Champagne Velvet
Upland Brewing Company

4.58/5  rDev +30.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
by andypeters1971 from Georgia

Had it on draft March 2022. This should probably have its own category. It's not an American Adjunct Lager and it's definitely not a pilsner. Dispensed into an extremely thin and tall glass with so much head the barkeep had to keep leaving it to tend to others and then come back to it. The aroma is what you think of when you think of a beer aroma. Color is piss yellow with a high degree of transparency. The mouthfeel is out of this world. You could drink this beer all day every day and be satisfied

Mar 09, 2022

3.46/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
by puck1225 from Texas

Poured from a can into a tall tulip glass. Makes a nice presentation: sparkling clear yellow color with good initial head and lacing. Clean, slightly fruity smell and taste. Taste a bit weak. Feel is good for a lager. Very nice with food.

Feb 25, 2022

4/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
by MrOH from Malta

Brilliantly clear yellow, big white head, good retention, decent lace
A bit of corn and light hop aroma
Some sweet corn and malt, a little bit of spicy, black currant hop flavor, nice bitter finish
Light bodied and well carbonated
A nice easy drinker

Jan 24, 2022

3.56/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
by kflorence from Texas

Pours a a very pale, straw color with a thin layer of bubbly foam that quickly dissipates. Carbonation looks average. No lacing on the glass. Lots of light fruity hop notes in the aroma, reminiscent of a white wine, but most assuredly from the combination of hops and corn grains. Okay, this is a step up from the typical macro American adjunct in terms of flavor. Everything comes through quite clearly: grassy hops with a buttery, fermented corn flavor and the classic Pilsner malt hanging out in the background. Finishes fairly crisp and dry. A decidedly hop-forward rendition of a German Pilsner. Mouthfeel is light and thin with zesty carbonation. A tiny amount of chewiness. Goes down very easy. Overall, not quite my cup of tea -- a bit too grassy/sour and astringent for me, very similar to white wine. I can see where it got it's name. However, this is a very solid offering that I can appreciate, especially on a warm day. And for an AAL, I have to rate it pretty high. I am sure it is especially special for those folks who have been drinking it for many years. It's definitely a step up from the typical American macro while packing a bit more flavor and complexity. Another solid offering from Upland. Cheers!

Sep 12, 2021

3.75/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania

A - Really pale gold color (like the color of a urine sample), steady, moderate carbonation, and thin, dense white lacing.

S - Earthy lemon citrus and crisp crackery malt aroma with light earthiness.

T - Lots of earthy lemon citrus from start to finish with a lingering citrus bitterness on the back end.

M - Medium body with a tad bit of thinness around the edges.

O - Nice earthy citrus, crisp, refreshing, and hitting the spot. Solid.

Aug 08, 2021

3.43/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
by miwestcoaster from Michigan

Looks, smells, and feels like an old school beer. But, the taste is too sweet. I prefer Hamm's, Old Style, Schiltz, and Altes over this beer by a wide margin. Reminds me of Keystone Ice in the sweetness and feel. I do not recommend this beer and other brands are available that fit this hole.

Aug 01, 2021

3.97/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by dcotom from Iowa

Could we have a new favorite AAL here? Picked up on a whim during a trip through Michigan in April 2021, and it's a dandy. Poured from a pounder into a vintage hollow-stemmed goblet. Clear pale yellow in color, with a two-finger snowy white head that left some nice lacing as it settled to a thin cap. Aromas of corn, grass, and light caramel, with a perfume-y floral overtone. These are present on the palate as well, along with a crisp bitterness that incorporates every single one of its 29 IBU's. Dry finish, with just a hint of lingering sweetness. Overall, a very refreshing and very flavorful offering from Upland.

Jul 30, 2021

3.88/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
by BubbleBobble from New York

Pours a clear straw yellow, 1" white head, moderate lacing. Nose is lightly sweet and yeasty with some light lemon; the nose is surprisingly similar to that of champagne. Taste lacks the tartness and sweetness of champagne for more mellow, grainier flavors, though on the slick finish there is some metallic, mineral white wine sweetness. Mouthfeel is very soft and coats a bit. Overall, a pretty complex, though very approachable, beer.

Jun 14, 2021

3.72/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
by BeerBobber from Nevada

Pours a very clear and light golden color. Two fingers of thick soapy white head made of big and small bubbles slowly falling into the beer. A little bit of lacing acion going on here.

Biscuit and white bread crust grainy smell. Even has that odd clean water smell that I like.

Taste is a slightly sweet and slightly grassy taste. Taste is like a Euro lager or pilsner with that sweet grass taste. Malts coming out to just a bit sweet.

Mouth is fairly light with a touch of slick in the finish.

This surprised me. I thought I would be getting a Coor's or Bud flavor. Nope this one falls more into a true pilsner style. It really has a much more crafted taste than the regular adjunct lagers.I see on the side of the can that it states that no flavors or additives in it. Is this really an adjunct? If so what are they putting in it? Overall for beer #422 I have to say this one is pretty darn decent. Cheers!

Jun 10, 2021

3.87/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
by Victory_Sabre1973 from Minnesota

This beer pours a very crisp looking, clean looking, clear light golden color. There's a nice 1 1/2 finger white head that lasts a while. There's some lacing in the glass. Looking into the glass, there's a nice stream of carbonation bubbles rising.
The nose has a nice malty biscuit aroma, as expected.
Taste - Very crisp. I get a malty biscuit flavor. I also get a very interesting floral flavor, almost like there's some Belgian yeast in here. I also get a faint tart apple flavor, that is a pleasing addition.
The body is very crisp feeling. The thickness is about what's expected for this style.
I wish I had the day off work today, because this would have been so fun to drink in the 80 degree heat of the day. I like this beer.

May 02, 2021

1.94/5  rDev -44.9%
look: 4 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
by cindiwindi1025 from Michigan

Looks pretty, goes down smooth, had to plug my nose to swallow it. Blech.

Dec 15, 2020

3.38/5  rDev -4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
by maximum12 from Minnesota

Thanks to barrelbeer for this 16 oz. extra. I don’t have enough good lagers in my life.

The pour is nearly clear gold: I can actually read through it. The nose is very light, grains & saltines, but little enough of either.

Champagne Velvet would go great with a meal. Any meal. It’s light & inoffensive enough that it would mildly complement most foods. Like the nose, there are light grains, mild sweetness, creamed corn, & a finish of low bitterness & grapefruit from the hops. Crisp. As an IPA & stout drinker mostly, this is…drinkable. Yup.

Not the best lager I’ve had this year, but a pretty good effort.

Dec 05, 2020

4.72/5  rDev +34.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
by theshermancometh from Washington

Great beer

Sep 14, 2020

4.09/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
by REVZEB from Illinois

Clear pale gold with a wispy white head. Smells of sweet corn, pilsner malts, general adjunct bloated aromas, with a touch of grass, so right on for style. Taste is sneaky, not as heavy handed with the adjuncts and sweet corn as expected, crisp malt and touch of grass finish in a way that is actually rewarding for style, but wow is it thin. Stupid crisp though not the most clean, thin, highly carbonated, and finishes dry. Honestly it elevates the style a good bit, don't need to have again, but this is well done for an adjunct lager

Sep 07, 2020

3.87/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
by rapayn01 from Kentucky

I had tall boy cans of this twice last November (2019). It was in the clearance section of my nearby grocery store, but I bought a can on a whim because I like to support local breweries. It was pretty good for the style -- and actually reminded me a bit of dry champagne. I wrote at the time on Untappd that I would look for this in the summer -- when I went back to buy more there was only one more can, which I bought and consumed in short order. It may be my favorite lager, which admittedly is damning with faint praise.

May 04, 2020

4.12/5  rDev +17%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
by FBarber from Illinois

Pours a light straw color. Crystal clear and somewhat effervescent. Thick 3 finger head collapses and dissipates until there is essentially no remaining head. Some sticky lacing is left on the glass.

Aroma is light with notes of corn and simple malts with a touch of light floral hops. Slight touch of sweetness is there.

Taste follows the nose with a crisp array of light crackery malts, some corn, floral hops and a touch of sweetness. Cold, this beer is an excellent AAL - warmed the flavors do open a bit more, but for the style cold is better.

Feel is light, crisp, and refreshing. Bright carbonation with a quick finish.

This is an excellent beer - straddling the line between AAL and Classic American pilsner - its everything you want from the style. Criminally underrated here.

Feb 20, 2020

3.37/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
by RaulMondesi from California

Wow. Not going to lie. I think I rather have a Bud Light. This one has nice color like Jean Harlow sunning at the beach, but it just tastes a little off. I sense that in the aroma too. It’s not metallic like a lot of of bad AAL’s can be, but it simply tastes “off,” ya feel me?

I’m out.

*I’m going to give this one a pretty big edit. Kind of like Japanese beer with sushi, or a Saigon Lager with a bahn mi, it just tastes better with food. And when I had this decently rated (for what it is) AAL with a delectable Italian sandwich, it tasted pretty damn good. So cheers to that!

Jan 21, 2020