Bells Brewery

HopSlam and Two Hearted are their highlights. Their Smitten Golden Rye is pretty tasty as well.

 

It's ok.. Bell's is one of my favorite breweries ever and they have a handful of beer I don't like at all.

 

Oberon is a great example of a Pale Wheat Ale, it is not a traditional Pale ale. It is sort of a gateway beer for the craft noob. It is a good step up from Blue Moon but with the same characteristics of BM.

Plus palates are like assholes, everyone has one but some people don't know hat to use it!

 

Out of their 50 plus beers you don't like 3 of them...I'd say they're doin' fairly well.

 

Expedition? One of my favorite imperial stouts, only wish Bell's distributed here for Two Hearted and Expedition alone. Agree w/ the OP on Oberon, it's average at best.

 

Some of the debate will be friendly.

Cheers!

 

Oberon is fairly mediocre, but it sure as hell beats having to drink a Shock Top or Summer Shandy.

 

Who is hyping Oberon?

I also heard Mirror Pond isn't as good as The Abyss. WTF, Deschutes?!

 

Haven't had Expedition, so I can't speak for it -- and I'm GENERALLY not a HUGE fan of the style anyway. As for Oberon, I like it for what it is.

 

Agreed! Two Hearted was the beer that showed me the light, turned me on to the craft scene. Thanks Larry!!! Let's not forget their incredible stouts as well (Double Cream, Expedition, Black Note). Oberon is also situational I think, one of the best beers on a hot, humid summer afternoon (or morning).

 

So far I've had the following from Bell's

Hopslam
Two Hearted
Black Note (simply amazing)
Double Cream Stout
Expedition Stout
Java Stout
Kalamazoo Stout

Haven't had Oberon yet, but the only one that I didn't really care for was Kalamazoo Stout. I wouldn't say that Kalamazoo Stout was "off" or "dissapointing," but it just didn't appeal to my palate; however, I'm sure it appeals to lots of people's palates. I never have and never will expect every brew a brewery makes to appeal to me.

 

I didn't think we were supposed to love every beer

 

I think alot of people expect Oberon to be some hop delight and are disappointed when it smells and tastes like fresh air. Oberon has gotten a ton of hype over the years. It's extremely popular. I personally never understood it, but to each their own.

 

What I think you'll find is that Bell's is similar to a lot of successful breweries: it has a few true home runs and a lot more average beers. I don't think anyone is saying that everything from Bell's is a 4.0 or higher.