Belgian-Style Abbey Ale - Cathedral Square Brewery

BryanCarey

Texas

3.99/5  rDev +14%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Copper/brown in color with a completely clear body, this beer has a nose that offers such aromas as plum, caramel, and figs. The beer leaves some good lacing on your glass as you drink and its appearance is certainly indicative of a quality product.

This beer has an interesting flavor profile, with tastes of bready malt, a touch of sourness, plums/prunes, yeast, caramel/toffee, herbal notes, and even a little bit of smokiness. It is certainly a complex beer with many different flavors fighting for recognition.

Cathedral Square certainly has an interesting product here. There is a candy- like component to the taste and the complexity doesn’t quit. It isn’t a session beer for these and other reasons, but that should take nothing away from the tasting experience. I liked it more and more with each passing sip and I recommend seeking it out.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2013 04:52:39 | More by BryanCarey

soju6

Missouri

3.73/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a deep reddish-brown with a decent head and nice lacing.

A: Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, dark fruits with a bit of coffee and spice.

T: Taste is a blend of roasted malt, chocolate, dark fruit and some spice. Mild bitterness in the background and a clean finish.

F: Medium body, smooth and quite creamy. Nicely balanced.

O: Good drinker. Solid offering from a local brewer.

Serving type: bottle

07-06-2012 13:33:00 | More by soju6

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

4.22/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine Issue #54 (July 2011):

Brewed with an authentic Trappist yeast. The lacing is simply amazing; light haze in the reddish brown color. Brown bread, mango, plum pudding, banana taffy and some lemongrass all make for a complex nose. Toasty and sweet maltiness plays off the palate very well; well-rounded smoothness and a creamy medium body adds to the drinkabil- ity. Kiss of alcohol is clean with a small hit of dried fruit. Hints of spice and herb in the semidry finish. Someone did their research here—we closed our eyes and thought we were in a café in Belgium.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2011 02:26:08 | More by BeerAdvocate

bnes09

Illinois

3.03/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Dark copper color. Ivory head, good retention and excellent lace film.

Yeast aromas, mostly musty and stale. No caramel or biscuit character.

Some buttery biscuit notes in the taste. Sweet caramel is there yet weak. Not much hop flavor. A hint of cider spice. Odd musty yeast aftertaste.

Full in body, descent carbonation, semi-coarse texture.

Ok but a little rough around the edges. So far, this brewery has not impressed me much. Maybe it will just take time for them to refine their recipes.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2011 16:06:13 | More by bnes09

TheWhiskerReview

Tennessee

3.3/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a brilliant garnet with a 1.5 finger head. Reduces to a .5 finger layer of retention- rich soapy lace.

Nose is rather simple for a Belgian Abbey, but the aromas of caramel, prunes and spices are very pleasant.

On the palate, the malt is rather moderate and weak in flavor allowing a lot more of the spiciness to shine- flavors of black pepper, clove, caramel and a touch of chocolate.

Overall, I wasn't too terribly impressed, but I certainly wasn't upset in any way at all either. There definitely needs to be more malt, but the beer was very drinkable. This seems to be a pretty fresh brewery, and the fact that their bombers retailed 2 for $7 makes me think that they are fully aware that they have lots of room to grow. I wish them all the best.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2011 19:26:33 | More by TheWhiskerReview

TheSarge

Illinois

2.45/5  rDev -30%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured this one into a Chimay chalice. Hopefully I didn't desecrate my glass!

Pours decently with a finger thick tan head, and has a cloudy dark caramel colored body.

The aroma is earthy, fig, and a hint of metallic hops character.

This brew has some of the traits of sour Belgian yeast, a dark cracker approach, and a hint of a fruitiness I can't pin down.

Powdery and dry to the middle and leaves the palate moist.

Overall a step in the right direction, but needs more malt backbone. Improve upon this, and it may eventually become worthy in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2011 23:13:53 | More by TheSarge

GossageBrewery

Missouri

3.5/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22 oz bottle, into a pint glass. It poured a clear reddish amber color. It produced a decent white head, and head retention was very good. Above average amount of lacing. The aroma was earthy, burt malt and toffee. The beer was medium in body. Well carbonated. The taste was malty and dominated by an earthy toffee taste and it finishes slightly sweet and has a bit of a bitter hop flavor. Interesting beer. By far my favorite beer from Cathedral Square.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2011 02:37:04 | More by GossageBrewery

orsulacp

Pennsylvania

3.28/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Slightly cloudy brown with hints of orange under a creamy off white head. There is a metallic smell, with some roasted malts and a little yeasty musty smell. The taste has a nice heavy malty nuttiness, a little woody bitterness, and a hint of dark fruit like a plum. It has a heavy mouthfeel with tight carbonation, fairly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2011 04:44:13 | More by orsulacp

meatmallet

Illinois

2.68/5  rDev -23.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: Even with an aggressive pour I get a small white head which dissipates quickly. Dark amber body.

Smell: Earthy and slightly sweet. Plum and fig are the strongest on the nose with some caramel and molasses.

Taste: Its a bit odd. Starts sweet and finishes sourish and bitter with an almost piney hop flavor. More malt than anything and the fruits from the nose are barely detectable.

Mouthfeel/drinkability: Medium to light bodied with rather high carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2011 02:58:32 | More by meatmallet

jar2574

Missouri

3.43/5  rDev -2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Brown color, very thin head, decent lacing. An average looking beer. Smells pleasant, smells sweet with a touch of a fruit like cherry. Taste: Very light on hops, heavy on maltiness, a touch of honey and cherries. I think the mouthfeel is a little too watery for this sort of beer, there's not enough heft to the beer. But it's pretty enjoyable and easy to drink. It reminded me more of a brown ale than a Belgian ale.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2010 22:43:50 | More by jar2574

Zundo

Kansas

3.65/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Amber in color medium/heavy body with one-finger tan head that dissipates quickly.

Smell: very sweet and Figy. Bready toffee malts.

Taste: Toasted toffee malt it is a bit odd really

Mouthfeel: smooth and frothy

Drinkability: Easy drinking beer. The taste leaves a little to be desired.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2010 02:08:00 | More by Zundo

JoEBoBpr

Missouri

3.05/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a 22oz bomber into a snifter.

A - Pours a very light brown with some nice reddish and amber hints. A thin .25 inch off-white head forms that is dense but recedes quickly. It recedes down to a thin film.

S - Nice toasty, bready and sweet malt aromas are present in the nose. Some mild toffee and caramel in the nose as well as slight spices such as cinnamon.

T - Starts of with nice bread hints and then becomes sweet malt. The sweet toffee and caramel malt flavor is very present as well as some prunes. There is very little in the way of hops and the malt although sweet lacks something. There are very little phenols.

M & D - Mouthfeel is medium bodied with some fluffy CO2 but not as complex as expected. Drinkability is low on this one not a winner in my book.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2010 01:24:12 | More by JoEBoBpr

Tone

Missouri

3.6/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear, dark amber color. One and one quarter inch head of an off-white color. Great retention and decent lacing. Smells of sweet malt, dark citrus, alcohol, earthy malt, slight citrus, and slight hop. Broadly the style of a Belgian Dark Ale. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp with an average carbonation level. Tastes of earthy malt, hint of butter, slight roasted malt, slight hop, and a hint of citrus. Overall, good complexity, good aroma, but the earthy notes dominate near the end.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2010 20:54:18 | More by Tone

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.35/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours out a clear, darkened amber body with a fine layering of beige foam on top.

Smell: Lightly sweet-scented, toasted malts team up with juicy, plum-like esters and spicy, clove-scented phenols.

Taste: Toasty, bread maltiness given a thin crust of sweet candi sugar. Carryover of the ripe dark fruitiness from the nose. Minor bitterness. Things soon dry out as the phenols and alcohol take charge. Slight kick of peppery alcohol. Meager amount of enduring maltiness on the dry, clove-packed finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-light carbonation.

Drinkability: Certainly a noble effort from a relatively new brewery, but it falls a bit shy of the mark. I'd say it could benefit from a little boost in the body and carbonation. Still, it's by no means a bad beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2010 16:30:17 | More by ChainGangGuy

birchstick

Missouri

3.63/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - pours a brownish red with a creamy .5 finger head

S - figs, spice, toasted and chocolate malts

T - taste follows the nose, but not as strongly. There is a nice blend of darker fruits and chocolate and toasted malts. Not a ton going on, but enough to make it enjoyable.

M - medium bodied and creamy. Pretty good mouthfeel

D - I took down the bomber in relatively easy fashion - nice session beer. This was a solid introduction to Cathedral Square. This was a good Abbey Ale, one that I will visit again.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2010 22:14:34 | More by birchstick

zeff80

Missouri

3.58/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This is a very interesting brew. I jotted down my notes then looked at the other 4 reviews and realized that none of us got the same experience.

A - The name had me thinking dubbel, but when I poured it into my snifter I realized it was too dark to be a dubbel. It has a very dark cola-brown color with a tan, two-finger head of fluffy foam.

S - The aroma was malty, earthy and a little smoky. That really had me confused. I don't know of too many smoked Belgians.

T - Tasted smoky and of burnt toast maltiness. There was a earthy/herbal hop bite. Definitely some Belgian yeastiness, though.

M -It was crisp and sharp with a dry finish. A medium to full bodied beer.

D - Intriguing, to say the least. Listed as a Belgian dark ale works I guess, because it's not a dubbel or a Belgian strong ale. The smoky character is truly unique in a Belgian styled brew.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2010 02:36:18 | More by zeff80

1fastz28

Illinois

3.73/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Got this at one of my favorite local bars and it's pretty rare I see a beer I'm not familiar with, so I had to give it a try. Pours a deep red copper color with a decent head that laces a bit, smell is like a rich biscuity maltiness, it is similar to fat tire in a lot of ways. Taste is similar too, doesn't really taste like a true Belgian ale, but more like a red ale, doesn't make it a bad beer just IMHO not a true Belgian style.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2010 02:56:48 | More by 1fastz28

wnh

Missouri

3.53/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a bronze-tinted mahogany, clear, topped by a tan head.

Malty notes of caramel and molasses on the nose, followed by a light green apple fruitiness. Fruitier on the palate, but still malt-forward, again showing caramel and molasses, yet with a walnut note mid-palate. Finishes moderately dry with a yeasty twang.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2010 18:07:22 | More by wnh

cavedave

New York

3.9/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to jdskinns for another Midwest gem.

Pours a surprisingly clear reddish brown, with a thick shimmery look, topped thinly by bare whisps of beige foam, finally a thinnest ring and clear top.

The smell is full of tart and estery yeast, light spice, hints of overripe plum, toasted bread, with a light hint of candy sugar.

It has a medium taste, starring the yeast in its tangy and fruity way. The malt bill gives it a fullness in the mouth which helps the light flavors work in the blend, with caramel, toast, and fig joining the party. There's a light bitter herbal hop flavor at finish, but it doesn't overpower the finish, and some of the malty flavors stay. Nice flavors, nice taste.

Very low carb. Stepping it up a touch would help this beer. Not as viscous as some in this vague style/category, but it works with the flavor profile, and gives it a refreshing dimension. Nice juicy finish.

Drinkability is good, a tasty, interesting, refreshing brew

Impression: Not bad, I guess I have easy access to crazy amounts of finest belgian styles beers and judge this one harshly. Wouldn't seek it out, but don't pass it by.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2010 10:14:45 | More by cavedave

brownbeer

Missouri

3.43/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I've never heard of these guys before but we got in a couple of sample bombers today.

Pours clear, reddish-brown with a tan head.

Kind of an unusal aroma, evergreen, Belgiany spice, and some fruity esters as it warms.

The taste as a bit more of the tree needles and fruity Belgian yeast. If it just had some more hops it would be more like a brown ale. I'll take New Belgium for half the price.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2010 23:53:53 | More by brownbeer