pale ale and India pale ale, but it’s still present and it does add to the character of the beer.
One thing I noticed right away was the spicy, hop- filled finish of this beer. It leaves a lingering bitter sensation on the back of the tongue long after you finish drinking. I did some research and found that this product is brewed using Belgian wheat malt and Saaz hops. It’s the Saaz hops that give it that spicy, tingling finish.
This beer is brewed from an original gravity of 1.055. It has an alcohol level that’s greater than most other wheat beer, checking in at 6 percent by volume.
Food Compatibility:
Hmmm……what food would go with this beer? Most beer is easy to match up with various types of cuisine, but this one is tough to call. It might go well with dried fruit and perhaps lighter, salty snacks. But, in my opinion, this beer isn’t really designed to go with food. It’s best to drink solo.
Final Thoughts:
Wheat beer is not a style that many people choose to imbibe. Part of the reason for this is the limited availability. Few brewers produce any wheat beer at all and those who do produce it usually only brew the wheat beer during the summer season. It’s consumed primarily during summertime because wheat beers tend to be lighter and more thirst quenching than other styles.
Oberon Ale is seasonal, like most wheat beer, and it does have thirst quenching characteristics. But it’s quite different from the typical wheat beer that you find in specialty stores. It’s a little more bitter than other wheat brews and it’s much fuller in body and taste. Many other wheat beers are light and thin- bodied, often so light and dull that they almost require that you add a lemon slice (it’s common to add a slice of lemon to wheat beer) to have any chance of tasting good.
Oberon Ale is different. It doesn’t need any added fruit to bring out its full- bodied taste. It can easily stand on its own, and in fact, it tastes best consumed all by itself
Kalamazoo Brewing Company has produced yet another winner with Oberon Ale! This is a wheat beer for all seasons, full of complex flavors and great tasting from start to finish. Try some, and see just how good a wheat beer can be!
Recommended:
Yes
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