One of Bell’s Brewery’s signature beers is its seasonal Oberon Ale, an American wheat ale available every spring and summer that has garnered quite a following over the years. The brewery has released a number of variants on the classic Oberon recipe, including Mango Habanero, Cherry, and Citrus Oberon, all available in the Oberon variety pack this past summer, and this fall Bell’s announced a new addition to the family with Oberon Eclipse.

Oberon Eclipse is a darker colored citrus wheat ale, designed for the fall and winter months to bridge the gap between annual (original) Oberon releases. Eclipse is available now, and the brewery sent me a sample along with original Oberon to review, so I opened them side-by-side and took notes concurrently.

Oberon Ale

The OG Oberon is 5.8% ABV with 25 IBUs, brewed in the style of an American hefeweizen with a focus on hops. It’s one of Bell’s best-known beers, ranking up there with Two Hearted IPA and Hopslam Ale (a double IPA) in popularity. The description says:

Oberon is a wheat ale that embodies everything we love about summer. Brewed with just wheat malt, hops, water and our signature house ale yeast, Oberon has a bright orange color and is citrusy, smooth and refreshing.

Appearance: Pale gold, a bit honey-colored, with a slight haze. White head that slowly fell, with good lacing.

Smell: Wheaty grains with a bit of grassiness and a hint of lemon peel; super light, earthy hops and maybe a hint of bubblegum esters.

Taste: American hefeweizen profile with a nice hop bitterness that softens into a subtle citrus pith. The wheat has more of a shredded wheat/bran cereal character than breadiness; it’s clean and refreshing.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, but bright and feels a bit lighter; clean finish with solid bitterness.

Overall: A solid and drinkable American wheat ale, with respectable bitterness.

Oberon Eclipse

Stronger than Oberon, Eclipse is 6.3% ABV with 20 IBUs. It’s billed as a “citrus wheat” ale, but since it’s brewed with orange and coriander I would really call it a witbier—although it’s not “white,” which is a bit unusual considering a Belgian-adjacent wheat. By the color, I would have guessed more of a dunkelweizen.

The description:

For those long winter nights, introducing Oberon Eclipse. To reflect on the change in seasons, Oberon Eclipse is slightly stronger and darker than its namesake. However, it still remains easy-drinking and refreshing. It’s the perfect beer for cozy nights spent in good company.

Appearance: Hazy amber color, with an off-white head that’s dense and persistent.

Smell: Nice comforting pop of coriander and a bit of sweet orange peel that’s nostalgic to me from early drinking years discovering Belgian witbier. Lightly toasty, reminding me of fresh bread.

Taste: Coriander is the prominent flavor up front, and it seems the herbal bitterness I’m getting stems from the spice. There’s an orange oil character and something of a bread crust note in the malts. The spice bitterness carries a bite.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body, though the coriander seems to boost this impression. Smooth and almost warming.

Overall: It’s a fun beer though a bit heavy on the coriander.

Two similar, but different, beers with these Oberons, so honestly it’s hard to do a direct comparison; they are more complementary to each other in line with the seasons they are brewed for, which is what Bell was intending.

Do I have a preference between the two? Not really; I enjoyed them both but I would choose them situationally rather than always picking, say, original Oberon over the Eclipse. There’s plenty to enjoy with both, though since we’re now in Oberon Eclipse season, drink it while you can.