Hail Mary Belgian-Style IPA - Cathedral Square Brewery

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

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

A Belgian style inspired by American brewing that’s becoming more popular. Killer suds stickin’ on our glass; hazed amber color. Dry-hopping drops a thick yet soft resin of mint, evergreen, grapefruit and peppercorn in the nose. Some ripe fruit and toasted malt in the aroma as well. A bit slick, with a full body and smooth carbonation. Very hoppy from start to finish—biscuity malt and some caramel sweetness provides a big enough foundation. A bit estery, fruity and spicy in the middle. Hops stick to the palate far into the drying aftertaste. Simply good drinking for hopheads and Belgo-fanatics.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2011 02:28:01 | More by BeerAdvocate

BRD14

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +24.3%

05-11-2013 15:27:42 | More by BRD14

hardrock

Arkansas

3.25/5  rDev -5%

04-27-2013 19:59:22 | More by hardrock

ahentz

Illinois

3/5  rDev -12.3%

03-30-2013 15:15:55 | More by ahentz

vidguy17

Iowa

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

03-30-2013 15:15:28 | More by vidguy17

EvanWilliams

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -5%

12-30-2012 04:37:49 | More by EvanWilliams

OregonGrown7

Nebraska

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

11-18-2012 23:56:55 | More by OregonGrown7

AdamP

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

09-19-2012 01:23:42 | More by AdamP

t0rin0

California

3/5  rDev -12.3%

09-10-2012 01:22:00 | More by t0rin0

PEIhop

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +9.6%

09-09-2012 13:54:14 | More by PEIhop

birchstick

Missouri

3.85/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a yellow color with a huge head on it. Nose consists of fruity hops and yeast and a bit of caramel malts. Taste is similar. Opens up with citrus hops flavors that move on to bitter, sticky pine. The pine is overtaken by some nice fruity grapefruit flavors and a little bit of fruity flavors from the Belgian yeast. Ends bitter and fruit. OVerall, this is a nice Belgian IPA. Hops are crisp, juicy, and bitter and deliver a nice, refereshing beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2012 00:21:54 | More by birchstick

peabody

Kentucky

3.6/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a light hazy amber color with lots of off-white suds. Nice lacing here.
Smell is light belgian yeast notes then sugar finishing with a sharp hop aroma.
Taste is mild belgian ale with all the spices barely showing up then the bitterness comes to light finishing with a piney bitter than sticks with the palate for a good while.
Mouthfeel is just a tad sticky but the bitterness at the end seems to clean all that up and what you are left with is just the hop stickyness.
Overall not a bad beer at all. I would drink this with a meal if I was at a restuarant that had this on the beer menu. Good price too.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2012 13:48:47 | More by peabody

RDW

Nebraska

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%

07-28-2012 02:06:16 | More by RDW

jaminjohnson

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -5%

07-06-2012 06:18:27 | More by jaminjohnson

ggourde

Missouri

1.5/5  rDev -56.1%

06-23-2012 17:28:56 | More by ggourde

TSJ4000

4.6/5  rDev +34.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

What an awesome beer. I totally taste the Belgian yeasty flavors but it has a lot of hops to this beer as well. Very complex and since I found it in Missouri it was cheap. I got a 6er of this for $8.99 and I think that was a great price for this beer. I will look for more of there stuff if available here. I had never really had this style before and i can't think of much like it. It was totally different but cool. PFA. Pretty Freakin' Awesome.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2012 19:33:49 | More by TSJ4000

greg6494

Missouri

4/5  rDev +17%

01-20-2012 15:37:08 | More by greg6494

shanblur

Indiana

3.55/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Purchased in St. Louis, MO. No bottle date. Poured from 22oz bomber into a tulip. A - A vibrant hazy amber color with a thick head which clings to the glass. S - Strong resinous hops aroma and an underlying Belgian yeast component. T - Very hop forward with a bitterness up front which lingers. Some biscuit malt flavors play a minor role. Some Belgian funk as well.
M - Medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation.
A good beer. Lovely appearance. Not as fruity and floral as some Belgian IPA's.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2012 20:05:36 | More by shanblur

scarfield

Nebraska

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

App- Pours a cloudy amber with a ridiculous head on the top in excess of 1.5 inches. Lacing is excellent through the glass.

Smell- Spicy hops come through in the nose, as well as a bit of the yeast coming through. Hints of bubblegum and banana after the hops subside.

Taste- Overall the malt and yeast comes through before the hops. Spiciness in the beginning, and the hops are evident more in the aftertaste than in the taste itself. The hops are citrusy, predominantly grapefruit, but not quite assertive enough for me.

Mouthfeel- Thick, chewy, as mentioned before the beer has a dryness to it.

Overall- one of the best looking beers I've seen. Has everything I look for in a beer, color, head, lacing. There was no date on the bottle, but it seemed to me that maybe the freshness was gone from it, which probably ended up costing the beer points in taste and perhaps mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2012 00:58:58 | More by scarfield

JuicesFlowing

Kansas

3.33/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a New Belgium globe glass. The beer is a deep, dark orange, with a beautiful frothy cream colored head. The head dissipates but leaves a nice layer of random bubbles and a centered group of foam in the center. Nice sticky lacing. when I first opened the bottle, I could have swore I smelled some skunk, but in the glass it's not apparent -- mostly just a faded hop citrus aroma. The taste is of a bitter hop presence, with a touch of pine. It seems musty, faded, or even dull. Mouthfeel is again, sort of faded, it's not tangy or sticky by any means. Overall, I think this beer could have been better, but it just seems pretty bland. It looks good, but otherwise seems average across the board.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2011 20:51:50 | More by JuicesFlowing

FanofHefe

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bomber poured into a Duvel tulip. Thick, creamy, light tan head that has great retention and leaves good lacing. Light orange/amber body that is a little hazy.

Light, earthy hop aroma with a strong, sweet malt aroma following. A little citrus and a little spice.

The spice flavor from the yeast is much stronger than I expected while the hop flavor is understated. Plenty of malt sweetness.

Medium mouthfeel with a crisp finish. Belgian style, for sure. A blend unlike any I can recall that is worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2011 23:12:22 | More by FanofHefe

Tone

Missouri

3.4/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazy, copper color. Two inch head of an off-white color. Great retention and great lacing. Smells of sweet malt, slight citrus, hops, hint of earthy malt, and hint of spice. Fits the style of a Belgian IPA. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp, with a high carbonation level. Tastes of sweet malt, slight earthy malt, hint of roasted malt, citrus hops, and hint of spice. The carbonation level is way too high.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2011 16:39:37 | More by Tone

bnes09

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Brilliant hazy orange with some visible yeast. Mountainous unrelenting head with blanketing patches of lacing. Truly a beautiful brew.

Aroma is fresh with plenty of raw hops and underlying Belgian yeast.

Spicy, pungent hop flavor dominates the taste. Raw pine needles and soap are the predominant flavors. Some bready malt flavor but it is way overpowered. Not too much yeast flavor either.

Medium body. Solid level of carbonation adds to the spiciness. Bone dry finish.

This brew is descent. A little overdone on the hops and could use more malt character to balance. Still pretty drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2011 01:53:38 | More by bnes09

DCon

Missouri

2.85/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Received from Jerad Gardner of the Cathedral Square Brewery when asked which "bomber" I would like to try. I had this one, Iglesia, and their Belgian Style White Ale to chose from. Poured from the 1pt 6oz bottle into my iTap Pint Glass. Does not have a B.O.D. or any best before date on the bottle.

Appearance- A nice dark and hazy amber color body with huge 5 finger head that is extremely frothy. The retention is fantastic and has thick lace on the sides.

Smell- Has a earthy hop and malt scent but everything else is very dull... I was expecting more from this IPA.

Taste- Has more of a malt taste than hops. Once again, not feeling that this should be an IPA. More like a Pale Ale. There is a nice bitterness at the end but this was it.

Mouthfeel- Light-Medium Bodied, Light Viscosity, Leaves the average hop flavor on the palate but nothing crazy.

Overall- I was looking forward to this beer for quite some days now but it let me down a bit. The logo on the front is "turning sinners into saints" and I'm also wondering why this is called Hail Mary IPA? It didn't have as many hops as stated on the front ingredients but might have been due to the extreme amount of malts used. Either way, I wouldn't go out of my way to get this beer again but could be good for other people. When it comes to beer, I just one that I can enjoy every time I have it.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2011 01:10:53 | More by DCon

TheSarge

Illinois

4.05/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Given this brewery another chance, let's see if they piss this one away!

This actually looks quite decent. A nice fluffy three finger thick fluffy pillow of a head of an off white color, and has a murky copper colored body.

Aroma wise it's a bit on the orange rind side along with some floral notes.

Taste wise it's on the grapefruit side with some estery tones from the yeast. A little tart in the end too.

Feels a bit coarse and powdery... Leaves the palate dry in the end. This is the best beer I've had from these guys yet, which isn't saying a whole lot, but I'd buy this beer again.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2011 23:51:27 | More by TheSarge