Happy Oberon Day 2017
It's finally here. The long winter of our discontent is finally over. March 27th heralds the realease of the 2017 Oberon.
While parts of the US get Oberon year-round (I'm glaring at you Florida and California), those of us in Bell's homestate of Michigan only get it seasonally. So get out your orange slices and enjoy the reminder that Summer is right around the corner.
March 27th, 2017 at 12:38 PM ^
March 27th, 2017 at 12:42 PM ^
Stick to vodka, Comrade.
There is no better alcoholic drink than beer, espeically these days, which is the golden era of microbreweries.
Nope. Beer is the best.
March 27th, 2017 at 12:53 PM ^
March 27th, 2017 at 12:50 PM ^
Agree with those posters above in that this is more about the weather than the beer, but I like beer paired with just about anything.
Solid beer, I usually keep a few around during the summer.
That said, I'll make my own for cheaper, and it will taste better.
I finally tried that beer last year and it's bad. Perhaps my taste buds have just evolved. I don't know. I love IPA, porters, and stouts. This Oberon beer is not good.
Like other have said, it's not the best beer. No argument there. I must say that it is an awesome summer beer, and the excitement for warm weather ahead here in Michigan makes Oberon day really fun. I enjoy the occasional IPA, but if I'm drinking a decent amount of alcohol, especially in the summer, I go with something that's a little lighter (usually liquor). Oberon is a good combination of taste and drinkability. Bought a six pack today that I'll be starting later tonight.
On a side note, I was told that Oberon isn't the same because the guy that first made Oberon left Bell's a few years ago and they had to change the recipe. Also heard that this guy works at Cellar Brewing Co in Sparta and they have the original "Oberon" there under a different name. Anybody have any idea if any of that is true? I was always curious if the guy that told me that was completely full of shit. I assumed he was.
Michigan Sunshine is the Cellar Brewing homage to Oberon. I haven't tried it, but will have to look it up soon. Thanks for the tip.
Or at the very least, the notion of a "best" beer is highly situational. No beer is great in every situation...
The label art is great but otherwise meh. Craft beer has evolved. Bell's not so much. Many better options in Michigan (and beyond) already mentioned in the thread. Cheers!
Having moved to Colorado this past year, I can say that this and fall football saturdays are the things I've missed the most about Michigan. Enjoy every minute of it, Michiganders.
I like it better garnished with lemon vs. orange. When it first came out, the orange wasn't prevalent so I got used to the lemon. Much better IMO. Or plain works, too.
I cannot stand the people who say fruit doesn't belong in beer. Sure, in many beers, yes, it doesn't belong, but there are beers that are brewed with the idea that it will be better when a piece of fruit is in it, such as:
The only beer I like with fruit is the one I just posted.
I've got a buddy (a history teacher) who loves to give me shit when I order an Oberon: "Hey, there's garbage floating in your beer!" I told him that the ancient Mesopotamians were adding fruit and fruit juice to their beer hundreds of years B.C., and that a real historian would know that.
He was shamed for his ignorance - but still thinks I drink beer like a pussy.
Oh well.
Blue Moon is Miller/Coors. I won't touch the fake craft brews from the big three trying to crush the little guys. Chucklefucks...
I say if you need to add salt to your beer, then your beer is not any good in the first place!
Also, Oberon, like a number of beers, is radically different between tap and bottle. Oberon on tap is sweet ichor from the source.
Beer is almost always better on draft. Beer is ALWAYS better from a bottle compared to cans. I cannot stand how so many beers are being put into cans now. I know it's cheaper for the companies, but it's still annoying. That said, if I ever have can-only options, I will pour it into a glass if available. So I cannot complain too much.
Not true that bottled beer is always better than canned beer. Cans keep the light out, which degrades beer. Cans are generally much better now than they were in the 1970s, when they would leave a tinny taste in the beer. Surly cans all of its product line and it's a great brewery. No metallic taste at all.
I know cans keep the light out. A simple solution to that is keep it out of light. My beer stays in the fridge, so unless someone has a fridge with a light that never turns off, there is no excuse to not have it in there.
I do buy Petoskey Brewery beers in cans when up north, especially their Horny Monk. It's the only thing allowed at the pool since glass bottles are forbidden.
Still exposed to more light than it would be in a can. Do you ever open your frig? Do you know how much light the beer was exposed to before you bought it?
+1 for ichor. Homer would be proud of you.
I finished off a quarter barrel of Breakfast Stout two weekends ago, and tapped a sixth of Centennial IPA on Saturday. I'm pretty sure those seven gallons of Breakfast Stout are cozily nuzzled onto my love handles; I have no regrets.
I love that Breakfast Stout. Founders is just a great brewery. Their All Day IPA is one of my favorite IPA beers.
but I will put Saugatuck's Starburst Wheat as my brew of choice.
Spotted Cow and Oberon are decent comparisons. Both have cult followings, and both are hated by a very vocal crowd. I must say that I love them both and take a lot of heat from the IPA crowd. The uper-hoppy IPA's just don't resonate with me. I've tried to like IPA's, dammit, but just don't like them. Way too many highly rated IPA's have been wasted on my tastebuds. I've had a few tamer IPA's that were good, but I'll take a Spotted Cow or Oberon any day. So you grab your 6 pack of Hopslam and I'll grab my 6 pack of Spotted Cow or Oberon and let's be happy together.
But my favorite Bell's are: robust porter, Kalamazoo stout and American amber ale. Luckily these are made year round!
No wrong opinions about the taste of beer. I have very good friend that will tell a bartender "I want the beer with the least possible flavor". I don't hold it against him.
I LOVE Oberon and can't stand IPAs. Why? I don't like bitterness in my beer. Oberon's IBU rating is 10, which is downright sweet to most of you IPA lovers, but liquid candy to me. Maybe the reason some people find Oberon inconsistent year-to-year is because you just keep ratcheting up your taste buds, keeping pace with the IBU arms race that seems to be taking place in the craft brew business.
Bottom line, I'll drink a Bud Light with my buddy if the only "good" beers on the menu are IPAs.
The hipster vibe is strong in this thread. (Or do hipsters still stick to PBR?)
Jim Tressel is waiting for Wine Cooler Day.
never had oberon but judging by comments its like Sam's Summer Ale. Which is probably only overrated by me and a handful of people.
Grapefruit beer is where its at for me now during the summer.
March 27th, 2017 at 11:30 PM ^