Oarsman Ale | Bell's Brewery, Inc.
Brewed by:
Bell's Brewery, Inc.
Michigan, United States
bellsbeer.com
Style: Berliner Weissbier
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 4.00%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
Sour mash wheat ale.
"Designed as a flavorful session beer, Oarsman Ale uses a classic German brewing technique to impart a light, refreshing tartness. Oarsman Ale grew out of a desire to explore the tradition of session beers, trading intensity for finesse while still creating a worthwhile experience for the taster. The grain bill includes a healthy portion of wheat, while light hopping lend citrus & herbal notes to the aroma. Fermented with Bell's house ale yeast, Oarsman comes in at 4.0% alcohol by volume. Rather than being the dominant flavor note, the tartness in Oarsman takes on more of a palate-cleansing role, making it perfect with meals or purely on its own."
Added by Thorpe429 on 04-12-2009
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 2,272 | Reviews: 639
3.37/5 rDev -5.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 12 oz can into a tulip glass.
Pours a hazy golden straw color with a finger of effervescent white head. The head is gone instantly, leaving very little in the way of lacing.
The aroma is incredibly faint, bringing notes of grains, wheat bread, and lemon.
The flavor brings a fair amount of wheat and cereal grains, followed by some subtly tart lemon and grass.
The feel is light bodied with lively carbonation. Very crisp and dry on the finish.
Overall, a pretty solid beer that's quite refreshing and sessionable. Definitely a solid introduction to the style, despite being somewhat bland.
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look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 12 oz can into a tulip glass.
Pours a hazy golden straw color with a finger of effervescent white head. The head is gone instantly, leaving very little in the way of lacing.
The aroma is incredibly faint, bringing notes of grains, wheat bread, and lemon.
The flavor brings a fair amount of wheat and cereal grains, followed by some subtly tart lemon and grass.
The feel is light bodied with lively carbonation. Very crisp and dry on the finish.
Overall, a pretty solid beer that's quite refreshing and sessionable. Definitely a solid introduction to the style, despite being somewhat bland.
609 characters
3.43/5 rDev -3.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.44/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.44/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.52/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.32/5 rDev -6.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.71/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.07/5 rDev -13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A 12oz. can that from the cryptic date code appears to read 12/14/16. Pouring in my Bell's 'egg shaped' glass for the review.
Look- Pours a transparent pale yellow leaving a couple centimeters of soapy white foam behind that settles super fast revealing no lacing.
Smell- Mild Lemonhead candy, wet grass and malt.
Taste- Lemon zest, grass and a slight hint of floral.
Feel- Super light and slightly tart with a crisp dry finish.
Overall- A minimalist beer with big drinkability. This has lawn mowing beer written all over it. Decent enough but nothing complex and not something I'd buy again.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A 12oz. can that from the cryptic date code appears to read 12/14/16. Pouring in my Bell's 'egg shaped' glass for the review.
Look- Pours a transparent pale yellow leaving a couple centimeters of soapy white foam behind that settles super fast revealing no lacing.
Smell- Mild Lemonhead candy, wet grass and malt.
Taste- Lemon zest, grass and a slight hint of floral.
Feel- Super light and slightly tart with a crisp dry finish.
Overall- A minimalist beer with big drinkability. This has lawn mowing beer written all over it. Decent enough but nothing complex and not something I'd buy again.
602 characters
4/5 rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured into a stange, the appearance was a semi-pale burnt yellow almost a restrained orange color with a thin white foamy head that fell off pretty quick. No lace.
The aroma had some sweet lemon rind and pulp, super light bitterness, some refreshing grassy sweet aspects, light sour-ed wheat and ended with a tickle of bright crisp sticky tart rind.
The flavor brought the sweet to the sour to the tart to the tang bringing in the citrus, the wheat, the grassiness all together to ride into the aftertaste nicely.
The mouthfeel was light bodied with a sturdy sessionability about it. Carbonation felt fine, pretty low. ABV felt good and crushable.
Overall, if I lived in this distro, I would pound the crap out of these cans during the Summer.
Date on the bottom of the can reads: "PKG 20:25 04/05/17"
803 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured into a stange, the appearance was a semi-pale burnt yellow almost a restrained orange color with a thin white foamy head that fell off pretty quick. No lace.
The aroma had some sweet lemon rind and pulp, super light bitterness, some refreshing grassy sweet aspects, light sour-ed wheat and ended with a tickle of bright crisp sticky tart rind.
The flavor brought the sweet to the sour to the tart to the tang bringing in the citrus, the wheat, the grassiness all together to ride into the aftertaste nicely.
The mouthfeel was light bodied with a sturdy sessionability about it. Carbonation felt fine, pretty low. ABV felt good and crushable.
Overall, if I lived in this distro, I would pound the crap out of these cans during the Summer.
Date on the bottom of the can reads: "PKG 20:25 04/05/17"
803 characters
3.61/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
A great, lightly tart, summer beer.
In Texas I would rank it behind the Berliner Weiss's from Live Oak and Saint Arnold.
This is still really good though.
158 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
A great, lightly tart, summer beer.
In Texas I would rank it behind the Berliner Weiss's from Live Oak and Saint Arnold.
This is still really good though.
158 characters
3.53/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.25/5 rDev -8.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.96/5 rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.15/5 rDev +16.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
12 oz. can poured into "craft beer glass" (wide-mouthed stick)
(02/1/17 born-on date printed on can? hard to read)
L: pale yellow, almost 100% clear with just a bit of cloud in it from the bottom of the can; pushes up 1/3-inch tall head of white foam that dissipates quickly; no stick or lace
S: very subtle nose, light lemon, lemon peel, kumquat, grain, cracker malt ... a distinct sweetness at times
T: tart lemony wheat flavor with a lot of grain, almost cracker-malt grain flavor; the lemon tartness is sweet, approaching lemonade
F: light, well filled out by carbonation but with a slight ale slickness to it ... even has a softness to it
O: about the only thing that could make this better is if it had less alcohol ... something in the 3.3-3.5% ABV would make it too good to be true; full of flavor with a great tartness that isn't overpowering; a no-brainer to keep in the fridge as a closer year-round and a perfect summer brew ... and because the sourness isn't too much, it's not a bad brew batting out of the leadoff position to start a session depending on your particular palate
1,103 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
12 oz. can poured into "craft beer glass" (wide-mouthed stick)
(02/1/17 born-on date printed on can? hard to read)
L: pale yellow, almost 100% clear with just a bit of cloud in it from the bottom of the can; pushes up 1/3-inch tall head of white foam that dissipates quickly; no stick or lace
S: very subtle nose, light lemon, lemon peel, kumquat, grain, cracker malt ... a distinct sweetness at times
T: tart lemony wheat flavor with a lot of grain, almost cracker-malt grain flavor; the lemon tartness is sweet, approaching lemonade
F: light, well filled out by carbonation but with a slight ale slickness to it ... even has a softness to it
O: about the only thing that could make this better is if it had less alcohol ... something in the 3.3-3.5% ABV would make it too good to be true; full of flavor with a great tartness that isn't overpowering; a no-brainer to keep in the fridge as a closer year-round and a perfect summer brew ... and because the sourness isn't too much, it's not a bad brew batting out of the leadoff position to start a session depending on your particular palate
1,103 characters
3.88/5 rDev +9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Oarsman Ale from Bell's Brewery, Inc.
3.56
out of 5
based on 2,272 ratings.
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4