Cathedral Square Hail Mary Belgian IPA

Cathedral Square Brewery
Brewed at Weston Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Saint Louis, Missouri USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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bottle at RBWG supplied by myself-orange hue with a small soaphy whtie head. musty hop nose here-lite green apple-maybe infected but not that bad. some piney hops show up in the flavors along with some melon-ish flavors. somewhat oxidized as well. may need a fresh sample when i go back to st louis. not a bad beer but needs a few tweaks.

Thanks to seymore. Nice amber pour with a light head. A bit cloudy. Great big citrus aroma with plenty of big Belgian yeast aroma. Orange citrus. Quite a bitter brew. Wow. Spice and earthy hops on top of a light Belgian flavored ale. Grain and grass come to mind. Very bitter. Well carbonated, dry mouth feel.

Aroma is floral and pine. Pours a golden Orange with a white head. Taste is floral and yeasty. Pretty good beer.

All of Cathedral Square Brewery’s bottled stuff is brewed in Weston, MO (I would guess draft as well) and has always been (someone needs to update the site). I have kept away from trying their stuff for this very reason. Weston has had a long history of making (really) infected beer but has recently turned things around. However, I stayed away anyway because of low expectations. Out of their lineup I first tried the Imperial Stout because everything came in bombers and I wasn’t willing to waste the energy. While not bad, it did not change my view. However, Cathedral Square released a few beers in 12oz bottles and I thought it is worth the effort. Anyway...

12oz bottle poured into a Blind Tiger Brewery weizen glass. Pours with an orange-amber color range and completely lucid. Aroma is muddled bitter hops breaking through a similarly muddled malt character. Flavor follows suit its almost completely an IPA centered on bitter hops that standout among the blah, discombobulated malt profile.

Bottom Line: unimaginative IPA with a faux Belgian aspect. Its just bitter hops. This would have been interesting in the early 90’s, now its just trite and messy.

Seymour sent me this here bottle. Thanks!

The beer pours basically red, on the verge of an orange color, the beer is very hazy and had a huge loose white head that left some lacing on the glass.

The aroma has some cooking spice, celery salt, pine, and pineapple.

The flavor is very woody and faintly bitter with some good bit of spiciness. The dryness is particularly charming but I don’t know how taken I am with the hop character. The beer is mildly fruity and the alcohol is well hidden.

Not bad beer per say, but it’s just sort of not featuring either the hops or the yeast particularly greatly.

22 ounce shared with wife. Big fruit body that speaks to problems for IPA. No Belgian yeast flavor going on. A miss.

Bomber. Pours orangey golden with a largish white head. Aroma and flavor are much more IPA than Belgian. Hops are earthy and resinous -- fairly bitter. Belgian element is very mild -- just a touch of citrus, floral, funk. Fizzy carbonation. Not bad, particularly for the price.

This beer has a strong hop flavor, but not a lot of depth. Pours very clear with 2 finger head.

UPDATED: APR 30, 2012 Tasted from bottle into pint glass. Poured a mostly clear amber-copper color with chill haze and extremely vigorous off-white foam, long-lasting with decent Belgian lace. I’d say the appearance of this beer surpassed it’s aroma and flavor. Aroma was hoppy, of course, but mediocre varieties. Flavors of a typical American amber ale: decent malt-sweetness and body but nothing extremely distinct or complex. Overall, a strange balance. This whole imaginary "Belgian IPA" category is so trendy right now, but I never really know what they’re going for. Is it supposed to be a historically accurate Belgian or Abbey style except hoppier? No, this brewer’s interpretation is apparently a generic American IPA with a Belgian style fermentation. That’s fine, but they ended up with something blah for a Belgian and blah for an IPA. I was glad to split a bottle with a friend, but won’t be buying again.

A foamy off-white head with a cloudy orange color. The aroma is interesting, with a bit of orange peel and the Belgian yeast. The flavor is a not super hoppy, with some citrus and a lot of yeast in the aftertaste. The body is interesting, slightly fizzy with a long finish.

22oz bomber from Pick’s poured into a Shaker. Pours a cloudy orange with a half finger of frothy white head. Aroma of citrus and pine hops. Taste is medium bitter. Not much citrus but heavy on the pine. A good bit of coffee malt on the finish as well. Medium bodied with a creamy yet slick texture. Lively carbonation and a long bitter finish. Overall, pretty good. A lot better than I thought it would be at 3 bucks a bottle. There are better beers out there but this one is very good for the price.