Velvet Stud
Brewery Vivant

 

 

Appearance: A vigorous pour yields a ton of brown airy foam. I had to a wait a minute or two for the head to settle so that I could pour the remaining beer from the can. Over time the head completely disappears. It leaves no lacing.

The beer itself appears dark brown, almost slick black, and and appears viscous as I pour from the can. No visible carbonation.

Smell: Coffee, dark chocolate, some dark dried fruit. Definitely getting the oak. A dry woody aroma.

Taste: Unsweetened, black coffee. Cocoa powder. It’s a dry, woody, and nutty finish.

Mouthfeel: This beer is thin to medium bodied with small, prickly carbonation. It’s not as carbonated as some Belgian style stouts I’ve had, but it’s pretty well carbonated. As the beer warms up the feel improved, becoming more smooth, rounded, and velvety as suggested on the can and by the name.

Overall: The more I drink this, and the more it warms up, it grows on me. I think it’s a very good oak aged stout.

 

Taste: wood oak, smoked malts, bittersweet baker's chocolate, molasses, crisp coffee finish. Same with the nose. Black/brown hue, mostly clear, tan foamy head and nice webbed lace. Medium body. Oak prevails.

Pour is jet black with a voluminous dark tan head. Chocolate and oak notes dominate the nose.

The chocolate notes carry over to the taste, and there’s a bit of the oak, but the mouthfeel is pretty thin. Still a nice sipper on a chilly evening.

 

Pours black with two fingers of hearty, khaki foam on top with big bubbles. Head retention is good. Aroma is toasted, roasted, biscuit, and nutted malts. There is a tiny bit of oak hiding in the aroma as well. Flavor profile is toasted, nutted, peaty, nutted malts. Oak and caramel make an appearance as well. Mouth feel is smooth, and creamy, but is medium in thickness. Overall, a middle of the road stout is far from offensive or overly filling, but gives off pleasant malt notes.

Served in a 12oz snifter from a 16oz can.

 

 

From a 16oz can

It is a medium looking bodied glossy black with a large, brown soapy head.

It smells mostly like chocolate and English malts. There is some light char/coffee grounds wood, but mostly chocolate.

Tastes pretty much the same. A lot of cocoa/milk chocolate with a touch of vanilla like sweetness, some light Belgian yeast notes, a slight amount of coffee toward the end, and some malted barley. No aforementioned wood.

Lighter bodied and easily drinkable. Fair amount of carbonation, but it doesn’t scream Belgian style.

A pretty tasty beer. I just don’t taste any oak and it could almost be confused with an English Brown.

Had on tap. Shimmering black with two finger of tan foam. Coffee, soil and slight wood aromas, but all so faint. Taste captures more flavor plus some semi-sweet chocolate and a kiss of anise. Feel is very light and frothy even for style, but stupid smooth. Velvet yes, stud no

 

I picked up a can of Brewery Vivant's Velvet Stud for $3.29 at The Lager Mill. I've had the Plow Horse many time and I'm interested to see what the oak aged version is like, so lets see how it goes. 2017 Vintage. Poured from a tall 16oz can into a snifter.

A- The can looks good, it's got a nice design to it and it's eye catching. It poured a darker black color that didn't change when held to the light and it had two fingers worth of slightly creamy and pretty fizzy darker tan head that died down to a thin ring that eventually faded away and it didn't leave much lacing behind. This is a pretty nice looking beer, but I wish it had better lacing and head retention.

S- The aroma starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with the malts being the first to show up and they impart a dark malt, roasted malt, lots of chocolate, light coffee, light char, light smokey and sweet malt like aroma. Up next comes a little bit of light Belgian yeast like flavors and that leads into the oak barrel which is on the light side and it's only a little noticeable with a little bit of vanilla and a slight oak like aroma. This beer has a pretty nice aroma, I like the malt base, but I wish the oak showed up more.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma, but it's slightly lighter and it starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the malts still being the first to show up and they impart all the same aspects with more of a milk chocolate like flavor coming through this time and it's followed by a slight bit of Belgian yeast like flavor. Up next comes a slight nutty flavor and it's followed by the oak which is pretty light and it imparts all the same aspects that it did in the aroma. On the finish there's just a little bit of bitterness with some more sweetness and it had a chocolate, roasted malt and sweet malt like aftertaste. This is a pretty nice tasting beer, but I wish the Oak flavors showed up more.

M- Smooth, pretty crisp, a little fizzy, medium bodied with a higher a higher amount of medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is nice, but I wish it was a little thicker and not a little fizzy.

Overall I thought this was a nice beer and a solid example of the style, but it didn't really live up to the oak aged aspects and I prefer the original version. This beer had ok drinkability, I think one would be the limit for me. What I like the most about this beer is the aromas and the malt base, they were nice and the highlights of this beer. What I like the least about this beer is the mouthfeel and light oak barrel flavors, those two aspects could use the most work. I'm not sure I would buy this beer again and I can't say I would highly recommend it. All in all I liked this beer, but I didn't love it and in some aspects it wasn't as good as the original version. It's one of my least favorite VIvant beers in a little while and it's a solid example of the style. Solid job guys, but with some more work this beer could be better.

 

Pours a dark brown color with a dark beige head of 2 fingers.

Aromas of oak, molasses, dark malts, dark cherries, and plum.

Flavor is of cocoa, oak, earth, dark malts, with suggestions of dark cherry and plum.

Feel is silky, with good carbonation.

Overall a pretty decent stout that I'd have again.