Velvet Amber
District ChopHouse & Brewery

 

 

On tap at the brewpub as "Velvet Amber".
Amber body with a durable and creamy head.
Nice mix of his and malts, with the good more evident than usual for style.
Mild.

 

 

On tap at District ChopHouse in Washington DC, poured into point glass. Pours clear amber with a high, creamy white head, long retention with excellent lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (toast, caramel), heavy hops (floral, citrus, pine), and average esters (apple/pear) with notes of pineapple. Flavor is heavy malt (toast, caramel), heavy hops (floral, citrus, pine), and average esters (apple/pear) with notes of pineapple, alcohol, and sweat. Medium body, warmth, and carbonation, low creaminess with a dry finish.

Pours a nice clear copper. Aggressive, 3-finger head. Leaves behind a decent amount of fine lace. Very clear, nearly see through. Very little carbonation present.

Weak bready nose. Getting yeast and grassy malt as well.

Sweet malty hit. Very smooth beer. Slighlty lemony taste and a very strong malt finish. No hops to speak of.

Thinish feel for as creamy a draft as this one is.

Very easy to drink, though, and could easily down a couple of these at a meal.

Came for an extra buck on the sampler platter - was that night's extra tap. Contained an extremely creamy head that left major lacings on a amber/slightly brown body. There was a faint hoppy smell that also brought a little heat to the nostrils, like a shot of bourbon does. I thought the taste was hoppy, but not overly so. An extremely smooth and full-bodied beer, it has a crisp taste that asks for more. Definitely some caramel or honey rounds out the body, and the malt presence is detectable. I could easily session this beer.

This is the "Velvet" edition of their Amber Ale. They rotate their different offerings through their nitro-tap to put a different spin on things.

It arrived at the table with the typical milkly texture which "magically" cascades to the top revealing a clear gold color with a thick white head. It's a nice show, but let's see how it smells and tastes!

Smell is of sweet malt with a good amount of flowery hops.

Taste is smooth and sweet with a medium bodied palate, which shows signs of balancing hops up front. The middle is smooth and sweet with slight notes of caramel. It finishes dry with a slight bitterness and a nice malt sweetness.

I've read other reviews of this beer saying it has a huge hop profile, but I'm not tasting it here. Maybe the nitro-tap affects the hop bitterness somewhat?

This is a very drinkable beer, but I'm going to have to try it without the nitro to compare. I think the "Velvet" idea is good for show, but I don't think it does the beer any justice.