Why is Oberon Available Year-Round In Some Places?

If you've taken the Bell's Brewery tours, then you already (probably) know the answer to this question... WHY is Oberon a seasonal beer most places, but ALSO available year-round in others?

The answer is pretty simple, and it comes down to one of Larry Bell's favorite past-times... baseball.

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We celebrate Oberon Day every year in Kalamazoo (and around Michigan) as the official beginning of Spring. This is pretty much true. But each annual release of the new batch of Oberon also closely coincides with another sign that Spring is sprung... the start of baseball season.

"Larry Bell always envisioned Oberon as a baseball beer, and he loved baseball."

Dale, our tour guide from the Bell's Brewery Tours told us that Larry Bell wanted to create a beer that was most associated with spring and summer's favorite sport. And what he came up with was an American Wheat Ale (originally named Solsun) that we know today as Oberon.

Unfortunately for us, right as fall is making its way into Michigan, and baseball season is wrapping up, Oberon begins to disappear off the shelves, and from local taps.

But why?

Again, we go back to baseball. When the playoffs start in the MLB, Bell's Brewery starts winding down Oberon production for the year. BUT... not entirely, because some places in the world are lucky enough to get Bell's Baseball Beer year-round... Why?

You guessed it... Baseball.

You can pick up Oberon year-round in Florida, Arizona, southern California, southern Alabama, and Puerto Rico... all places where baseball is played year-round! So, it only seems natural, that as long as baseball is being played, Oberon should be on tap.

So if we're ever going to fix our Oberon withdrawals in the winter, we have to find a way to play baseball year-round in Michigan. But maybe... absence makes the heart grow fonder every year.

Cheers.