Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #3

Formerly brewed at Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Houston, Texas USA

Many thanks go to Kan for this bottle! I had one a while back and somehow ended up trading it away. Opened with only the slightest pfft and poured cloudy medium orange with a short-lived cap of off-white head. The aroma was all kinds of juicy with pears and grapefruit representin’. caramel and honey sweetness behind, and what came across as almost powdered lemon zest right at the end.. spicy and a bit boozy. The flavor had a lot more peppery alcohol and a lot more honey sweetness at the core.. the honey was paired with drawn caramel and molasses, and the spices found some pine and light fruits.. quite astringent overall, but it held together OK. Medium-bodied with lower carbonation on the palate.. again too sharp at times, but enjoyable in the end. Glad I got to try it!

Thanks Lumpy. Not a big fan of DIPA and this is over a year old but this is very nice actually. It’s definitely still hoppy (or hoppy enough for me) and there is a nice sweet, caramel and lightly aged maltiness that comes out. Comes out like Double Hoppy English Strong. The aroma is strong while the flavor is not overwhelming. Very drinkable and leaves a long sweet malts and sweet hops aftertaste and only a light bitterness. Very delicious. The beer is a very muddy/murky dark orange color but the head is small. Still nice enough looking, I hate clear DIPAs.
12oz bottle, Ommegang elongated goblet glass.

Sample provided by mj. Hazy, light amber body with a tiny beige head - fading. The nose is citrus, tea and caramel. The flavor is moderately sweet with lots of caramel, grapes and grapefruit. Medium/full body is round with moderate carbonation and an astringent finish.

Bottle, courtesy of bu11zeye. Pours a cloudy amber color with orange highlights and a thin offwhite head. Interesting aroma of spicy hops, honey and toasted malt. The flavor has a creamy caramel presence with toasted malt and spicy, resinous hops, it finishes with bitterness. The hops are relatively mellow for an imperial IPA, but the strong presence of malt and the hops are in perfect balance, you don’t find such balance often in imperial IPAs and I like that about this beer. The body is medium with an oily texture and moderate carbonation. We have a tendency to expect a hop bomb when sampling an imperial IPA but I think that this one is very good and underrated.

1 year old - not ideal for the style but you get it when you get it. Pours with just a glimpse of a white head that stays put in the form of wispy foam that collects at the edges. The body is hazy amber, on the light side. The aroma is reminiscent of a fresh glass of a blend of English barleywine and a west coast variety. Maris Otter malt is easily detectable. Grapefruit notes from hops blend with piney resin and orange marmalade, molasses and a musty component that canvasses the entire aromatic spectrum. This has definitely faded quickly away from the heavily hoppy beer it originally was. Now it smells like a barleywine. Typically I wouldn’t rate a beer that is so obviously different/mutated from what the brewer originally created/intended, but I have waited a year to try this and I want my thoughts and this experience on the record. The flavor begins with much more of the same nuances, but what lies underneath and quickly emerges is a very formidable bitterness, resiny, piney and loaded with apricot, orange and grapefruit pith notes. A rusty anil style of aged hop bitterness sets in and grips the tongue with mild acidity and medium-high astringency. Malt is to be reckoned with as well and carries the flavor forward, mostly caramelly with hints of cocoa powder and woodsy vanilla. The finish is bitter, oily, toasty malt and spicy resin lingering. The mouthfeel is strange, medium to medium-full bodied, oily and very drinkable.

Bottle from KAggie - thanks!! Amber color with a light off-white head. Aroma is very sweet with lots of honey, sugary malts to match a smaller helping of hops. Flavor is only lightly hoppy with some weaker bitterness. Lots of malty sweetness, but excessively so. Not terrible, but the feel and taste seem off - even though its older. Other "old" DIPAs certainly retain most of their previous character - this one could have been better.

Pretty clear orange/amber color with lacing type head. Minimal carbonation. aroma is mikly and malty. The taste was very nice just like the aroma with light mango notes. Becomes rich and chewy as it warms. I like this brew. Oh yeah, I got this from a guy who lives in Texas but is a Cornhusker fan!!

Bottle, thanx sam. Pours a cloudy orange amber color with a small off white head. The aroma is a very sweet grapefruit with some floral notes. The taste is a sweet tangerine with a hoppy bite finish. good lacing on this one. A very well Double IPA from saint arnold.