Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #8

This is a bold, malty, smoky Scotch Ale. It pours a deep amber brown. It was quite cloudy at the time of bottling but will clarify as it ages. The nose is full of smoky toffee notes. The taste opens with sweet malt and spice, then the alcohol comes up with a light residual sweetness on the finish. A balanced smoky flavor is in this beer from start to finish, although it never is the dominant character. It was brewed with 2-Row, Biscuit, Dark Crystal, Amber, Peated, Caramunich and Wheat malt. It is hopped early with Hallertau Tradition and late with Hallertau Hersbrucker. We fermented DR8 with a traditional Scotch Ale yeast. It is unfiltered. Enjoy at 45°F or warmer. This beer was inspired by Phillip Kaufman’s winning entry in the 2009 Big Batch Brew Bash.

ABV: 9.3%
Original Gravity: 1.091
Final Gravity: 1.024

3.7

194 reviews

Houston, United States

Community reviews

2.9 In bottle at Craigs. Pours a beautiful red colour with a lacy, light tan head. The aroma is unpleasant, very sweet with some burned rubber in there. Burnt toffee and caramel flavours lead on to a lingering burned rubber/ tar finish. Too sweet for me.

3.0 Bottle courtesy of cgarvieuk. Dark amber with a small beige head. Funky caramel nise, with a hint of liquorice. Very sweet to taste, pretty intense palate. Sugar, burnt sugar, treacle, oversweet. Slight tar & boozy finish.

3.5 15 June 2011, bottle at my last cgarvieuk tasting! med amber, clear, steady bubbles. nice nose! barley wine vanilla, some green raisins. golden syrup. full body and syrupy. this is sweet and syrupy for the sake of being sweet and syrupy. there is nothing to balance this, nothing to compete. it is only sweet, slightly toasted caramel. very sugary

3.3 Bottle at home ... copper ... thin lacing ... soft woody toffee roast malt nose .. light bitter fruits .. toffee malts ... roast malts ... some dark sugers ... decent enough.... little burnt toffee

4.1 Received in trade from TexIndy, thanks for the opportunity. Pours a solid dark brown with beautiful ruby highlights when held to light. One finger off white head dissipates quickly to a cap. Smells of smoke, toffee and burnt sugar. Slightly fruity on the nose with a touch of alcohol in there as well. Taste is toffee and caramel infused with some light fruits a touch of alcohol in the middle with a lingering smokey peat in the finish. Mouthfeel is creamy and smooth, carbonation is moderate, and the body is full. This a great brew that continues to grown on me with every sip.

3.8 This is my 300th Texas rate. Shared by someone at the most recent Freetail bottle release party. The beer pours a copper color with a white head. The aroma is very malty. I get a lot of very sweet toffee as well as a little bit of alcohol. The flavor is more of the same. The alcohol and sweet, sugary malt really stand out. There is also some nice dark fruit notes with some figs and cherries. Smooth and easy to drink. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. This beer is about two years old but has held up very nicely.

3.9 The last of the DRs sent my way via Zinister for an FFL payout - thanks, Michael! Lustrous copper pour with a slick, creamy head that hints at the rich, mellowed beer. Nose is lovely, with abundant sweet malts, sharp tang of cured meats, and an earthy, peaty base that’s terrific. The flavors deliver in each of these areas splendidly, the whole coming together in the meatiest and peatiest of fashions. Faint traces of sparkling fruits emerge in the taste, and there’s a leathery old ale quality to the finish too. Complex, rich, satisfying.

3.8 12oz bottle from blutt59, thanks Bob! Pours a very cloudy, copper-amber colored body with a thin, light tan, fizzy head that dissipates quickly and leaves a light lacing. Aroma is on the sweeter side with a good amount of toffee biscuits and grainy caramel with a nice, light earth and peaty smoke to balance. A good amount of floral fruits with some apricot, fig, orange, and raisin. A tad bit woody as this warms along with a hint of chocolate and touch of spice. Flavor is similar. Floral fruitiness up front with lots of sweet caramels and dry, smoke and peat. More toffee biscuits, some graininess, and a good amount of fruit that again includes figs, raisins, and apricots. Grows a bit nutty with a hint of wood towards the end where this finishes with a light spice along with a nice peaty, earthy, smoked bitterness that dries with a slight hop kick, but remains richly malted. Just a touch of alcohol present before leaving a lengthy aftertaste. Medium-full, very smooth and soft body with a moderate, soft carbonation. Overall, a nice scotch ale. Very richly malted, pleasantly sweet and fruity, but well balanced with a solid earthy peat and smoke. Alcohol is well hidden and this drinks easily. Well done.

3.9 Bottled. Thx gnoff Hazy dark amber. Slightly smoked aroma; some leather. Creamy, almost oily palate. Smoked leather in the flavour aswell. Pretty sweet.

3.9 Bottle courtesy of darkguardian. Hard to tell where St. Arnolds was going with this one. Sweet taste that was more like a barley wine than a scotch ale. It was aged a bit so the smoke flavor had vanished.

3.6 Bottle, thanks to gnoff. Haxy amber color, beige head. Leather aroma with smoked notes. Smoked flavor, sweetish with figs and raisins. Long vinous finish with smoky notes.

3.5 this one’s been in the cellar for a while from Bhops. Thanks, man. Nose is a toffee caramel sweetness with the first teip over the tongue dominated by a candied sweetness and distinct alcohol bite. There is just a slightly astringent dryness that helps balance the sweetness with a leathery smoke flavor. Mouthfeel is a bit harsh, but it is a shame that this one won’t be around anymore.

3.1 I received this as an extra in a recent trade with BelgianBeerGal. Thanks a lot Amy! Pours a dark amber/chestnut color with dark golden orange hues when held to a light source and a thin foamy yellowish beige head that immediately fades into a thin lasting ring. Minimal spots of lacing left behind. Sweet malt aroma with hints of caramel, toffee, biscuit, alcohol and dark fruit. I’m picking up raisin, fig and plum in the nose as well as a very faint smokey character and subtle spice. Smells more like a barleywine. Medium bodied with some soft carbonation up front that lingers over the sweet, leathery malt body into a sweet, slightly warm finish. Very sweet with earthy, leathery malts that give off hints of toffee, biscuit, caramel and rye. Lots of alcohol sweetness but not to hot with a prominent dark fruit flavor. Hints of raisin, fig, grape, plum and dark berries. As in the aroma, there is a slight spice character with a decent amount of pepper. Overall, this looks and tastes like a tamed down, overly spicy barleywine. There’s a prominent dark fruit presence that balances things a bit but this beer is a bit harsh despite it’s sweetness.

3.8 12oz bottle shared by me with zizzybalubba, thebeergod, and gandgkevin. pours a hazy, honey-gold with a solid, rocky, off-white head and nice lacing. aroma is great with agressive, smokey peat, dark malts, and burt caramel with hints of citrus peel, figs, and light hops. flavor is damn tasty as well with smoke, peat, and grassy hops up front backed by light orchard fruits, citrus, and chewy, toffee malts. palate is medium bodied with smooth carbonation and a pleasant, warming booziness on the swallow. overall, a damn nice scotch ale.

3.6 Bottle - courtesy of ksurkin. Murky copper pour. Short beige head. Aroma is peat, soft smoke, and iodine mixed with caramel and sweet malt. Taste is soft peat and smokey notes with bigger chewy caramel and sweet malt with a touch of fruit in the background. Soft, bubbly carbonation on the medium overall body. Ends with more chewy caramel, sweet malt, touch of iodine, peat and pleasant smokiness. Tasty!

4.2 12 oz. bottle shared by ksurkin at Grape & Gourmet’s 5th Anniversary (Thanks Kenny!). Pours light amber brown and takes on the appearance of honey. Light citrus, sweet toffee, and huge amounts of oak dominate the nose. The flavor is malty sweet from start to finish but has enough peach, tangerine, and smokiness to balance it that the sweetness never seems to overpower. Leave your expectations at the door for what you would expect a Scotch Ale to taste like; this comes off as something between a Scotch Ale and a barley wine. Hellagood.

4.0 Bottle from my SS. Nice dark mahogany pour with frothy off white head. Aroma is quite winey, lots of honey, vanilla and a few smokey notes. Taste is sweet, quite fruity/winey with almost no alcohol presence. Palate is smooth, very creamy and easy drinking. A very enjoyable experience.

3.3 Bottle. Amber colour with a beige head. Aroma is alcohol, hop, dried fruits. Flavour is alcohol, hop, malt, sugar, oxidation, dried fruits, caramel. Bitter finish. Full body. OK beer.

3.6 Shared bottle thx to gnoff, cons 2011-02-04 Billdal AR: sour, fudge, butter AP: plum ice tea, wee head F: skumm gummi candy, fudge, warming feeling, oily consictence

3.7 Courtesy of gnoff. Pours pale brown with a rich shortlived tanned bubbly head leaving a lace. Aroma of fidges, raisins, roasted malts and fruits. Sweet fruity mouthfeel. Flavor of raisins, slight madeira, hops and pine. Sourish fruity palate. Finishes nice tart hoppy.

3.6 Bottle, 12oz. It’s hazy and orange-golden in the glass, a small off-white head rests patiently on top. The aroma has a touch of dried fruits and peat, is meaty and slighlty oxidised. Sweet flavor with dried fruits, meat, a a touch of peat and some hints of licorice. Full-bodied, sweet and slightly warming. The finish is of the lasting kind, with the same flavors found initially, but focused on the sweetness. A nice and tasteful beer, a bit boring on the nose, but still really pleasant. 101015

3.9 12 fl oz bottle thanks to sebletitje! On February 4, 2011 Cloudy dark brown color, light brown head. Malty, dry, smoked, a bit fruity scent. Smooth, sweet, cream taste. Smooth thick mouthfeel, medium bitterness. Smoked aftertaste. I sort of guessed it would be a smoked beer entry, but being a scotch sort of makes sense since at least according to the swedish homebrewers a scotch ale should if possible have some smoked hints in it. Nice one!

3.8 (Bottle) Pours muddy brown with small head. The aroma is fat malty with notes of buttery caramel, honey, smoke and cookies. Balaced, solid nose. LIght oxidized. The flavour is light to medium sweet, light bitter and tiny acidic. Malty smoky and light spicy. The mouthfeel is round, soft and light sticky with light carbonation. Lingering malty and light smoky finish. Medium to full bodied.

3.9 12oz bottle from MaltOMeal Appearance: Hazy dark amber with a nice sized beige head and lots of sticky lacing Aroma: Smokey, sweet malts and spices Taste: Sweet malts up front with some nice medium smokiness and some bittering in the finish Very nice, easy drinking.

3.8 pours a dark amber with a fizzy head. Aroma is dark malt, a bit of toffee, some light peat, burnt sugar. Mouthfeel is medium. Flavor is a lot of burnt sugar, toffee, a bit of peat, some light smokiness. Enjoyable

3.7 Yet another rating I left as a scrap waiting to be found after noticing I had missed it. So now I can dump this and maybe stick another in the fridge to re-rate soon. Rich and malty/roasty and enjoyable. But as nice as it is, not my fave of the bunch, just FAR better than that pumpkin fiasco.

3.7 12 oz. bottle via trade with thickfreakness - Pours a hazy brown color with a half finger thick light tan head. Very light lacing. Aroma is toasted malt and light esters. Flavor is toasted malt, hint of smoke, and esters. Medium body. A good beer. Thanks Charlie.

3.9 12 ounce thanks to Cavie. Caramel and sugar. Sweetness. Slight hint of smoke, which works very well. Very tasty.

3.5 Bottle.Pours deep amber orange with a small off-white head.Aroma of toffee,caramel and alcohol with some smoky notes.Flavor is sweet toffee and caramel malt .Full body, soft carbonation.Nice

3.0 A: The pour is a dark orange color with a thin off-white head. S: Sweet malts, vanilla, caramel, raisins, oranges, and peat on the nose. A fairly standard nose for the style; good but not overwhelming. T: The peat character is much more dominant on the flavor than I would have expected from the nose. A moderate level of sweetness in the form of caramel malts and citrus fruits. Some light fruitiness, in addition to the citrus notes. M: The body is medium with a fairly lively, but medium, carbonation. D: Not quite as good as the previous Wee Heavy in the series, unfortunately. Actually, toward the bottom in terms of my enjoyment of the DR beers.