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A Bell's Oberon beer at Old Town Tavern in Ann Arbor. Old Town will be the penultimate stop in the Ann Arbor Oberon Pub Crawl on Monday, March 23.

(Ann Arbor News File Photo)

The vernal equinox is Friday, but spring doesn't officially start in the state of Michigan until the first keg of Bell's Oberon is tapped. Luckily, you won't have too much longer to wait. The Kalamazoo-based craft brewing behemoth is releasing its popular summer wheat beer on Monday, March 23, and Ann Arbor is celebrating.

Ashley's (338 S State St.) is hosting an Oberon release party on Sunday, beginning at 9 p.m. The bar will be tapping a firkin of Bell's Hopslam at 9 p.m., and the festivities, which will include a poetry contest and the crowning of the King and Queen of Oberon, culminate with a midnight tapping of Oberon. You can find more information on the Ashley's Facebook event page.

Related: With Bell's Oberon Day 2015 drawing near, see updated list of release parties

On Monday, you can join representatives from Bell's Brewing and distributor Rave Associates for a ten-stop Oberon Pub Crawl. The event begins at Fraser's Pub at 11 a.m., and ends up at Bill's Beer Garden (weather permitting) at 8 p.m. No tickets are required; just join the party along the way.

The full schedule:

Fraser's Pub (11 a.m.)

Buffalo Wild Wings (noon)

Sava's (1 p.m.)

Ashley's (2 p.m.)

Hopcat (3 p.m.)

Cottage Inn (4 p.m.)

Bar Louie (5 p.m.)

The Arena (6 p.m.)

Old Town Tavern (7 p.m.)

Bill's Beer Garden (8 p.m.)

Hat tip to David Bardallis for this nifty pub crawl map!

Jessica Webster covers food and dining for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at JessicaWebster@mlive.com. You also can follow her on Twitter and on Google+.