Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #5

Formerly brewed at Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Houston, Texas USA

(big thanks to irishboy for the hookup on this)pours black with a small red ring around the snifter glass.nice dark brown head that leaves some lacing.the aroma is a complex blend of black liqourice,chocolate malt,alcohol,smoke,raisins,prunes,and coffee.the flavor boats what the aroma has,although it seems the coffee stand out a bit more.the body is full and the palate is complex.they did an awesome job on this.

Bottle from Bu11zeye. Black with milk chocolate head. Aroma of coco, chocolate ,dark fruit, and malt. The taste was the same with light roasted coffee notes throughout. Very good beer.Glad I have a couple to lay down!

Rating #1,800...thanks to hopdog for opening this and celebrating 1800. Pours a deep black with a medium foamy/bubbly deep tan head that left some lacing. Aroma of cherry, fruity, citrus, hops, grape skins, earthy, some nuts...not really the roasty, chocolate, coffee notes you would expect. Flavors of roasted malts, light coffee, some smoke, caramel, Aroma and flavor was actually a big contrast.

12 oz bottle from Kaggie97, thanks a ton! Nose of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and watermelon fruitiness, Black as hell withvery little brown on the edges and a medium cinnamon colored head that thickly laces the glass; flavor has lots of coffee, chocolate, a bit of smoke, and a bitter hop note from a thick, cream-like body. Finishes wuth a bit of hops. excellent

12oz via trade. (Thanks kaggie97!) Pours a deep midnight black with a very large brown head. Nose is absolutely divine! Chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, mocha. Taste is the same with some nice balancing hops in the finish that are just perfect and complement but do not overwhelm the complex flavors of this masterpiece of a brew..I see they used Centennial, which explains it as that is my favorite flavoring/aroma hop... Body is medium full, carbonation is perfect. This is like the best chocolate raspberry cheesecake in a bottle that i have ever had. wow, this is only the second beer i have had where i can honestly say is worthy of a perfect score. .Absolutely in-fraaking-credible!! Completely flawless-world class.Thanks Kaggie, you rule!

Thanks to lb4lb! Pour is pitch black with a big brown head that fades quickly, leaving a nice lacing on the glass. Aroma is heavy chocolate, coffee, caramel and a bunch of other stuff. Flavor is chocolate and a bit of coffee. Nice and creamy. This is a very good beer.

Thanks to lb4lb for the bottle! Pours a dark black with a slightly fizzy tan head.rocky head. My initial impression of the aroma was roasted chocolate, with undertones of coconut. After a sip or two, my brain identified it strongly with raw pumpkin. In the mouth, it starts smoky. It’s somehow sweet and not sweet at the same time, finishing bitter and with a hint of cardboard. Here again, after a few sips, it tasted more of pumpkin than anything else. Had this been marketed as a pumpkin stout, I would have believed it. As it is, while my rating shows middle-of-the-road numbers (for high-quality stuff), my experience was more that some aspects of taste and aroma were great and others seriously detracting. I’m glad I got to try this, and I’m glad to have a second to cellar. Maybe the detracting notes will fade away (though maybe the cardboard will worsen).

Bottle from Markus and served in my Stone IRS snifter: Nearly opaque with a ring of tan frothy foam and spotty lace. The nose became more green apple as it warmed and reminded me a lot of 2006 DL. Some herbal hops, chocolate, smoke, caramel, and earthy notes as well on the nose.

The taste starts malty sweet before a big lactic and acidic twang overloads the palate. Some smoke, resiny and grassy hops dominate the finish. The mouth feel is still rough and need to calm down, oily and aggressive.

This beer is in need of some serious cellar aging, green and phenolic up the arse...can you say acetaldehyde? I knew you could.