A Tasty American Treat

Full disclosure friends — I had my first Bell’s Oberon of the year this week. I know, I know. I can hear it now: Beer Snob, it’s just barely spring! Hey, that’s a wheat beer!!! Dude, aren’t you a self-described ‘seasonal drinker’?
In my defense, the thermostat did best 80, and the sun was shining down from a brilliant Carolina blue sky. And, OK, Oberon had just hit town. Sure, it is not yet summer, and I am certainly not finished drinking the wonderful ambers, pale ales, and bocks of spring. But this tasty little tipple was just so right.
If I’m to further support my decision, Oberon is one of a newer, American breed of wheat beer, very distinct from the yeasty, clove, and banana, orange, and coriander ales of Germany and Belgium.
Oberon is classified as American pale wheat ale, which is basically our hoppier, less creamy version of a German hefeweizen. Given our craft beer beginnings likely followed with the success of APA (American Pale Ale), I’ve always felt that this style of beer should have been given the title WPA (wheat pale ale).
The title pale wheat ale, nearly all wheat beers being of the ale family, gives the notion of a thin, watery, weak wheat beer, of which Oberon is certainly not. Nor is this Bell’s Brewery beauty one of the new trend of wheat IPA beers such as Boulevard Brewing’s Reboot White IPA or Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA; first and foremost IPAs, with a gentle hint of wheat added to the malt bill to smooth out the beer.
No, Oberon Ale, and similar beers such as Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’, and even Sam Adams Summer Ale are wheat beers by nature, with hops playing a supporting role.
Oberon and its brethren are first cousins of standard wheat beer, so you should expect some level of yeast and creaminess of mouthfeel from them. Golden colors to not quite orange are expected as well. However, the next closest relative is American pale ale, so a balance of malt and hops will also exist, much like you find in the better examples of our delicious APAs.
Whatever your pleasure for early spring, for wheat and related brews or something quite different, this beer was the right one for the day and time. So much so that I had a second, imagine that!
My Oberon poured up a severely hazy shade of grapefruit skin with a huge head of stark white froth. Lace covered the sides of the glass, and a nice layer of foam stayed as the beer left. Citrus and spice scents emanated from the glass. Pale malts and toasted notes blended with pear and citrus flavors, all the while a spicy bitter note ran just underneath.
Bell’s employs Saaz hops, which give a spicy bitterness to this wheat and fruity ale. Certainly more savory and tasty than most standard wheat beers, the mouthfeel was wonderful, and even with this much flavor, it’s an easy drinker and extremely refreshing.
If you’re not quite ready for the summer wheat invasion, but need a little zing to your spring, give American pale wheat ales a try. Enjoy the brews … Cheers.
Gene’s Haufbrau has at more than 200 beers in bottles or on tap. While they don’t have every beer the Beer Snob writes about, they probably have most. Gene’s is located at 817 Savannah Hwy. 225-GENE. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net.