Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #10
English Barleywine, and an alcoholic one at that! It was inspired by Chris Landis’ winning entry in the 2010 Big Batch Brew Bash homebrew competition. This is a beer that not only will age well, but we are recommending aging it. It is clocking in at 11% ABV and could use some cellaring time. When enjoying it, we recommend serving it at around 60¬∞F. This really brings out the malt and fruit character in the beer (there isn’t any actual fruit in the beer). We were concerned that we had overhopped the beer when first tasting it in the fermenter, but the hop bitter has mellowed quite a bit. Having said that, it is on the hoppy side for an English Barleywine.
3.7
159 reviews
Houston, United States
Community reviews
Bottle. Brown with white head. Aroma of toffee and dried fruits. Taste is similar, dried fruits and toffee. Sweet and bitter.
bottle at home ... at the Lets do a Chris O tasting...deep brown ... thin tan lacing ... soft sweet dry toffee malt nose ... dry bitter malts .. soft sweet malts ... soft toffee malt ... soft sweet roast
bottle at Fyne fest (not sure hpow i eneded upo with two) ... copper brown ... thin white lacing ... soft sweet malts nose ... soft sweet fruit ... tofee malts ... ligth malt ... soft sweet toffee fruit 3.4
12oz bottle thanks to Zinister. Pours dark brown with a thin beige head. Aromas are sweet malt and chocolate. Upfront flavor of dark chocolate, coffee, and dried fruit with bready notes. Finishes with chocolate, licorice, nutty notes, and a lingering hop bite. Very complex flavors. Creamy, but peppery mouthfeel. Big and boozy. This is a delicious beer.
Bottle from an old trade, don’t quite remember which kind soul sent this along. Pours a hazy red-copper with an off-tan head. Nose is big toffee, some fruit, some oxidation, some cherry, and a hint of booze. Flavor starts off with lots of toffee than proceeds to fruity raisiny character, then I get some oxidation, some brandy, and some booze. This one is aging wonderfully and I wish I had more of it.
Brownish copper, nice foamy beige head, with lots of floaties. Smells nice, with a good deal of raisin and prune. Nicely sweet - caramel, raisin, molasses, and subtle woody hops. I am pretty sure I got this in a trade, but I can’t remember from whom. Thanks!
Bottle thanks to GoT: Poured a murky brown with red/orange edges. Head was tan and whispery. Aroma is dark fruit plum/raisin also loads of caramel malt. Taste is sugary plum, nice malts, with a light booziness. Leaves the palate dry.
12 ounce bottle thanks to Markus. Pours a cloudy reddish color, a small white head. A nice nose of berries, caramel and toffee. The flavor is sweet berries, more sugary toffee and burnt caramel, a bit of oxidation creeping in, some warmth, chocolates. Good.
bottle consumed april, 2013. thanks to GOT! aroma of big sweet caramel and dark fruit. plums. dates. sweet raisin and booze. taste is sweet boozey candy. pretty straightforward big sticky sweet caramel, raisin, plum and fig barley wine. pleasant toasted booze finish. actually pretty enjoyable to drink. somewhat dry finish and plumskin fruits add pleasant balance to the sweet candied caramel sugar. low carbonation. relatively dry. nice enough. pretty good for the style. actually somewhat chuggable.
Pour out of 12 oz bottle, thanks Matt! Clear dark red pour with no head, aroma brought notes of oxidation, slight caramel, toffee, buttery notes, slight red fruits in there as well. Taste is a mix of dark fruits, hints of butter, cardboard from the oxidation, touch of caramel, toffee, slight spice, hints of red fruits, slight earthy tones. Pretty nice but a bit old.
Bottle @ Matt’s house, courtesy of bushmat1. Thanks Matt! Pours an orangish brown appearance with a tan head. Sightly fruity, caramel, toasty malty, plum aroma. Somewhat oxidized, cardboard, light toffee, caramel, plum, light fig flavor. Carbonation is a bit low.
Nose of dark fruits brown sugary alcohol nutty candy sweetness roast earthy hop notes. Great nose. Pours brown auburn thin off white head nice legs. Flavors of candied nuts dark fruit residual sugar alcohol. Sweet but balanced. Really nice bw.
12 oz. bottle from ericandersnavy- thanks again, Eric! Pours a cloudy amber with just a small white ring and film for a head. Aroma of dusty grains, caramel, dried fruits, earth, and light brown sugar. Flavor of rich boozy bread, brown sugar, dates, figs, and wood. Medium-bodied, with a dry, gritty mouthfeel and low carbonation. Solid barley wine.
Pours hazy amber. Thickish head. Aroma of sherry, sugar and dark fruits. Flavor to match. Smooth.
HUGE thanks to Mar for holding on to this for 2 years for me! Muddy brown pour with tan head that recedes quickly. Nose is plum, caramel, dark fruits, brown sugar, light oxidation. Amazing nose on this! Flavor is caramel, dark fruits, toffee, earth, medium oxidation. No fusels for an 11% beer, but 2+ years has probably helped that out a lot. Dry finish.
Loves me a barley wine that’s not too sweet. This one from Bernard (bhops) is a winner. Nose is sweet fruit and figs and the taste follows. I don’t know if this bottle was a 2010 batch, but there is no 11% alcohol burn related to it in 2013, and I’m loving this beer.
I’m glad that I don’t live in TX for a number of reasons, but would have bought this one by the case if it were available to me at the time of release. If you can trade for one: do it. This is what a BW should be.
just had a bottle last weekend. tastes like brandy, but in a good way. no hops left whats so ever
Mellowed with age, but still very boozy, but has a great depth of flavor. Figgy with Christmas spice, but thanks to Brian for aging it so I could see the finer side!
Bottle viaKaggie! And a big Thank you from the Northern Climes to yo Sir! Large malty oak nose that settles down considerably after the initial pour. Blotchy thing film on top of a moderate ruby brown. It’s a big windy day up here as we have had our first hard frost the other night and things are winding up for the season outside. After the first focused day on the big painting project, I ache from moving so much crap and preparing the walls for paint in the next day or so. This seemed like the beer of choice for a slow evening. It certainly doesn’t pack a noticable punch for 11% in the mouthfeel or overall body. There is a strong border of hops about the sizeable malt base. Somewhat vinous in mid stride. Reserved tingling hop finish.
Pours an orange gold with no head. Aroma is malty, oak and vanilla. Taste is malty as anything. Not great not bad just ok
12 oz bottle courtesy of Summer Secret Santa. Pours a rather unattractive muddy rust colored reddish brown with a thin off white cap. That being said. Appearance is the only negative thing about this brew. Smells divine with lots of caramel & candied fruit on the nose. The 11% abv makes itself known right away as well. More sweetness in the flavor with a ton of caramel malt. More hops in the flavor than in the aroma. Heavy, sticky palate. Warming in the gut. Nice!
This one was aged and seems to have mellowed. The odor was of alcohol, plum and malt. The color was cloudy and amber brown with a quickly disappearing head. The fruit and malt flavors were up front with an alcohol burn but not as strong as I remember. I actually like this with age on it. I tend to prefer this style with a stronger hop presence. The palate was oily and didn’t possess as much weight as one might expect.
Bottle, as pictured. I got this in TheBeerSpot Secret Santa seemingly forever ago. Pours a deep reddish-mahogany, and smells strongly of cinnamon and raisin. Taste is similar, with a bit of a punch up front and a slightly-boozy finish. Seems to be a pretty good example of the style, one I don’t drink very often.
I’ve been sitting on this bottle for a while as I thought this vintage was a bit hot when fresh. Pours a crystal clear deep reddish brown color with a nice beige head that dissipates a little too quickly. As soon as I poured into the glass I got a heavy pineapple tropical fruit aroma from this beer, but as I let it sit I can’t find it much anymore. Light sweet fruits and sugars a light spicing almost a nutmeg or allspice type aroma. The alcohol I feared from earlier tastings seems to have faded from the aroma. The flavor is sweet and sugary with lots of dark fruits and caramels. Oh yeah the heat is still there a bit but it does provide some balance against the sweetness of this brew. Medium to thick body with a light level of carbonation and a sweet sugary mouthfeel. I think this has gotten a bit better than the last time I tried it, but that alcohol burn is still a bit harsh. I have one more bottle, I’m thinking in three years I’ll revisit. Oh yeah, twist offs still, WHY??
Bottle Thanks to mar) Pour is very dark with ruby tints, with a dark tan head..Nose nose is alcohol,bread, spice, raisin, dark malts, toffee and caramel..Taste is dark fruit, alcohol, dark malts, caramel, spice, bready, very bold palate
Second time I got this from different traders. So I had this about a year between each one. Has aged nicely. The hops have faded a bit now. Slight alcohol heat but easy-sipping nonetheless. Moderate malt.
12 ounce bottle
This was another fantastic release in the Divine Reserve series. After skipping forward to #11 I backtracked to what turned out to be an excellent barley wine. Even with about a year on it the balance of malts and hops give it great depth.
Aroma / Appearance - The deep reddish brown body traps all but the most determined rays of light. A thin ashy brown head bobs on top. Peanut butter, chocolate, and a bag of cedar mulch brighten the air with equal parts dessert and garden.
Flavor / Palate - The creamy semi-sweet chocolate feel calms the palate before a wave of tea and malts wakes it up. The resiny bite that comes at the end attacks the back of the throat. This is a solid barley wine and tasty even on a hot evening.
On tap at the Gingerman. The look is clear, reddish burgundy colored, and and an ok beige foamy head. The smell is sugary, toffee, candy, fruits, caramel, and alcohol. The taste is along the same lines. Pretty hot alcohol wise.
Pours an opaque amber/ruby with a thin tan head. Aroma of candied fruits and red licorice...a bit of fig...plum. Flavor follows suit...lots of candied fruits...lots of plum...but nice hoppy bitterness keeps it from being too sweet. Mouthfeel is full and the finish is quite bitter...warming.
Bottle. It pours an amber color with a thin orange head. The aroma has light notes of oxidation with some caramel, toffee, nuts, sherry and red fruit. hte flavor has lots os sweet figs and dates, toffee with some pine and hints of citrus bitterness in the finish. Pretty well balanced after some cellar time, but still definitely more American style.
In short: A rough, sweet and boozy but complex, fruity and corpulent big copper ale. Good
How: Bottle 12oz. Consumed exactly one year after the beer release. Bottle sent to me by ksurkin, thanks a lot Ken
The look: Cloudy copper body topped by a persistent small off-white head
In long: Nose has a pleasant rich caramel with notes of a rum baba cake or some other alcoholised sweet pastry of the style. Taste is raisin pie, rich caramel, toffee, booze, floury cookies, fluffy yeast, tree bark, peanut shells, some sweet cherries, fresh mint leafs. A bit too boozy for my liking, alcohol is not well hidden at all which is surprising because the beer has a very corpulent body. On one hand there is good deal of complexity here and the well carbonated corpulent body is very nice, but on the other hand it is a bit harsh and brutal. Overall it is a good beer, not a very good beer. A decent beer from the great cowboy state of Texas, where country music is by far the top selling music because all people listening to it are not educated enough to download music for free on the internet.