26 replies to this topic

[MoreAmmoPlz]

Almost forgot, if you do go to the Ecentric cafe keep an eye on the change they give you. I've been there numerous times over the years and have run into problems with the bar tenders trying to keep insane amounts of change as a tip and also giving incorrect change. Maybe they were just honest mistakes but the number of occurrences makes me very leery.

[DaBearSox]

I don't know what you all are talking about. I love Oberon...ha...however it was one of my first crafts beers I had along with SNPA, so it will always have a special place in my heart....I lived in Kzoo for about 3 years and the whole Oberon thing is the passage into the warmer months I think thats why it has such a strong following. I really do think it took a hit flavor wise when they switched hersbruck to hallertauer and Sazz to Sterling....but it is still decentStill mad I can't get any of there stuff out here though....

[Jimvy]

The only Bell's beers that are worth the money are Two Hearted, Expedition, and Third Coast Ale. Expedition and Third Coast are even better with a few years on them.Then you get into there Batch and Barrel aged stuff which is usually amazing, but the tend to be 'right place, right time' offerings.Everything else they produce is average at best. Oberon is not real different that a Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat.Seriously, I can name 3 or 4 better brewers in Michigan alone.

I agree to a point....Two Hearted and Expedition are awesome....as is Hopslam. Most of their other beers (brown, amber, wheat, porter, stout, etc) are very good, but pretty much middle of the road. Most of these beers end up in the BJCP guidelines as classic examples...they are very good, and well made, but they aren't standouts.I've done a number of commercial IPA flights and Two Hearted has always faired well. It actually won the last one we did last month and was up against some pretty decent beers. We're doing another tasting this weekend but including beers we cannot get locally (a lot of CA beers)...we'll see how it stacks up to some of the west coast IPAs. We're also doing an IIPA flight including Hopslam....along side such beers as Ruination, Dreadnaught, 90 min and others.

[japh]

Try Belmont Station. If anyone has it, they might. no affilliation, just been in there once to ogle and drink.

Checked their website, they don't have any. Neither does Liquid Solutions Not that I've fully forgiven Liquid Solutions for moving to the east side.

[ColdAssHonky]

Checked their website, they don't have any. Neither does Liquid Solutions Not that I've fully forgiven Liquid Solutions for moving to the east side.

What about John's Market in Multnomah Village?Edit: Just checked their inventory. They don't have it either.

Edited by MyBeerPants, 16 April 2009 - 11:53 AM.

[dagomike]

Care to elaborate on this? I hadn't heard.

M&M bought out Classic Wines who distributed Bell's. As I understand, the distribution agreement transfers with the sale, and I guess Bell's isn't happy about M&M distributing their stuff. So, apparently their only choice if M&M won't release them or meet their needs is to not sell in the market. That's the gist I heard anyway.Oberon varies from year to year. There were a few odd years in there as I recall, but they've gotten pretty good at consistency as they've grown up. I think now it's more about recipe tweaks.

[dagomike]

I agree to a point....Two Hearted and Expedition are awesome....as is Hopslam. Most of their other beers (brown, amber, wheat, porter, stout, etc) are very good, but pretty much middle of the road. Most of these beers end up in the BJCP guidelines as classic examples...they are very good, and well made, but they aren't standouts.

I think that's a great description of them. There's nothing wrong with just making good beer. Beer geeks can be a brewery's best and worst customers.