Divine Reserve Series
Our Divine Reserve is a series of single batch beers, each brewed with a completely different recipe. The batches are identified by the number on the neck label. There is no particular theme to the beers, although it can be assumed that most all of them will be big. Many will benefit from being aged under refrigeration, not at room temperature.
Since we brew such small batches, and the releases are closely watched by our loyal fans, the Divine Reserve sells out quickly! Sign up for the Saint Arnold Newsletter to be alerted to future releases.
Divine Reserve No. 19
Spiced Oatwine
Inspiration for Divine Reserve comes in many forms. This beer was inspired by a classic oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. Divine Reserve No. 19 is a Spiced Oatwine.
As brewers, it's important to find balance and harmony to ensure a beer can be consumed from beginning to end and leaves you happily reaching for another. The base beer started with an English-style barleywine and our signature Saint Arnold ale yeast - it's got a rich malt character with notes of dried fruit esters. To accomplish the oatmeal flavor and finish, we used malted oats, which provide texture and a warm grain-like flavor. A small amount of cinnamon and nutmeg was also used in balance to finish off this homage to the oatmeal raisin cookie.
Date Brewed: October 31, 2018
Date Bottled: January 3, 2019
Original Gravity: 1.095
Final Gravity: 1.0226
Alcohol: 10.4% ABV
Bitterness: 30 IBU
Malts: 2 Row, Oat Malt, Pale Chocolate, Carafoam
Hops: Perle
Yeast: Saint Arnold
Other: Cinnamon, Nutmeg
Divine Reserve No. 18
Imperial Stout
Diving into darkness, you can gain insight into your potential. Allow the absence of light, and truly find what it means to have it. This approach was taken when designing Divine Reserve No. 18.
How can we push the limits of our brewhouse? Our house Saint Arnold yeast? Ourselves? After many, many test brews of Imperial Stouts, we found the processes needed to create a beer with massive amounts of flavor and aromatic qualities.
For DR18, we used a grain bill that required four times the amount of grain as Fancy Lawnmower, dosed in two additions of Belgian candi syrup during fermentation to provide an adrenaline shot to the yeast, and let the beer rest for three months before adding a small amount of Madagascar vanilla beans as an added layer of complexity.
The beer pours a rich darkness - no light passes through - topped with a mocha colored head. The aroma is filled with molasses, vanilla, baker's chocolate, and rich dark fruit from our house yeast. The flavor profile starts with rich chocolate and raspberries that are dipped in honey, then builds on dried dark cherry notes, and finishes with wine like silkiness.
Please enjoy Divine Reserve No. 18 at 60° and in the safety of your own home.
Date Brewed: October 31, 2017
Date Bottled: February 1, 2018
Original Gravity: 1.125
Final Gravity: 1.027
Alcohol: 13.4% ABV
Bitterness: 48 IBU
Malts: 2-Row, Cara 45, C-120, Midnight Wheat
Hops: Zeus
Yeast: Saint Arnold
Divine Reserve No. 17
Baltic Porter
If you travel from England to Russia through the Baltic Sea you might get a sense of the origins of the Baltic Porter. It is a beer that pulls on the traditions of the British Porter, the Russian Imperial Stout and the lagers of Central Europe. The style dates back to the 18th century.
Divine Reserve No. 17 is a big, rich porter that is deceptively drinkable and well balanced for its 9.2% ABV. It has a pleasant sweetness that balances the roastiness of the beer without being cloying. We achieved this by using a combination of malts - Munich malt as the base, Chocolate Wheat and Brown malts for color and roastiness, and flaked oats to round out the body.
A healthy amount of Perle hops creates a balancing bitterness that is disguised by the body of the beer. The Old Bavarian lager yeast used in this beer is the same yeast used in 5 O' Clock Pils, Spring Bock and Summer Pils. This is the first lager we've brewed for the Divine Reserve series.
Divine Reserve No. 17 is best served at 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit and is ready to drink now, or you can age it (preferably in the refrigerator) and expect the alcohol to smooth out.
Date Brewed: October 26, 2016
Date Bottled: December 28, 2016
Original Gravity: 1.095
Final Gravity: 1.028
Alcohol: 9.2% ABV
Bitterness: 47 IBU
Malts: Munich, Crystal 50/60, Crystal 120, Brown Malt, Chocolate Wheat, Oats
Hops: German Perle
Yeast: Old Bavarian Lager
Divine Reserve No. 16
Adambier
DR16 is a full bodied beer with layers of complexity. There is a deep, rich maltiness that is balanced by the artful use of smoked malt. While the smoke character is present, it is more subdued than you would find in a rauchbier. There is a subtle Noble hop aroma and a slight caramel character that becomes more prominent as the beer warms up. The Kölsch yeast adds a light fruitiness.
DR16 has a moderately-high bitterness that is balanced nicely by its residual malty sweetness, and there is no lack of alcohol warmth as you easily finish a pint. DR16 comes in right at 10% ABV. This beer is ready to enjoy now but will also cellar well cold for at least five years.
The Adambier style was popular in Dortmund, Germany until the mid-19th century, when Pilsners and Munich-style lagers began to take over. Eventually, the style became largely extinct until recently, as more and more breweries look to their brewing roots.
Date Brewed: December 9, 2015
Date Bottled: February 9, 2016
Original Gravity: 1.100
Final Gravity: 1.024
Alcohol: 10.0% ABV
Bitterness: 44 IBU
Malts: Munich, Rauchmalt, Honey Malt, Carafa, Melanoidin
Hops: Bravo, Hersbrucker
Yeast: Kölsch
Divine Reserve No. 15
Russian Imperial Stout
This Divine Reserve was inspired by the winning entry of the 2007 Big Batch Brew Bash homebrew competition, brewed by Mike Heniff, a highly decorated local Houston homebrewer. Russian Imperial Stouts are very big and very black and this one is no exception.
It was first brewed as DR5. DR15 has a rich malty body full of coffee and chocolate flavors and a spiciness derived from the combination of hops and high alcohol. It was brewed with a variety of malts including 2 row pale, crystal, chocolate and roasted barley. It was hopped with Nugget, Willamette and Centennial. We used our Saint Arnold yeast to ferment it. It is unfiltered.
Enjoy at 45°F or warmer with some dark chocolate or a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
Date Brewed: October 28, 2014
Date Bottled: January 12, 2015
Original Gravity: 1.097
Final Gravity: 1.024
Alcohol: 10.1% ABV
Bitterness: 46 IBU
Malts: 2 row pale, crystal, chocolate, roasted barley
Hops: Nugget, Willamette, Centennial
Yeast: Saint Arnold yeast
Divine Reserve No. 14
Belgian Strong Golden Ale
The goal of this beer was to make a Belgian/American hybrid using west coast American hops and rye to emulate the fruit and spices often found in Belgian beers.
The beer pours a bright golden color. The nose is a mixture of phenolics from the Belgian wit yeast and light citrus from the American hops with a touch of graininess. Rye adds sweetness and complexity to the pilsner and aromatic malts. The spice of the rye is somewhat subdued at lower temperatures but becomes more apparent as the beer warms. Cascade and centennial hops were used for both flavor and aroma, adding floral and citrus notes to play off the strengths of the yeast.
Belgian candi sugar was added during fermentation to bump up the alcohol while allowing the beer to avoid finishing too sweet. The dry finish hides the 10% alcohol nicely and makes you want to take another sip.
This beer is best enjoyed at 50°F to 55°F.
Date Brewed: February 6, 2014
Date Bottled: April 7, 2014
Original Gravity: 1.085
Final Gravity: 1.011
Alcohol: 10.0% ABV
Bitterness: 30 IBU
Malts: Pils, Rye, Wheat, Vienna, Aromatic, Carafoam
Hops: Centennial, Cascade
Yeast: Celis
Divine Reserve No. 13
Belgian Quadrupel
Brewer Stephen Rawlings' Description:
For this Quad, the goal was to go as big as possible while still being as drinkable as any other beer you might pull off the shelf.
The aroma is distinctly Belgian and has a hint of fruit. As with most Belgian beers, the hops are primarily used for bitterness and provide little to no flavor or aroma. We kept the malt bill relatively simple to allow each malt to come through in its own way without getting all muddled together. The caramel and chocolate malts, in particular, work well together and you can taste each of them in the beer. We also added a large amount of Belgian Extra Dark Candi Syrup during fermentation, which darkened the color, imparted dark fruit-like flavors, and boosted the alcohol. Despite its high strength though, the alcohol only comes out as a warmth on the back end but is not over powering. The aftertaste is slightly sweet but also has a dryness that makes you want more.
This beer is best enjoyed at 50°F to 55°F.
Date Brewed: December 19, 2012
Date Bottled: February 27, 2013
Original Gravity: 1.100
Final Gravity: 1.0195
Alcohol: 11.0% ABV
Bitterness: 30 IBU
Divine Reserve No. 12
Old Ale
This beer was inspired by David Rogers’ winning entry in the 2011 Big Batch Brew Bash homebrew competition. The color is orangy amber with a light, creamy head. The nose has rich malt notes and a little alcohol that combines with a spicy hop note to create a complex bouquet. The taste has a spicy, malty beginning that smoothes out into a creamy middle and a warming finish. While this beer is enjoyable now, it is designed to be aged and will shine after a year or more in the bottle. This will allow sherry flavors to develop as the alcohol oxidizes. It is also important to allow this beer to warm up so that all of the flavors emerge and round out the high alcohol level.
We did not filter this beer. When pouring we recommend decanting it, carefully pouring the first 10 or 11 ounces without allowing the sediment to enter the glass. If you want, you can pour the bottom of the bottle into a separate glass, but you will discover that the decanted beer is a little brighter in flavor.
This beer is best enjoyed at 50°F to 55°F.
Cases Made: 3,201 (cases of 12 oz. bottles), 682 (cases of 22 oz. bottles)
Kegs Made: 88 ½ bbls, 90 1/6 bbl, 20 casks
Date Brewed: May 16, 2012
Date Bottled: July 20, 2012
Original Gravity: 1.090
Final Gravity: 1.018
Alcohol: 10.0% ABV
Bitterness: 50 IBU
Divine Reserve No. 11
Double IPA
The color is deep amber with a light, creamy head. The nose starts off with a touch of citrus but then turns decidedly into peaches. The taste starts off with creamy malt resulting from the pale 2 row and caramel malts and Saint Arnold yeast. The hop bitter starts low then builds to a crescendo, but always maintains a balance even in its big finish. The hop flavor continues to be peaches, an interesting manifestation of the Columbus, Simcoe and Centennial hops. This is the first Divine Reserve that we have filtered. This decision was made to make the hop flavors brighter, plus it would have been a bottling nightmare with all the hop bits in it. This beer is best enjoyed at 45° or even a little warmer. Though the recipe and style indicate this beer to be enjoyed fresh, we expect this beer to develop interestingly over the years.
Cases Made: 4,123
Kegs Made: 72 ½ bbls, 80 1/6 bbl, 35 casks
Date Brewed: February 21, 2011
Date Bottled: March 17, 2011
Original Gravity: 1.078
Final Gravity: 1.016
Alcohol: 8.9% ABV
Bitterness: 76 IBU
Divine Reserve No. 10
English Barleywine
Important: let this beer warm to at least 55° before enjoying. With most Divine Reserves, we mention that they should age well. With this one, we are recommending aging it. It should age for 5 to 10 years. This is best done cold. DR10 is a big, strong, spicy barleywine with malt and alcohol dominating and a pleasant hop finish. The aroma has malt and spice from the alcohol. It was brewed with 6 different malts plus brown sugar. Columbus hops were used for bittering and it was finished with US Goldings. It had a very high level of attenuation for this style of beer which is why the aging is so important.
Cases Made: 1,872
Kegs Made: 36 ½ bbls, 40 1/6 bbl
Date Brewed: August 20, 2010
Date Bottled: October 20, 2010
Original Gravity: 1.101
Final Gravity: 1.018
Alcohol: 11% ABV
Divine Reserve No. 9
Imperial Pumpkin Stout
Important: let this beer warm to at least 50° before enjoying. This beer is black with some ruby highlights. The nose is full of pumpkin pie spices and some alcohol. There are notes of nutmeg, caraway and vanilla. The taste starts with chocolate malt with a hint of spice and rolls into a warm spicy alcohol taste which has the effect of creating the balance that usually comes from the hop bitter. There is some hop bitter on the finish, but not much. Overall, this beer finishes relatively dry for such a big beer. As it warms, the spices move forward in the taste and the chocolate moves to the finish. The pumpkin provides a pleasant undertone and a nice mouthfeel. The spices will probably fade some over time; they mellowed considerably while still in the fermenter.
Cases Made: 1,500
Kegs Made: 23 ½ bbls, 20 1/6 bbl
Date Brewed: September 21, 2009
Date Bottled: November 11, 2009
Original Gravity: 1.101
Final Gravity: 1.020
Alcohol: 11% ABV
Divine Reserve No. 8
Scotch Ale
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.
Cases Made: 1,504
Kegs Made: 29 1/2 bbls, 2 1/6 bbl
Date Brewed: July 6, 2009
Date Bottled: August 20, 2009
Original Gravity: 1.091
Final Gravity: 1.024
Alcohol: 9.3% ABV
Divine Reserve No. 7
Weizenbock
This is a dark, slightly chocolatey weizenbock with an undercurrent of bananas and cloves. There is a slight spiciness from the hops and a balanced malt that hides the strength of the beer. It was brewed with Dark Wheat, Light Wheat, Chocolate Wheat, Pilsner, Munich, Special B and Chocolate malts and Northern Brewer hops. We used a traditional Bavarian hefeweizen yeast which gives the beer its distinctive clove and banana character. It is unfiltered. Enjoy at 45°F or warmer. We are curious to see how this beer will age.
Cases Made: 1,245
Kegs Made: 18 half-barrel kegs, 1 slim keg
Date Brewed: July 24, 2008
Date Bottled: September 5, 2008
Original Gravity: 1.075
Final Gravity: 1.019
Alcohol: 8.4% ABV
Divine Reserve No. 6
American Barleywine
This is a big, malty, hoppy barleywine. Yet with all of the intense flavors, they meld together to create a well-balanced big beer. The nose has a strong resiny hop note. The taste starts with a combination of the malty sweetness and spicy hops with both flavors magnified by the high alcohol level. The spiciness carries through the middle and finishes with a satisfyingly dry bitter. It was brewed with 2 row pale, Caramunich and Special B malts with brown sugar added in the kettle and hopped with 225 lbs of Columbus hops including 44 lbs that were dry hopped. We used our Saint Arnold yeast strain which gives a rich, creamy mouthfeel to the brew. It is unfiltered and will clarify with aging. Enjoy at 45°F or warmer. This beer will age well.
Cases Made: 1,172
Kegs Made: 24 half-barrel kegs
Date Brewed: April 21, 2008
Date Bottled: June 4, 2008
Original Gravity: 1.094
Final Gravity: 1.019
Alcohol: 10% ABV
Divine Reserve No. 5
Russian Imperial Stout
This Divine Reserve was inspired by the winning entry of the 2007 Big Batch Brew Bash homebrew competition, brewed by Mike Heniff, a highly decorated local Houston homebrewer.
Russian Imperial Stouts are very big and very black and this one is no exception. DR5 has a rich malty body full of coffee and chocolate flavors and a spiciness derived from the combination of hops and high alcohol. It was brewed with a variety of malts including 2 row pale, crystal, chocolate and roasted barley. It was hopped with Nugget, Willamette and Centennial. We used an American ale yeast to ferment it. It is unfiltered.
Enjoy at 45°F or warmer with some dark chocolate or a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
Cases Made: 1,276
Date Brewed: June 25, 2007
Date Bottled: August 28, 2007
Original Gravity: 1.097
Final Gravity: 1.029
Alcohol: 10% ABV
Divine Reserve No. 4
Wee Heavy
This is a Wee Heavy that one of our brewers has been working on for a couple of years and the final results are well worth the wait.
The color is deep ruby on its way to black with bright clarity (especially considering it is unfiltered) and a thick, tan head. It has a nose of Irish coffee with hints of peat. The body is sweet and creamy--not thin, not heavy. Almost refreshing, if a beer this big can be described as such.
Caramel malt, smoke, coffee and orange come in and out of focus several times as the beer moves across the palate, then it finishes with a light spiciness. We again used our St. Arnold yeast which added a nice layer of complexity to this already multifaceted beer. Enjoy at 45°F or warmer.
Cases Made: 823
Date Brewed: December 20, 2006
Date Bottled: February 20, 2007
Original Gravity: 1.0835
Final Gravity: 1.021
Alcohol: 9.5% ABV
Divine Reserve No. 3
Double IPA
This Double IPA was inspired by David Majoras’ winning entry in the 2006 Big Batch Brew Bash which is held at Saint Arnold’s every year and is the largest single-style home brewing competition in the world.
The grain bill for this beer is Maris Otter, Wheat, Caravienne, Carapils and Dark Crystal. In the kettle, honey and molasses were added to beef up the starting gravity while also making sure that the finished beer was not too heavy.
Then the hops. This beer is really all about the hops. The kettle hops include Chinook, Centennial and Ahtenum. Then the beer was dryhopped with lots of Cascades. The result is a very hoppy, bitter beer, yet the bitter is still pleasant and round, not harsh, which is good because the bitter will last in your mouth for over a minute. If you say “Hallelujah!” after tasting this beer, you may officially call yourself a hophead. We used our house Saint Arnold yeast which gives the beer a little creaminess and aged the beer for just over 2 months. It was packaged unfiltered.
David's Double IPA recipe was entered into the Great American Beer Festival 2006 Pro-Am Competition.
Cases Made: 542
Date Brewed: July 17, 2006
Date Bottled: September 21, 2006
Original Gravity: 1.082
Final Gravity: 1.010
Alcohol: 9.5% ABV
Divine Reserve No. 2
Abbey American Quadruppel
This big beer goes beyond existing styles. It is best described as an Abbey American quadruppel. It was brewed with a combination of Maris Otter, Munich, Victory and Special B malts. This beer is also the first time we have used an adjunct, in this case brown sugar, in the brewkettle. It is hopped with Perle, Liberty and Saaz, going for a pleasant, balancing but not overly aggressive bitter. We then split the wort from the kettle into 2 fermenters, pitching one with an American Ale yeast and the other with a Belgian Trappist yeast. Near the end of fermentation, the tanks were combined to finish out. The beer was conditioned for 12 weeks and then packaged unfiltered.
This beer has a nose of malt, fruit and spice with a light touch of hops. The taste is a combination of malt with a warming alcoholic feel, lots of fruit, light clove and spice and a very pleasant hop bitter. While this beer is ready to be enjoyed immediately, it should develop well in the bottle over time.
Cases Made: 787
Date Brewed: April 26, 2006
Date Bottled: July 18, 2006
Original Gravity: 1.093
Final Gravity: 1.022
Alcohol: 9.3% ABV
Divine Reserve No. 1
Barleywine
This big, barleywine was brewed with pale Maris Otter malt as a base. This was supplemented with Munich and Chocolate malts which gave the beer a very chocolatey flavor in the fermenter although it rounded out considerably by the time it was bottled.
It was heavily hopped in both the kettle (with Northern Brewer and Cascades) and in the fermenter (with Saaz). When tasted in the fermenter, the hops were very aggressive but after two months of aging, they mellowed.
The beer was fermented at 72 F with our Saint Arnold yeast giving the beer a full, creamy mouthfeel with pleasant fruit. This batch was unfiltered which, combined with the high protein Maris Otter malt, makes for a very hazy beer.
The first few cases were packaged without an in-line hop filter which resulted in some hop particulate in those bottles. After about 30 cases (and the bottling line being gummed up), we put the hop filter in-line. This filter is very loose and only removes hop bits. While this beer is ready to be enjoyed immediately, it should develop well in the bottle over time.
Cases Made: 327
Date Brewed: August 18, 2005
Date Bottled: October 17, 2005
Original Gravity: 1.099
Final Gravity: 1.027
Alcohol: 9.3% ABV