United Nations of Beer

Bell's Oberon, Oak Cafe

by Bill Cassidy
(Beer Delegate, MN, USA)

Bell's Oberon
Oak Cafe, Detroit, MI, USA

The Oak Cafe is truly a beer lover's bar. 250 Bottles and 20 taps; THE place in Downriver to find Michigan craft and micro brews. (Really, my Michigan diplomatic mission could have been completed entirely on the premises).

I stopped in Saturday afternoon to watch the Red Wings trounce the Chicago Blackhawks. It was a little odd to be enjoying an Oberon while watching hockey with snow flying outside, but the calendar said April, so I was going to drink my Oberon, damn it.

Bell's Oberon and I go way back. I enjoyed it through my college years in Kalamazoo, when it was still brewed in the little warehouse right off the railroad tracks downtown. Couple of years back, to meet increasing demand across Michigan and the entire Upper Midwest, Bell's moved its brewing operations to a bigger facility outside of town.

Not surprisingly, the quality of the beer changed. I remember Oberon being fuller and sweeter; summer wheat style nectar in a glass. The color and flavors now are more subdued. And everyone is dead-set to serve it with a slice of orange.

In all the time I drank it in Kalamazoo, I never had to fish citrus out of my Oberon. It all makes me a little sad. A great beer got too big for its britches and is now only a really good beer.