Velvet Hammer
Arbor Brewing Company in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Flemish Red / Bruin Rotating|
Score
7.22
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We brewed the Dubbel last winter and inoculated it with a bit of Jackhammer Old Ale that has been aging for three years in an oak barrel inoculated with Hansens Gueuze.
We then conditioned the dubbel for a couple of months in a serving tank before bottling it into 750s and conditioning it over the summer.
The result is a medium-bodied sour ale with the vinous and sour fruit characteristics of a Flemish brown but with a sparking champagne-like effervescence.
Due to the lively carbonation, this beer must be stored and served cold, uncorked slowly, and very gently decanted. The foam does not dissipate as rapidly as the head on a champagne but will subside after a few moments in the glass.
Each vintage of the Velvet Hammer has a slightly different flavor composition as our oak barrels age and mature. But it is always vinous and tart with dark fruits and a moderate acidity with subtle earthy and barnyard undertones.
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flatmatt (2382) reviewed Velvet Hammer from Arbor Brewing Company 6 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
On tap at the Plymouth Taproom, version 12 (2018). Pours a deep brown with an off-white head. Aroma has oak, apple, and a sweet tartness. Flavor has sour oak, apple, grape, drying acetic sourness. Very nice, though I'm surprised I hadn't had it before.
jtclockwork (20063) reviewed Velvet Hammer from Arbor Brewing Company 11 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle shared at weekly tasting. Pours dark brown tan head. Nose/taste of bourbon, caramel, toffee, oak, cherry vinegar, light sherry. Medium body.
nimbleprop (16838) reviewed Velvet Hammer from Arbor Brewing Company 11 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
750ml bottle pours a murky, near black with a ring of white head. Nose is what you’d expect, a bit of vinegar, cooked greaks, cola, blood orange, wood pulp, stale cola, intense sour dough bread. Flavor is tart, acetic, vitamin C, some vinegar, wood pulp, medicinal. Finishes tart and oily.
Ungstrup (52239) reviewed Velvet Hammer from Arbor Brewing Company 16 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Bottled. An unclear brown beer with a huge bubbly brown head. The aroma has notes of malt with a slight note of acidity. The flavor is acidic malt with notes of caramel, straw, and alcohol, leading to a dry alcoholic finish. Thanks KimJohansen for sharing.
yespr (55573) reviewed Velvet Hammer from Arbor Brewing Company 16 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
75 cL bottle, courtesy of KimJohansen. Pours dark brown with a huge fizzy and off-white head. Aroma is dry malty, slight caramelish and slight spiced. Light caramelish, slight spiced and mild acidic. Mild dark malty note with a light citric note. Smooth fruity and light phenolic finish.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Hazy brown with a large beige head. Sourish aroma with roasted malt, caramel and hints of caramel. Flavour was sour with sour berries, lacto and roasted malt. Finished sour.
CloakedDagger (37568) reviewed Velvet Hammer from Arbor Brewing Company 16 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle 75 cl. Courtesy of KimJohansen. Pours a cloudy amber with a huge and lacing off-white head. Very carbonating - gushing. Tart caramellish nose. Medium body, dry, astringent fruits with a sourish edge. Extreme carbonation. Finishes dry.
deyholla (22839) reviewed Velvet Hammer from Arbor Brewing Company 16 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle at the Arbor Brewing Company during the Ann Arbor Brew Week Pub Crawl. They gave us the third version. Poured a cloudy brown with a large lasting light brown head. Aroma consisted of an interesting sour grape note with a strong malty note. The flavor was very tart throughout with notes of sour grapes as well as other sour fruits.
theisti (5579) reviewed Velvet Hammer from Arbor Brewing Company 16 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
750 ml corked and caged bottle shared by beastiefan2k. Opens as a gusher. Pour is murky brown ruby, thick off white head, with lacing that coats the glass fully. Aroma of cooked cane sugar, and caramel maltiness. Really not any sourness, but a nice rounded nose. Taste is the nose, big cane sugar, caramel mat and some floral honey. Sweetness gets a little syrupy towards the finish, and only in the very end is there slightest trace of sour. Palate is medium, lower carbonation, longish dry herbal finish. Overall, not the beer I was expecting, but still quite nice. Thanks for cracking this one Eugene.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
750mL cork&wire bottle from a trade on BA. Another gusher here and of course the head is thick, sticky, and long lasting. I could see why the ratings are all over the place on this beer. First there isn’t much sourness to it, the upside no nail polish either. Aroma is earthy and cooked cane sugar (burrowed from Tim). Slightly sweeter in the flavor with earthy and musky syrup. Alcohol comes through in the thick and bulky dark malts. Just a light lactic character to the finish. Has a full mouthfeel with a surprisingly average carbonation.