Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #11 - Saint Arnold Brewing Company

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Nice very hoppy beer, well balanced. Pours golden with a small amount of lace. Neutral aroma. Good balance,the hops are right there and more of a 1.5 ipa. Average mouthfeel,carbonation is right there. Good drinkability. Columbus, Simcoe and Centennial are well mixed for mild citrus taste. Alcohol well hidden.Very slight acid builds up. Bottle in trade.

Serving type: bottle

07-06-2011 02:57:39 | More by northyorksammy

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.47/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A crazy couple of days for me, i came home late tonight and immediatly popped this one open, poured into a pint glass.

Poured a crystal clear orange amber with a huge pillowy frothy head. This faded in a few minutes and left behind a swirly film just barely covering the top of the glass. There was really no lace on the glass, and this is the only reason to know the score on appearence to a 4. The smell was off the hook! Deep citrus, grapefruit, and pinapple mostly dominated this one. Hint at maybe some apple? Warmed to reveal hints of pine nuggets which smelled like gold! Beuatiful full wonderful IPA smell, this is how I would want it to smell if I could make my own, wonderful! The taste, ahh where to begin with the taste. Hop Heaven! this was exactly the way I wanted it to taste. Fnatastically dominated by the citrus hops. Pineapple, grapefruit, tangerine, and very very sweet. Not one, even remote hint at alcohol, which for 10%abv, is no easy feat. Big dry hopped finish rounded this out perfectly. I really could not have asked for this to taste any better. Extremely smooth, crisp, clean. Carbonation was perfect, no hint at oily, slick, or watered down taste. Such a sweet, sweet taste. Just gold.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2011 01:59:23 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

3.48/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Bobby for sharing this bottle.

A: The beer pours amber in color with a finger or so of off-white head.

S: Very sweet. Lots of caramel and toffee, brown sugar, and some toasted bread as well. Pine and floral hops with a bit of citrus and grass to it, too. Maybe a hint booze.

T: Quite sweet on the palate. Caramel, brown sugar, and toffee are the primary flavors. Some citrus hops (grapefruit), with a decent amount of bitterness which helps to subdue a bit of the sweetness.

M: Medium to full in body with a medium level of carbonation.

O: Far too sweet for what I look for in a double IPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2011 19:01:04 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.53/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to wagenvolks for sending a pair of these bottles my way. Served in a Captain Lawrence tulip.

Pours a clear light copper color with a short white head and a bit of spotty lacing on the way down. The aroma has a bit of piney hops and some slight resin. A bit of an earthiness to it as well. Some malt sweetness hits in the end as well. Touch of alcohol. The flavor is too balanced, with the ledger tipping in favor of the malt. Too much sweetness and caramel push down the nice hoppiness, which is slightly earthy and floral. A bit of alcohol in the finish, along with a mix of bitterness and sweetness. Overall, way too much malt. Hops even begin to take a back seat to the alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2011 20:03:22 | More by Thorpe429

brentk56

North Carolina

3.95/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear amber color with a burnt orange hue (must have been brewed by a Longhorn); the head faded rather quickly but left a few traces behind

Smell: Malt forward, with sugary caramel backed up by tropical and semi-tropical fruit elements - grapefruit, pineapple and peaches

Taste: Sugary caramel, up front, and the malts are dominant from start to finish; that is not to say that there aren't plenty of hop flavors in the mix, with the grapefruit, pineapple and peach flavors building through mid-palate and into the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with low to moderate carbonation; just a bit sticky

Overall: A bit sweeter than I like for the style; still this is a very good beer with a nice hop profile

Thanks, Thickfreakness, for the opportunity

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2011 00:25:14 | More by brentk56

Mora2000

Texas

4.43/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The beer pours an orange-copper color with a small off-white head.

The aroma is heavy on the papaya, with a little bit of resiny pine, pineapple and bready malt mixed in. A very nice, fresh smelling aroma.

The flavor is also very nice. I get a lot of tropical fruit - mainly apricots and papaya - as well as some resiny pine. There is a touch of bready malt and the bitterness is about medium for the style. There is also a nice bit of alcohol warming. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Overall, one of the better Divine Reserve beers I have tried. This is right up there with No. 6 as my favorites. I think this one is going to be best drank fresh so I won't be sitting on any of these.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2011 01:29:55 | More by Mora2000

MasterSki

Illinois

4.22/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle courtesy of Kristina. Been hoping to try this one for a while, but never quite got a trade done. Served in a 4oz Glunz taster weizen glass.

A - Creamy, voluminous, off-white foam with good retention settles to a thin cap, leaving large swathes of lace. Body is transparent golden, with streams of tiny bubbles present.

S - There's a hint of stale, faded hop aroma present at this stage, but otherwise it's quite nice for a nearly 4-month old DIPA. Lots of pine, bitter grapefruit, and maybe a hint of tangerine and tropical fruits. Doughty malt character with a touch of brown sugar in the periphery. Probably 4.25 at this stage actually.

T - Lots of mid-palate bitterness that lingers well into the aftertaste. Somewhat East Coast in balance, but with a less heavy malt bill that is mostly sugar cookie and dough. Hop flavor is largely bitter grapefruit rind.

M - Dry and resinous medium body, slight alcohol warmth, juicy texture, with medium-low carbonation.

D - I wish I could have tried this when it was super-fresh, but it sounds like the extended aging (in a fridge thankfully) mellowed out some of the alcohol without diminishing the hop character too much. I hope they make this again, or add it to their seasonal lineup, as it's the best Divine Reserve since #5. I could see myself having a couple bottles of this one.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2011 16:12:25 | More by MasterSki

mdfb79

New York

4.38/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into my Duvel tulip. Opened a bottle of this last weekend and loved it, opening another tonight to review.

a - Pours a transparent orange amber color with one finger of off white head and moderate carbonation evident. Leaves some nice lacing on the glass, and one inch of head throughout the drink.

s - Smells of citrus hops, grapefruit, tropical fruits, light pine hops, honey, sweet fruity malts, and light caramel malts. Lots of nice hops in the smell and a lot of fruit; I really loved the smell.

t - Tastes of citrus hops, grapefruits, caramel malts, fruity malts, pine hops, tropical fruits, earthy notes, and honey. Some light bitterness but not much. Lots of fruits and hops again, very enjoyable.

m - Medium body and moderate to high carbonation. Smooth body with a tiny bit of bitterness. Nice, but a little bit too carbonated.

o - Overall this is a really great DIPA. The smell is outstanding with a lot of tropical fruit and citrus hops, and the taste follows suit. Not a lot of bitterness which surprised me, but it made it very drinkable. A little less carbonation and this would have been amazing. Glad to have another bottle of this one, would definitely like to get more.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2011 23:17:34 | More by mdfb79

gford217

Georgia

4.3/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle from Ecrassipes.

Pours deep, crystal clear amber with a big thick beige head that recedes slowly and leaves excellent lacing.

The aroma is excellent on this one with tons of juicy citrus, especially grapefruit and pineapple. There is also some resinous pine and caramel malts but the citrus is the star in the nose.

The taste is fantastic as well. Lots of citrus fruits with pineapples and mango coming to mind but the floral pine is stronger in the taste than in the nose. The finish is bitter with a bit of alcohol heat.

The mouthfeel is well-carbonated but maybe a tad thin for a DIPA. That's probably the biggest drawback to this beer. I little more body and this could be an outstanding beer.

Still, this is one great beer and the best thing I've had from SA since Divine Reserve 6.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2011 02:17:20 | More by gford217

jrallen34

Illinois

3.95/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Thanks to Sean for this... pours a clear dark orange with a light tope head, small cap, ok lace... nose is really awesome, lots of tropical fruits, nice malt build, a little pine, no alcohol, great... the taste is equally nice more the hops show with more pine and alcohol but still lots of tropical fruits

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2011 14:34:38 | More by jrallen34

twiggamortis420

Texas

4.22/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12 oz bottle pours a clear, light copper color with a tall, light tan head. Fades slow and leaves lots of sticky lace. Very nice looking beer.

Nose is a very nice blend of hop aromas. Tropical and minty with a bit of alcohol backdrop. Malts are pretty light, as the appearance would suggest, lending a biscuity aspect.

This one is all about the hop flavors. Bitterness builds from low to high and the lighter, grainier malt backbone lets the multitude of tropical hop flavors to come forth. ABV is hidden well and the body is nice and creamy. I think this is the best beer Saint Arnold has ever made. I actually think it could at least hang with some of the better Cali IPAs/IIPAs.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2011 00:03:37 | More by twiggamortis420

FosterJM

California

4.22/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

396th review on BA
bottle to Bruery Tulip
12 oz.

Thanks to Poonamibaxter for this one.

App- This was a good looking beer. Big colors three ways of orange, yellow and amber, A big puffy two finger long lasting head and a great lacing pattern. Just good to look at.

Smell- This has a nice duality of scents to it. On one hand the sweet citrusy fruits and on the other the piney, resiny, earthy hops. Both are tempered and both work well against eachother.

Taste- Well, I found proof other states besides a west coast or an east coast state can make a good IPA. This again strikes a great duality of flavors without choosing sides. Sweet, juicy, malty, spicy, piney. It all works and tastes great.

Mouth- Medium bodied with a medium carb level and leaves a nice juicy citrus taste, from exotic fruits to some spicy orange.

Drink- Texas is a new friend to me and my craft beer ways. This was a great beer from an up and coming brewery. I would love to have more of these.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2011 06:09:49 | More by FosterJM

champ103

Texas

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

On cask at Anvil in Houston.

A: Pours a slightly cloudy copper orange color. A two finger creamy beige head forms with excellent retention. The rocky cap of foam sticks all the way down the pint glass. Rings of sticky lace is left all the way down the glass as well. It is hard to find a more enjoyable looking beer.
S: The nose is very Fragrant. Up front is some pine, resin and citrus hops. The resiny aroma is not over done, and not overly bitter either. A perfume like pine needle aroma. Very nice.
T: Resiny hops up front that I got in the nose. Lightly soapy. The syrupy resin and soap fades quickly to a very clean hop flavor. Citrus, fresh pine needles, a light bitterness. Some other nondescript fruity flavors (maybe pineapple) as well. Some sweetness lingers for balance. Again, very nice.
M/D: This is the best part for me. A medium to full body. Creamy and smooth. For as much resiny pine that I detected, this is really crisp and clean. Very dry as well. Near perfect in the mouth. So easy to drink. The alcohol is not noticeable at all, and this is just a treat to drink.

On cask this is just amazing. This is far from my favorite style, but Saint Arnold did it right. There is a huge hop presents but the over barring bitterness and harshness that I get in many examples is not here. I could not get enough of this on cask, highly recommended.

Serving type: cask

03-30-2011 02:55:27 | More by champ103

oline73

Maryland

3.45/5  rDev -19%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a standard pint glass. I know that this has some age on it, but I'm still enjoying it.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy amber with a finger of fluffy off white head. There is a little bit of lacing and a layer of head that remains.

Smell: There is a fruity malt note that reminds me a bit of a barleywine. After that I'm picking up a smooth hop bitterness.

Taste: Citrus peel hop bitterness hits you right away. You can tell this one has smoothed out a bit, but it's still quite nice. The finish is sweet and malty with some brown sugar notes that team up with the hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: The body is just on the thick side of medium body lots of tingly carbonation and a slightly slick finish.

Overall: This is a bit past its prime, but I still liked it. The hops and malt were quite nice together. I'm a fan and would try this fresh.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2012 02:34:22 | More by oline73

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

4.13/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12oz Bottle - big thanks to cfrancis for this one

Appearance – Mostly clear copper colour with a large size frothy and fizzy beige coloured head. There is an average amount of carbonation and there is a good amount of lacing. The head lasted for around 5 minutes before it was gone.

Smell - Malts, hops, caramel, grapefruit, pineapple

Taste & Mouth - The beer has an above average amount of carbonation and I can taste malts, caramel, and lots of hops. There is also some grapefruit juice and zest and quite a bit of tropical/pineapple flavour. The beer finishes with a malty tropical fruit/pineapple sweet aftertaste with some lingering hop bitterness.

Overall – There beer had a slight metallic taste to it at first that kind of threw it off a little bit, but as it warmed up in my glass the other flavours really came through. This is a fantastic tasting beer and the alcohol is really well hidden. I'm really happy I had the chance to try it and I'd get it again given the chance.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2011 19:13:55 | More by spinrsx

Hojaminbag

Colorado

3.5/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is another beer that I have the chance to try thanks to the generosity of Mikesgroove. Thank you Mike, I already look forward to our next trade!

The body is a surprisingly dark, orange/brown color with a tan head that has fairly good retention and leaves a few scraps of lacing behind.

The aroma is pretty sweet, with caramel, toffee and maybe some brown sugar. Some citrus and the imrpession of bitterness linger around the edges.

This is a big, sweet IIPA. The flavor follows the aroma pretty closely. Loads of caramel and toffee that make this thing very sweet. Bits of brown sugar hang around when the hops finally shine through so that the citrus flavor from the hops tastes like some sort of candied fruit. Luckily the bitterness is substantial enough to cut through some of the sweetness, or this one would be way to sweet. This one is way too sweet for me, but at least it only has a touch of alcohol warmth in it; too sweet AND too boozy would make me hate it.

Pretty substantial body, definitely bigger than average for an IIPA. Smoothly carbonated.

Although the malt profile on this one is pretty well done, it is also overdone for me. A little too sweet and malty for how I like my IIPA. For those of you that like aging IIPAs (I don't) this one would probably be a candidate.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2011 15:03:58 | More by Hojaminbag

prototypic

Ohio

3.9/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Many, many thanks to dcloeren for the bottles! Much appreciated, Dereck!

The 11th installment of Divine Reserve is a crystal clear copper color. Backlighting gives it a slight orange tint. A soft, vanilla colored head tops it. It rises to roughly a finger before falling back. Lacing was very thick and sticky.

The nose is pretty good. It definitely has a sweet, sugary scent. Caramel malts are readily apparent and are responsible for the sweet side. Hops are easily noted. They’re mostly piney and citric. Grapefruit and orange are the strongest fruit scents. It’s tough to tell how the flavor will pan out, but it smells fairly well balanced. Alcohol is a little noticeable, but doesn’t seem overly strong.

The flavor is very similar to the nose. Perhaps a notch better. It starts out with caramel and toffee flavors. They’re sweet and provide a sturdy backbone. Hop flavors of pine, grapefruit, and orange emerge. They’re definitely tasty, but seemed to be restrained by the heavy malt presence. There’s a hint of bitterness, but it doesn’t last long. For what it’s worth, it is very balanced. Not my favorite quality in this style, but the flavor is good. Alcohol is masked very well. Finishes sweet with a bit of citric and piney hop flavors.

It has a medium body that’s definitely smooth. Given the malt presence, that’s no big surprise. Carbonation is dialed back nicely. For a beer of its size, it’s definitely easy drinking.

Divine Reserve #11 is definitely a nice addition to the series. It’s not spectacular. A little less malt and more hops would’ve moved been better. I just prefer a little less balance when it comes to DIPAs. There’s no question though…this is good beer. If you have the opportunity, you should definitely jump on it. Thanks again, Dereck!

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2011 02:24:15 | More by prototypic

wagenvolks

Texas

4.28/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle into a Ranger Creek tulip.

The long-awaited, oft-debated Divine Reserve #11 from Saint Arnold pours nicely with a hefty cap of custard foam that quickly recedes to a thin veil of soapy bubbles. The body is a fiery, burnt-orange hue that turns copper when held to the light. Aromatically impressive, as the hops are out in full force to deliver an intoxicating blend of pine, citrus, and tropical fruit. Sweet caramel & pale malts provide a solid backbone.

The flavor of DR11 start off with a crisp pale maltiness and sting of carbonation on the front of the tongue before rapidly shifting gears to pine resin and tropical fruit flavors mid-sip. The back of the palate gets sloshed with hop bitterness and a breathy alcohol bite that pulls back just enough to keep this IIPA from getting overly aggressive. Mouthfeel is solid--carbonation level is a bit prickly and the bubbles are massive, but the medium body goes down easily. Overall, a most impressive release from Saint Arnold, as #11 has more than made up for the latest 'miss' in the Divine Reserve series. Hop heads will rejoice!

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2011 03:38:08 | More by wagenvolks

Sean9689

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to ericandersnavy for hooking it up. Poured into Rochefort 10 tulip.

A - Pours a copper/rusty color, cream-colored head, nice sticky lacing along the sides of the glass. After the initial pour, there's a nice thick ring around the glass and a thin cap.

S - Sweet dank hops, smooth bitterness, nice tropical fruits, pineapple, pears, mango. The bitterness and sweetness work wonderfully together.

T - Tropical fruits, smooth boozy alcohol, bitter hops, caramel malty sweetness. The alcohol is there, but it's masked by the fruity sweetness and bitter hops.

M - Light to medium, good carbonation, oily finish.

O - Not a hop bomb, but smooth bitterness and sweetness working together. An excellent DIPA, and probably the best beer I've had out of Texas and right up there with Live Oak Hefe and JK Black Metal as "best of TX" for me. Glad I still have an extra bottle to drink here in the very near future. Recommend.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2011 14:03:46 | More by Sean9689

armock

New York

4.35/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to champ103 for hooking this bottle up in a trade.

A - Poured a copper color with an off white head that leaves lacing behind

S - Is a nose full of hops of the pine and grapefruit variety

T - Follows the nose with the piney and grapefruit hops the little bit of malt that comes through is slightly sweet

M - This beer has a fuller for the style body with medium carbonation to it

O - Saint Arnold is stepping up their game with the past couple DR releases to get them back to the quality of DR5 this is a very easy to drink DIPA that shares the west coast style definitely worth seeking out to try I wish I had more than the one bottle

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2011 04:07:01 | More by armock

cosmicevan

New York

4.43/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Courtesy of some super generosity from cfh64.

a - popped open the bottle and filled my captian lawrence tasting tulip. Beer poured a deep transparent orange with a finger of white frothy IIPA-ish head. Even and steady carbonation could be seen throughout. Nice lacing as well.

s - as soon as I held the glass to my nose I felt joy. Sweet resiny hops. Really nice...really well balanced...really what I look for, not over the top. Some citric notes and other usual suspects for the style.

t - a bit more sweaty and bitter than I had expected, but quite good. Hop forward and quite good. Good sweetness. Fruity even. My wife took a few sips and proclaimed apricot, but I challenged that with grapefruit and she agreed. She then wanted to swap out her Monster Ale for this beer...NO DEAL HOWIE!

m - bittery aftertaste, medium bodied...even carbonation.

o - overall, very impressive DIPA. The hop flavoring is very well balanced and not in your face...really perfect level of sweetness. Super excited that I got to try this one, it really flies under the radar.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2011 04:07:17 | More by cosmicevan

alleykatking

Indiana

4.22/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 12oz bottle. Thanks to betsona for sharing this one!

A- Pours a golden orange color with some reddish hues to it. One finger white head shows medium retention. Nice sheets of lace on the sides of the glass when drinking.

S- Citrus hops in the front of the aroma make this beer start off good. There is a underlying caramel malt sweetness throughout the aroma but shows more so toward the middle. Piney hops in the ending lend to balancing this one out aroma wise. Alcohol has a little medicinal quality to it.

T- Citrus hops in the front of the beer show off a lot of tropical flavors. This doesn't go into crushing mode with the hops which was nice. The middle of the beer showed off a caramel bready malt base which counterbalanced the hops nicely. The ending of the beer still showed a little caramel malt but now there was a added piney bitterness that helped elminate the overall sweetness. The alcohol had a little medicinal quality to it but didn't go overboard.

M- Medium mouthfeel. Carbonation is good for the style. Citrus and piney hops are left on the palate. Aftertaste is medicinal alcohol, light caramel malts, and piney hops. The flavors were really balanced I thought for the style. No off flavors were present while drinking this beer. Medium alcohol drying on the palate with each sip.

O- This beer was very good. The ABV was lighter on the DIPA side. I thought the flavors were on par with everything for the style. A nice beer in the Divine Reserve series. I would tell everyone to get this while you can cause it is drinking good.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2011 03:49:05 | More by alleykatking

yourefragile

District of Columbia

4.18/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle poured into a tulip. Thanks Phatatut!

Pours a clear, filtered bright copper color with a fluffy, yellowish-tan head. Average retention and little lacing.

Aroma is extremely piney and fresh, no solvent or off notes, with a strong caramel malty presence. Not overly complex, but very pleasant.

Flavor has a strong bready and caramel malt body throughout balancing the aggressive hop bitterness. Pine dominates like the nose, though there is slightly more complexity here with some light pineapple and other tropical citrus flavors.

Mouthfeel is slightly thin for the style and flavors. Lighter side of medium with light fine carbonation. Finish is very dry and slightly resiny; again breadier than I'd expect.

Minor complaints aside, this is a good beer and could be great with a slightly bigger body. Easily one of the better DR's and an impressive DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2011 22:19:04 | More by yourefragile

EgadBananas

Louisiana

4.1/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Translucent dark amber color, with a very light tan finger and a half of head and a bit of lacing. Retention is not bad.

Pine and juicy citrus hops abound. It's not in your face, but its nice. There's a very nutty, caramel, candy corn-type malt character in the back.

Tastes very nice. Big notes of citrus fruit, a little grapefruit. Bitterness is intense, but not harsh. Nice caramel malt backbone finishes it up.

The feel is mildly crisp, creamy, slick/oily, medium in body.

Overall, quite a nice DIPA from St. Arnold.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2011 01:33:45 | More by EgadBananas

SkeeterHawk

Texas

3.23/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

I wasn't looking for this beer, but it found me. The elusive divine reserve series. I had pretty much given up on it when it jumped to $15+ a six-pack and was hard to find to boot...about #6. Since I just happened to be at the right place at the right time today, I have some to sample. Brock can brew a pretty good hoppy beer, so let's see what this one has to offer:

Appearance: Pours a very clear amber color with about 1/2" of tan bubbles on top after an aggressive pour. There are some bubbles rising, but the head is on its way somewhere within the first 30 seconds. The beer leaves some solid lacing on the glass after drinking, so it is a very well presented DIPA.

Aroma: The aroma is hops upon hops with a bit of hops thrown in for good measure. Though the hops are stupid strong and bordering on oily, they are quite citrusy and well blended. There is one rather dominant hop, like Amarillo or some such. Plenty of orange citrus with some peachy elements in there too. As the beer is starting to warm up some, there is a tad of toasty malt coming out and the alcohol is starting to spice things up. Somewhat one-dimensional.

Taste: The beer is medium-light bodied somehow, which surprised me. The flavor is also absolutely dominated by the hops the entire way through to the finish, which is dry and a bit harsh on the back of the palate to linger for what seems like forever, but just when you think that your throat is scarred for life, the alcohol sets in just kindof cooks the whole thing in. I know that there is malt in here as the ABV wouldn't be almost 9% if it wasn't...but this is a bit ridiculous. I must say that this is the most carbonated of any of the DR series that I have tried, so I guess that they have got control of that now...which is a good thing and really helps this beer or the mouthfeel would be almost unbearable.

Opinion: I don't know what to say. This beer has a good nose and you know it is going to be a hoppy monster, but I would think that they would ease up on the IBUs and let you actually taste the beer. I don't know how this beer is going to age. I will cellar some anyway, but I just don't see it softening up. In short, I would say that this beer is probably the most "ready to drink" of any new releases of the DR that I have tried, but their recipe was too ambitious on the hop schedule and the attenuation percent of the yeast. There is nothing left to back up the monster hop profile.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2011 01:10:03 | More by SkeeterHawk