Last year I reviewed two beers from Ashland, Oregon’s Caldera Brewing for Canned Beer Week: their Pale Ale and their IPA. I liked both very much—both excellent examples of just how good beer can be from a can—and as Caldera had since released a third canned beer, Ashland Amber, it was a no-brainer to review it this second time around.

This is an American Amber Ale, one of my long-time favorite styles, and is 5.4% alcohol by volume.

Appearance: Clear and amber-brown, poured a nice yellow-tan head.

Smell: Caramel and slightly-roasted malts with a nice mellow hop character; biscuit-malty with a hint of brown sugar.

Taste: Rich and malty with caramel, toffee, and molasses notes; bitterness coming both from roasted (Black Patent?) malts and earthy hops that show a nice presence toward the back of the mouth.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a sticky, thick presence on the tongue, finishes bitter-ish.

Overall: Very nice amber ale, super drinkable (of course, my bias toward Ambers might influence this impression), definitely a beer that should be on your “can shelf.”

On BeerAdvocate, it scores an overall grade of B. On RateBeer, it scores 3.38 out of 5 and is in their 74th percentile.