I received a special can of Tule Duck Red as a sample from Buckbean Brewing Company before the official cans were released so my photos of the can may not represent what you’ll find in the stores. This red ale is refreshingly different from other West Coast breweries in that it is not super-charged with the 3Cs (Cascade, Centennial, Chinook), instead the hops reveal themselves as more herbal and floral. The malt of this beer also gives is a sweeter flavor.Buckbean Brewing describes Tule Duck Red Ale as follows:

This red, robust ale combines a silky smooth, rich body with a fruity, caramel malt flavor and a soft herbal dry hopped finish. A full flavored, classic beer that pairs well with hearty foods of all types.

Date Reviewed. August 21, 2009

Where I Found It. Sent to me by Buckbean Brewing.

Serving Type. Can to a glass.

Appearance. Tule Duck Red Ale has a deep red-brown mahogany color and almost matches the color on the can. The head is off-white yellow-tan that is almost like a cappuccino. It is such a deep color it is hard to ascertain the clarity but it looks to be slightly hazy. The head has a mix of tiny and medium sized bubbles and lasts about as long as you would expect.

Smell. This beer has a sweet roasted malt aroma with a biscuit quality and with a touch of brown sugar and caramel. Unlike others of this style that I’ve had recently, it doesn’t smell like brew day or a brewery, fresh malts. This doesn’t mean there is something wrong with the beer, just an observation and quite to the contrary the aroma of this beer is great. It also has a little hint of coffee smell but a sweet and roasted coffee smell and not a burnt or woodsy. The hop aroma enhances the sweetness with floral notes and a hint of vanilla.

Taste. Tule Duck Red Ale has a sweet roasted flavor almost a woodsy earthy but weak roasted coffee with a touch of sugar added. I has little bit of caramel.  It also has a bit of bitterness that somewhat adds to the coffee flavor. The sweetness is malty but seems a little candy like.

Mouthfeel. This is a medium bodied beer with an average amount of carbonation.

Drinkability. This beer goes down smooth and is easy to drink. The candy-like sweetness is a little different and would probably keep me from having more than two, at the same time I rarely want more than two of event the best beers before I move on to try something else, sometimes it’s even just one.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

• Appearance (20%): 4.0
• Smell (20%): 4.5
• Taste (40%): 3.5
• Mouthfeel (10%): 3.5
• Drinkability (10%): 3.5
• Overall: 3.80

Information

• Style: red ale or amber ale
• Brewery: Buckbean Brewery
• Alcohol by volume: 6.2%
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.19 (as of May 15, 2010)

Other Reviews

• Drinkhacker.com – Review: Buckbean Brewing Company Beers
• Basically Red – To be Read, Basically – Buckbean Brewery Tule Duck Red Ale, Orange Blossom Ale, and Black Noddy Lager
• Beer and Whiskey Brothers - We Love You Buckbean!
• The Beer Snob – Beer Review: Buckbean’s Brewing’s Tule Duck Red Ale
• Beer Goggins – Bucking the Trend: Reviewing 3 of Buckbean Brewing’s Finest Beers
• Beer Advocate – Tule Duck Red Ale
• Rate Beer – Buckbean Tule Duck Red Ale

One of my favorite events at SF Beer Week in 2009 was the Canned Craft Brews event at Jug Shop so when I saw that it was returning for 2010 on April 13, I had to attend. Although I was quite beered-out from the many many other events earlier in the week, I still had a great time sipping on a few beers, taking a few photos, and talking with the representatives from the breweries. It was a great event and a wonderful way to promote craft beer in a can, a movement that I strongly support.Since I had tried everything else being poured, the beer I was most looking forward to were the ones from Maui Brewing Co. especially the Coconut Porter. I had actually tried Coconut Porter for the first time the previous night at Church Key but it was only a sip. It was nice to get another sample of this delightful beer. For me, Coconut Porter tasted like a gourmet version of an Almond Joy candy bar or like German-chocolate-cake with a touch of coffee and vanilla. It was practically dessert in a can.

The other Maui Brewing beer that I sampled was the IPA which has a nice hoppy nose of sweet citrus and herbal green hops complemented by a sweet biscuit or amber grains. It has a pleasant hoppy bitterness well balanced by a malty sweetness.

Another thing that I learned about Maui is that they are able to economically brew and ship from the island not only because they are using cans but also because they are located right next to a Ball canning facility.

I had a chance to talk to the representative from 21st Amendment and he told me about some upcoming special release beers that will be available in cans. As of February 13, 2010 this information was current, it may be out of date now. By July we’ll know for sure. First, Back in Black IPA will be available in cans in July 2010. The name of this beer says it all, it’s a dark-colored, roasty hop bomb. Next will be a special holiday beer available in October 2010, which will be some version of the “holiday spice” beer that has been offered at the brew pub. Finally, Golden Doom, which is on tap at the brew pub now, will be available in cans around of after January 2011 and is a Belgian-style beer.

All told, there were tastings of beer at this event from Oskar Blues, 21st Amendment, Big Sky Brewing, and New Belgium. The complete list of what was available is as follows:

• Oskar Blues
  • Mama’s Lil Yellow Pils
  • Dale’s Pale Ale
  • Gordon Beer (still one of my favorites)
  • Ten Fidy Stout
• 21st Amendment
  • Brew Free or Die IPA (classic and available on Virgin America flights)
  • Hell or High Watermellon Wheat
• Big Sky
  • Trout Slayer Pale Ale
  • Moose Drool Brown
• New Belgium
  • Fat Tire
• Maui Brewing
  • Bikini Blonde Lager
  • Big Swell IPA
  • Coconut Porter

On Monday, Feb. 8, 21st Amendment (21A) hosted an SF Beer Week event called Can-a-palooza featuring craft beer in a can from a number of different breweries. When I showed up, about three hours after the event started, they were out of everything except Fat Tire, 21A IPA, and 21A Watermelon Wheat. This is likely due to the fact that the cans were only $2, you just can’t beat that price.

The event had great attendance and was hosted on the second level, which had a nice view of the brewery where the disco ball was out (see photo below).

Breweries that were featured at this event were Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Uncommon Brewers, Oskar Blues, Buckbean, New Belgium, Big Sky, and 21st Amendment. Next time I’ll be sure to get there earlier, a piece of advice that I recommend for all of the events for SF Beer Week 10.