Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #7 - Saint Arnold Brewing Company

hopsleeroy

North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A-Dark pour with minimal head, dark but not stout like, slightly brown
S-Banana esther on the new, little bit of chocolate underneath
T-Banana with cocoa/chocolate base, slightly must, wheat grain flavor comes through as it warms. Not bad but not fantastic
M-Medium carbo, slightly prickly carbo which makes it seems not as smooth and similiar to many Saint Arnold's brews
D-I could drink a few more of these but I wouldn't drive all over town to get more.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2008 21:37:35 | More by hopsleeroy

brin611

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +14.2%

03-16-2013 05:08:02 | More by brin611

drummermattie02

Texas

1/5  rDev -74.6%

01-21-2013 21:55:54 | More by drummermattie02

t0rin0

California

3.75/5  rDev -4.8%

12-27-2012 01:33:01 | More by t0rin0

Prestonlegal

Texas

4/5  rDev +1.5%

09-28-2012 21:00:53 | More by Prestonlegal

GreatBloomer

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -4.8%

07-16-2012 18:59:00 | More by GreatBloomer

bfizzy

Texas

4/5  rDev +1.5%

05-31-2012 20:05:30 | More by bfizzy

Texasfan549

Texas

4/5  rDev +1.5%

05-06-2012 23:17:10 | More by Texasfan549

kjkinsey

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -4.8%

05-06-2012 23:12:55 | More by kjkinsey

Ryan011235

Ohio

2.55/5  rDev -35.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Poured into an E&J Casj & Cream glass on 2/9/12

Thanks to mhewes

Cherry brown with dulled ruby highlights. One thumb of fizzy foam shuffles away in no time with a half peninsula and a tight ring of retention. No lace. Then again, I did work on this for nearly two hours.

Very tangy wheat, toasted grain, dusty yeast, over-ripe and rotting fruit. Right in the glass it smells like a tart mess; this issues is somewhat diminished over time. The best way to describe the taste is to prep up and do your best Tim Taylor. Fluffy wheat, burnt dark grains, dirge-like bitterness in the vein of coffee or dark chocolate. Vinous dark fruit overtones. You know, I took a sip right after I poured it an hour and twenty minutes ago and I thought it was terrible. Now, it's merely not all that good. Amazing what a little time does, eh? Another plus is that the harsh carbonation has died down letting the plump, grainy roll around, begging for it's back to be scratched. Subtle booze.

This one isn't that great. There are enough passable qualities to keep me working through the bottle. The second pour finds a muddy appearance, a more tart nose and a dirty, earthy flavor. I don't have any non-tickables on hand, so I reckon I'll just finish it.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2012 05:20:40 | More by Ryan011235

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -11.2%

01-29-2012 06:26:47 | More by ygtbsm94

trojankeg

Texas

4/5  rDev +1.5%

12-17-2011 02:52:34 | More by trojankeg

2378GCGTG

Texas

4/5  rDev +1.5%

12-12-2011 17:51:00 | More by 2378GCGTG

BeerHunter76

Texas

5/5  rDev +26.9%

12-09-2011 02:44:00 | More by BeerHunter76

brandoman63

Illinois

4/5  rDev +1.5%

11-28-2011 03:33:02 | More by brandoman63

PhatAtUT

Texas

4/5  rDev +1.5%

11-21-2011 21:22:20 | More by PhatAtUT

mikereaser

Pennsylvania

3.05/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Pours a pitch black with 3 inches of off-white foam
S - light aroma, some sweet malts, hints of cloves, banana, wheat as well
T- light wheat grain flavor, there is a faint chocolate flavor with some plums and raisins
M - light to medium bodied, crisp carbonation
D - the flavor is ok, but not one that I would want to drink regularly. I think they missed the mark on this one.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2011 04:01:15 | More by mikereaser

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.13/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a deep dark chocolate brown color with a frothy beige head that slowly settles into a thin ring. Minimal lacing.

Slightly spicy aroma with hints of pepper and clove countered by bready yeast and some sweeter notes. Picking up chocolate malt, caramel and hazelnut.

Medium bodied with a balance of zesty spice, citrus and sweet malt. Lots of peppery, zesty clove up front followed by bready yeast, banana and a more prominent malt profile than the nose hinted at. Notes of caramel and hazelnut along with some banana, brown sugar and cinnamon. Pretty quaffable with a dry finish.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2011 03:13:52 | More by corby112

Beertracker

Oklahoma

3.35/5  rDev -15%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

SADR#7 pours up with ample carbonation that creates a rather fizzy, tannish-brown colored head that's lingers above the chestnut-russet brown body. The clarity is expectedly cloudy, but becomes a bit brighter as it warms. The dark fruity aroma lacks some of the typical esters & phenols associated with the style and showcases some caramel-rich maltiness, but the roastiness really dominates along with a surprisingly interesting sourness. There's just a hint of spiciness that emerges as the beer warms in hand. Hint of oxidation. Not all that compelling to be honest. The flavor starts to develop sweetness before getting undercut by a less than complimentary bitterness, but a light-moderate fruitiness (date sugar, raisin pie, blackened fig) and light phenolic spiciness (allspice, clove) finally emerge to offer some interest to the overly tart, roasty, bittersweet finish. This medium bodied Weizenbock really lacks creaminess and is really "lean" compared to some of its European counterparts. I must confess that I was really expecting quite a bit more from this one, yet it still makes for an interesting sipper. Don't try to stylize it or you may be dissapointed. I'd say given the relative tartness that this bottle is either past its prime or wasn't handled very well. Here's to the barley blessings of Saint Arnold!

Prosit! Beertracker

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2011 06:58:17 | More by Beertracker

kbutler1

Minnesota

3.15/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Bottle. Poured into a tulip glass a very dark ruby copper color with a slightly less than 1 finger tan head. The aroma is very much all over the board and not as fruit forward as I thought it would be. Banana aroma is rather slight along with some dark fruit notes like raisin and plum. Medium mouthfeel with a pretty velvety feel. Starts off with some dark fruit notes with a transition to a slight chocolate roast like flavor. Lingering bitterness and alcohol notes. Hmm, not as flavorful and robust as I would have liked.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2011 00:29:30 | More by kbutler1

womencantsail

California

3.78/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Another of the DR series thanks to Bobby.

A: The pour is a dark brown color with that usual haze from the wheat. A couple of finger's worth of tan head.

S: The nose offers up plenty of sweet malt, wheat, and sugar notes like caramel and toffee. There are some nice dark fruit notes, like currants and plums, but there's also a slight acidity.

T: Sweet wheat and malt with the usual banana ester and hint of spice. I get a fair amount of toffee and hints of chocolate. Again, some dark fruit notes which are nice.

M: The body is medium with a low-to-medium level of carbonation.

D: A little something "off" about the aroma, but still enjoyable all around. I still would prefer a German brewed weizenbock, but this wasn't bad.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2010 05:11:59 | More by womencantsail

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Review from BeerAdvocate magazine Vol. II Issue XI:

Are Weizenbocks the next revolving trend from American brewers? This one is brewed with three different wheat malts and a traditional Bavarian wheat yeast.

Pours a little thick with an opaque, dark-brown color. Thin tan lacing forms after two fingers of head drops down; the lace does stay around for the duration. Big aroma of chocolate, faint charred malt, spicy clove and a fruitiness that ranges from ripe banana to black currants. A very thick, full body, almost syrup-like with a deeply planted carbonation that brings a good amount of smoothness. Both banana and clove are present but have been quelled mostly by the malt complexities and a little by the other yeast flavors. Unsweetened chocolate throughout, toasted bread and a faint raw, honey-like maltiness show off the complexities here. Mild hopping, though there is a quick kiss of bitterness. Fruitiness does have that banana tone, though with the higher alcohol, some black currant and pineapple appears. Clove spice becomes a bit overshadowed by a mild medicinal phenol. Finishes semisweet with a nutty grain and yeast combo.

We really love the direction this beer took, making for a not-so-typical Weizenbock. The stronger flavors of chocolate worked and expressed not just the banana/clove duo. Would a little bit of cellar time make this beer better? Perhaps, but it is perfectly fine now.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2010 19:00:25 | More by BeerAdvocate

awinkro

Texas

4.13/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer was bottled on Sept. 5th 2008 and I'm reviewing/drinking it on Jul 12th 2010. This beer has aged incredibly well. I did not review it when it originally came out, so 1.5 years later i may be biased, but nonetheless a great beer.

A: Very dark/plum color. A nice thin, creamy head lasts the entire beverage.

S: Mixture of clove, banana, and chocolate coat the nose with a subtle spice finish.

T: What a great flavor. The 8.4 ABV is well masked by a nice balance of dark malt, chocolate, and hint of spice. I nice bitter/tartness appears after the initial swallow but does not linger.

M: The carbonation as held rather well and I'm excited that I still have 2 more in the cellar. Again, flavor lasts enough to enjoy all the characteristics but doesn't over power the palate.

D: I could drink a few of these w/out releasing the affect, especially on Christmas morning....is that wrong?

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2010 05:08:16 | More by awinkro

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.1/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Many thanks to Twiggermortis420 for the opportunity to try this.

The beer pours a dark brown color with Ok head retention and a considerable amount of sticky lacing all around. The nose on this beer is pretty gorgeous, showing milk chocolate, clove, black cherry and underlying spice. The flavor profile is intriguing, with St. Arnold once again throwing in some off the wall, unusual and interesting spice (for laughs and giggle I would assume). In this case, I get sort of cherry licorice flavor, that combines well and in an interesting way with the mild chocolate. This beer has great intensity of flavor, although it drops off a bit on the finish (I'm wondering if this is due to the age of this beer, and if I had more, I'd be tempted to drink them up pretty soon). Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a fairly long finish. Drinkabilty is qauite good with the alcohol barely noticeable.

Despite having a few years under its belt, this was still a very nice beer showing plenty of flavor. Lovers of milk chocolate in parituclar will likely be big fans of this beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2010 19:29:15 | More by johnmichaelsen

pwoods

Ohio

3.88/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to crazynelson for the bottle.

12oz. stubby brown bottle poured into a tulip.

A: Pours a deep deep garnet, nearly no light. Moderate head on the pour, lightly fizzy. Decent retention but not much lacing.

S: The nose seems to have mellowed a little bit from the age but still some nice malty and dark wheat notes. Some alcohol as well... smells nice.

T/M: Some melded flavors from the age. Nice maltiness that is backed up with more of the deep wheaty flavors. Still some alcohol but nicely rounded. Some light chocolately notes with strong dark fruit overtones. Body is medium full and the carbonation is just enough to smooth things out.

D: I would have really liked to try this one fresh but it's aged pretty well. ABV isn't outrageous and the alcohol is nice and warming.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2010 04:45:23 | More by pwoods