Bell’s Oberon Now Available Year-Round with ‘Eclipse’ Makeover

Bell's is known for their seasonal beers. HopSlam typically comes out in the fall or winter to bring in the start of colder months in the Midwest and Michigan. And of course, there's always variations on a theme, too, with the BIGGEST seasonal beer in Bell's arsenal, Oberon.

But now, it seems, Oberon will be available year-round, and rebranded in the fall and winter as "Eclipse."

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For us Michiganders, Oberon is a spring and summer beer. The American Wheat Ale even has its own holiday in March to ring in the beginning of Spring, and warmer months. Then, when the sun starts setting earlier, and temperatures begin to drop, we know, if you still want Oberon, you'll need to stock up.

It's kind of the charm of the beer, that it's only available during certain months. It adds an excitement for it, an anticipation. Culturally, in Kalamazoo, it's a time when the community literally stops everything to have a beer with each other.

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But now, it seems, that Larry Bell's vision of Oberon Beer being a "Baseball Beer" will be extended beyond the regular season, and into extra innings.

This week, Bell's announced that they will offer "Oberon Eclipse," which they describe as:

"... a citrus wheat ale that brightens up those winter nights with a bright orange and warm coriander citrus flavor and taste."

So... it's Oberon... but named different?

Actually, the coriander does offer a little bit of a different flavor to the beer, potentially. BUT, that's why we have Oberon Day every year, right?

We get the OG Oberon, but also Mango Habanero Oberon, Citrus Oberon, Cherry Oberon, and several other variations of Oberon on that day. Some stick around for the rest of the summer, and others simply live in that moment outside the Bell's Eccentric Cafe for us to remember years later.

So Eclipse will certainly be a change to the norm with Bell's and Oberon. As for right now, it's only available in the Fall Variety pack, but an announcement on their Instagram does say it will be available for full distribution soon.

What do you think? Is this a smart move by Bell's? Are you happy we'll have Oberon available year-round now in some capacity?