The story of King Oberon
I attended Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) back in spring 2026 for the brewing program. I was in a class with two gals. One gal was a bartender in Kalamazoo at various establishments for the past decade.
She told me a story about when she worked at a dive bar on the side of town. One evening an older gentleman came in and sat at the bar. He ordered an Oberon on draft.
Oberon is a citrusy American wheat ale, the type of beer which traditionally begs for an orange slice. She poured his beer, then garnished the glass with an orange.
She slid the beer across the bar, which prompted the man to scrunch up his face. He grabbed the orange slice from the glass, and threw it at her. Then he shouted "Put some fucking respect on this beer, it was never intended to be served with an orange". Shook up, she walked to the kitchen and told a waitress what just happened. The waitress looked out into the bar room, then said "Oh that's Larry Bell, he created Oberon."
After hearing that story I've never drank an Oberon with an orange slice again. Much to my wife's dismay, I've even gone as far as sharing this story with various wait staff who ask me if I'd like an orange with my Oberon. I want to give Oberon and the creator the respect they both deeply deserve.
History time!
I love learning and sharing brewing history. I've toured both Bell's Eccentric Cafe (original brewery, small seasonals now), and Bell's Comstock commercial brewery. I've also brewed a watermelon sour on-site at the Eccentric Cafe with Bell's head brewer during my brewing program.
Larry Bell is the founder of Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo Michigan. Bell's began producing beer in 1985, and is the oldest craft brewery east of Colorado in the US. Today it is the 6th largest craft brewery in the nation. Larry recently sold the brewery to a subsidiary of Kirin (Japanese beer company) in 2021.
Oberon was first brewed in 1992 and is a huge part of Bell's culture today. It is a seasonal wheat ale which launches on the Spring Equinox (March 20-21st) and ends yearly distribution the week before the Autumnal equinox (~ Sept 23rd). It remains on shelves until supply runs out, so typically beginning of October.
What makes this wheat ale so special? Bell's has done a fabulous job marketing the ale. Their intention is for the ale to launch and "bring with it the warmer spring weather". It's viewed by Michigan natives as a repreive from the many months of winter we've endured.
In the words of MI governor Gretchen Witmer as she recognized March 21st as a state holiday "Oberon Day" in 2022.
“Michigan is home to some of the best breweries, microbreweries, and brewpubs in the world,” said Governor Whitmer. “As we welcome warmer weather, I want to raise a cold glass of our beloved Oberon to my fellow Michiganders who are looking forward to a Pure Michigan summer full of time with family and friends. Let us kick off our unofficial start to the better weather season by celebrating the craft beer industry for creating jobs, building a sense of community and supporting small business owners throughout the state.”
Each year there is a huge block party thrown at Bell's Eccentric Cafe for Oberon Day. I've gone the past two years. It's truly a delight.
Some other interesting facts:
- The beer was originally released to coincide with Major League Baseball's opening day, as Larry was a huge fan of baseball.
- The beer was originally called SolSun but legal action was taken by a Mexican brewing company in 1998 over a beer with a similar name "El Sol". Larry renamed the beer to Oberon because he played King Oberon in a gradeschool play of Shakespear's "A Midsummer's Night's Dream".
- The original 15 gallon soup kettle Larry started brewing beer in 1985 is hanging in a lounge area in the Comstock commercial brewery.