Cathedral Square Brewery’s Belgian-style Abbey Ale

I had the distinct pleasure this evening of enjoying a very pleasant ale brewed by the Cathedral Square Brewery.  Cathedral Square is a relatively new brewery and to my knowledge has only four varieties of beer thus far.  But, I suspect they noticed the lack of quality beer coming out of one of America’s beer capitals, St. Louis, and decided to act.  In St. Louis, you have the mega producer, Budweiser, owned by INBev… and Schlafly.  That’s about it, frankly.  With Schlafly signifying the ‘small brewer’ in St. Louis… you have some problems.  Nothing against Schlafly at all, I enjoy many of their beers and their Bottleworks is one of the best places to eat in St. Louis.  But, if you were to pick up Schlafly and put it in Portland, OR, it would be about an average brewery.  If you picked up Schlafly and put it in Wisconsin, it would be a slightly above average brewer in the state.  In steps Cathedral Square.

Cathedral Square's Belgian Style Abbey Ale

Cathedral Square’s bottle first caught my eye.  I passed by the Founder’s and past the Lagunitas in search of a local product.  Just as I was wondering if I’d ever have another decent beer from St. Louis that wasn’t made with rice or that reads Schlafly on the side, I saw the depiction of the new Cathedral in St. Louis.  I was fortunate enough to visit the Cathedral in St. Louis 3 times a week last year for daily mass and saw several concerts there as well including the Canadian Brass.  So, FINALLY, a local product from a small St. Louis brewery.

And it was good too!  Dark amber with a dark beige head, the abbey ale was thick.  5 kinds of malts and 2 kinds of hops, fermented with a Belgian Abbey yeast, which shines through the malt structure.  The highlights were thick caramel and well roasted grain.  Imagine your Mom leaving the pot of caramel on a bit too long and having it get just a little darker than usual.  Put this stuff in a cask and surround yourself with monks and you might very well be in the old country.  This beer, sold in a pint and 6 oz. glass, should be drunk out of a huge mug with friends.  It’s surprisingly bright for its color, has a solid base of malt and is highlighted by just a small burst of hops.

Buy local, drink local.

Cheers and Happy Mother’s Day!