Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #5

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Pour was a nice dark brown almost black small head almost no lacing. Aroma was of strong coffee and some chocolate/ Flavor was much the same there was a smoke/ash in there. Finished bitter as it warmed.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Bottle shared by doulos31/goodgrief. Pour was typical for the style, dark brown-black but with only a normal/weak looking head. The aroma was vinous, coffee, chocolate. The flavor followed the aroma while it finished with some roasted ashy notes, though. Slightly bitter finish, probably more from the roast than any substanial hopping. Mouthfeel was slightly acidic, a little on the light side for the style. A decent but not wonderful brew. Thanks for sharing, Tom!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Beer pours dark, smallish head and little lacing. The chalkiness of the first sip is striking. I like the chalky thing in my stouts. The flavor is lots of roast, cocoa, maybe a hint of dark fruit and a touch of ash in the finish. Sweet, but certainly under control and not difficult to drink at all. Decently complex and above average in enjoyment. It didn’t wow me, but left me without any concrete complaints.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 6

A vigorous pour yields an almost three-finger thick, light-cocoa brown colored head. The beer is a pitch black color and quite opaque. The aroma is quite fruity with a substantial burnt prune note to it. Aromas of blackened molasses, a touch of licorice, and a mix of sweetened coffee & chocolate liquors. Toasted malt & toasted bread notes add another layer underneath the straight up roasted aromas. A burnt, almost broccoli-like, vegetal note is here in the aroma, though it is not entirely surprising as I have been finding this more and more in Imperial Stouts recently, it is a bit off-putting; this note really seems to dominate the aroma after a short bit of exploring the nose.

Slightly viscous, with a velvety texture that coats the mouth. The beer is sweet up front, but is substantially dried out by an ample, burnt, roast grain character that is in the finish. This roast grain character contributes to a solid bitterness that is also contributed by a nice hop bite. The hop bitterness is a bit more forward in the flavor profile though, with the burnt bitter notes lingering on in a very long finish. Concentrated flavors of black coffee, sharp espresso and burnt prunes / burnt raisins are all quite noticeable. The burnt-vegetal note of the aroma is here in the taste, in fact it is quite noticeable during each and every sip. Luckily, after 45 minutes from popping the cap, the beer seems to be losing that burnt-rancid-vegetal note some; it is still here, but plays a much less significant role.

This is a very roast dominated brew, even by Imperial Stout standards, though I would not quite call it over the top in that regard. It has just enough body and malt richness to hold the burnt notes from becoming over-bearing. Unfortunately there is the burnt, green-vegetal note that is both in the aroma and in the flavor, otherwise this would be a really good beer. With this off note the beer is still drinkable and even mostly enjoyable, just not the beer that it could be. If you have the patience you might want to let this breath for an hour or so before drinking and this seems to lessen the impact of the off-character.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Bottle courtesy of Bu11zeye: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a nice big foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma consisted of loads of black chocolate notes with some light sweet notes Taste was also a nice balance mix between some black chocolate, some sweetness and light roasted bitter malt at the end. I also noticed some light notes of raisins. Body is full with some vinous characteristics and some good carbonation. I have to admit to really enjoying that one.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

This was an amazing beer. A very excellent balance between the bite of a very strong stout but the smoothness of a wheat. This beer is probably the most balanced stout I've had.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

This imperial stout pours a dark black color from a 12oz bottle. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is ashy, fruity and sweet. A medium bodied Imperial Stout. The malts are fruity and sweet, chocolate, caramel and ashy. The hops are earthy and floral. Kind of sweet, and a touch thin for an imperial stout. Interesting. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

NorCal tasting Dec 07 - Oddly enough, this beer started the evening off. Sure, we usually go light to dark but there didn't really seem to be many dark ones around so we just went for it. I really enjoyed my first experience with Saint Arnold (I had the #4), so I was hoping that this too wouldn't disappoint. It didn't. A very nice stout, that didn't quite strike me as an imperial stout. It was missing that bold assertiveness that great impy stouts have, when they sort of impose their will on your tastebuds. This beer sort of mingled amicably, being neither forceful or agressive.

The beer's appearance was a nearly black in color with brown edges, and a thick foamy tan head. Aroma was chocolate covered cherries, chalk powder, and lightly smokey. Flavor is a bit ashy, but thankfully not so much where I hated it. Chocolate, meat marinade, alcohol, molasses, and a touch of smoke tie this beer up. I think with a bit more time in the bottle this beer would get a few points higher and even now it's a nice beer. 2 for 2 from the Texas boys.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

This beer smells like green bananas and chocolate. It’s much thinner than expected, especially when it's billed as an imperial stout. It is fairly sweet, but not a lot to back it up.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Smell is wonderful, everything you want in a imperial stout...

head o' plenty ... lacing up the wazoo ...

Flavours are basically indescribable, lots of crazy complex flavours-
one of the more complex imperial stouts i have ever had!...

so delicious, so enjoyable, pure blasphemy in goodness in all aspects!

I absolutely love this beer! 25 or 6 to 4...