Rockin' Bell's
By Steve Croyle |
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A lot of people say they don't like wheat beer, but a little prodding often reveals that they've never tried the stuff. They assume they won't like it because whenever they've seen wheat beer it was cloudy and had a slice of fruit stuck on the glass.
If they actually are speaking from experience, it's because somebody goaded them into trying Blue Moon, which is the Belgian-style wheat beer Coors covertly foisted on us. Blue Moon is OK, but it's a little on the fruity side with spice notes that might be a little too assertive for your average beer drinker. I really have to give Coors some props for having the balls to offer a true-to-form artisan-style beer, rather than chicken out in the boardroom and dumb it down at the last minute, but I can see why Blue Moon doesn't rock everybody's world.
I bellied up to the bar under the antler chandelier at Gallo's Tap Room recently and reacquainted myself with my favorite wheat offering: Bell's Oberon. This is not a spiced Belgian ale, but more of a German-style wheat beer. It does have a nutty sweetness imparted by the toasted wheat, but it's nicely balanced by Saaz hops. Like any good wheat beer, it pours cloudy and even though it doesn't need any help from fruit, a lot of people like to garnish it with an orange. Whether or not that enhances the experience is debatable, but there's nothing wrong with it. I've been told that mixing fruit and beer violates the "man laws," but where I come from real men don't always follow the rules and considering that Oberon weighs in at just under 6% ABV, it's not exactly frou-frou. So, if you want an orange slice, have an orange slice.
Gallo's also has Two Brothers' Domaine DuPage on tap. It's an amber-hued beer inspired by the country ales of Northern France. This beer starts out with a lot of bready malt character and subtle notes of apple, but it finishes crisp and clean. It's a great beer to pair with food, particularly the lighter, fresher foods we crave during the summer.
They change the taps frequently at Gallo's, but my server told me that Domaine DuPage and Oberon are doing quite well and should maintain their place on the tap line for a while, along with an impressive selection of other craft beers, just in case you don't trust a guy who admits to liking wheat beer.
Gallo's Tap Room is a surprisingly cool place with a friendly staff that is happy to talk about their beers. It's surprising because it's located in the aging Olentangy Plaza shopping center between K-Mart and Microcenter, but there's plenty of parking and once you get inside you're treated to a spacious bar with a couple of pool tables in the back and a tidy little kitchen up front, kicking out simple pub fare with Italian flair. This might be the one place in Columbus that offers a genuine Muffaletta. If you have to ask what that is, you should stop in and educate yourself.
Gallo's Tap Room
5019 Olentangy River Rd.
www.gallostaproom.com
Originally Published: June 1, 2009
