Arbor Velvet Hammer

Brewed by Arbor Brewing Company Pub & Eatery
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Ann Arbor, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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UPDATED: SEP 28, 2010 Well thanks to the warning on the bottle, I did not loose any beer, but my first attempts at getting beer from this bottle have me looking at three cups of foam. The head is voluminous, and is an amber tinted, tan color. The beer is a hazy, dark, purple-plum color that shows a bit more red as you hold it up to the light. The aroma is a mix of rich malt, fruit and warming alcohol. There is a touch of piquant tartness here, a very soft, earthy, musty funkiness and a solid spiciness. This beer’s nose is fairly complex, despite not being overly funkified. Aromatic notes of woody black pepper, a toasted malt bass note, a soft nuttiness, a meaty caramel note, some dough like yeastiness, lots of vibrant though rich fruit notes (prune, fig, ample raisin and lightly tart plum), there is also a certain woodiness here that subtly infuses the aroma with notes of toasted oak, a spicy woodiness as well as a slight vegetal note. The aroma is very complex, and actually seems to have lots of notes that I would associate with an incredibly complex Dubbel.

Lightly tart flavors up front are a bit more noticeable than the aroma might have suggested, but this is not an overly acidic brew. There are some touches of residual sugars and a rich caramel note that temper the tartness a bit, but don’t really add much in the way of sweetness to this beer. The beer finishes with nutty toasted malt notes and a touch of vegetal character (broccoli or cabbage come to mind). There is almost a citrus flavor here that is wrapped up as part of the lactic tartness, but something else is adding to this perception as well. This has an almost orange liquor component to it that is interesting. This beer is quite light bodied, almost refreshing in a way; the light tart / sweetness really accentuates this refreshing character as well. Lots of fruity notes contribute to the flavor with tart raisin, prune, a touch of dried fig, some watermelon rind. The finish, especially as this slowly warms up, picks up a almost roasted, sort of dark cocoa like, light grain astringency to it. The oak barrel character is amazingly subtle, it adds a soft spiciness to this brew that accentuates the warming alcohol notes in the finish and perhaps a touch of vanillin, but is surprisingly mellow overall. After 5 careful pours of this brew, I finally get a pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet glass that is 1/3 beer to 2/3 foam. As I munch on the voluminous head I notice that the spicy oak character is quite a bit more noticeable when sampling the foam than when sampling the beer. The sweetness, caramel, and fruit comes out more as this beer warms up.

While not remotely the sourest, nor funkiest beer out there this beer does achieve an great balance of component flavors and aromas. This is thoroughly enjoyable, if not quite fantastic. I am really enjoying the malt complexity as it mixes with the subtle barrel character, soft tartness and fruity yeast character. While my head may say otherwise (though perhaps that is the lack of sleep), a 750ml bottle of this does not seem to be nearly enough to satisfy my thirst for this beer. An awesome creation that I am quite tickled to have been able to try.

Bottle. Pours amber brown with a beige head. Light funky aroma with sweeter malts and light dark fruits. The flavor has funky yeast and sweet malts, with light toast and light peachy fruity notes. Nice.

Pours dark amber in color with a big off-white head. Not really too much of a nose on this one. It’s got some vinegar and some caramel malt notes, maybe a touch of molasses, surprisingly. Some lemon and lemon zest notes, perhaps some cherries. The flavor is sort of oxidized and just old. There is a bit of vinegar sourness and a residual sweetness, but not much.

Pours dark brown with a thin but persistent off white head. Smells of oak, some sweet sugary hints, some funky undertones, spicy. Tastes on the sweeter side of the oud bruin scale with some cherry dryness on the finish.

Thanks to jale for bringing this out at our weekend tasting. Served in a Savor snifter. Pours a fairly-dark brown color with a single-finger head and a touch of light lacing and bubbles as it went down. The nose was roasty brown and a bit plain, with just a touch of light acetic character coming through without any real oak or fruit presence. The taste added in a bit of very light cherries, combining this with some roasted brown malt and a touch of acidity. Medium body with light carbonation. Overall, more of a slightly-soured brown ale than a Flanders, but went down smoothly and I had no problem finishing my glass. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 12-07-2010

Bottle contributed by Jale...A dark brown with a little amber, clear. A finger of tan head that is thick with good retention, light lacing though...A very buttery aroma, brett notes, lightly burnt wood...The taste is similar to the aroma’s notes, but a little more affective. Tart vinegar notes, still some wood. I can’t find the brown ale, guess its trying to be an oud bruin. As an oud bruin its pretty average.

RBSG ’10. Sweet tart nose with lots of toffee, dark fruit and fresh berries. The taste is light to moderately sweet, moderately tart, some acetic acid, lots of caramel, some cherry and a bit of lemon rind.

08 and 09 Bottles from cpetrone84. Pours a dark amberish brown, with off-white head. Fruit, lactic acid, wood, sweet bready malts, and a little bit of cherries and lemon. The 08 was far superior to the 09, and the 09 has the record for most difficult to remove cork. I thought this was quite a nice sour, certainly glad to have tried it.

Bottle from deyholla...thanks Derek! - Pours dark cola with a fine-bubbled tan head. Funky and sour nose, with brett, a bit of oak, and a light citrus acidity. Pretty soft, but with a touch of heat if you take a good whiff. Taste is a bit lactic sourness, with a tart, sharp citrus funk that lingers pleasantly. Fantastically creamy and smooth, with soft carbonation and velvety finish. Very nice, glad I got a chance to try this.

Bottle at RBSG 10. I think Deyholla? Pours a deep brown, slightly murky. Nose is interesting. Under-ripe berries, lemon. No vinegar, oddly enough. Earth and bretty notes peak in. On taste, fizzy and sour. Nice that it lacks the vinegar note. Pretty decent body and mouthfeel just a bit too fizzy. Lemon and blueberry to finish. Nice.

BCTC. Hazy brown and foamy. Tart and cocoa aroma. Tart mild cherry fruity with cocoa and dry tart mouth-coating finish. Fizzy. Pretty good.