Schlafly Culinaria Holiday Ale - The Saint Louis Brewery, Saint Louis

This Schlafly beer is a limited edition holiday release that is that coincides with the opening of a new downtown grocery store in St. Louis called Culinaria. As the story goes, this beer was originally brewed by one of Schlafly's employees to be served at his wedding. The beer was such a big hit with one of the higher ups at Schnuck's that a second run of this beer was commissioned to commemorate the opening of Culinaria. There were only a limited number of these Culinaria Holiday Ales bottled so I leapt at the chance to pick up a bottle when I was in Saint Louis recently. I'm a big fan of Schlafly's Christmas Ale so I'm excited to get to try a rarer bottle of their limited edition Holiday Ale.

Schlafly's Culinaria Holiday Ale didn't disappoint at all. This beer has an amazing aroma, it smells like a sour brown ale with hints of tart cherry and sour apple. That aroma carries through to your palate when you take a drink. You'll notice a lot of malt up front with a little kick of warm alcohol. I was a little surprised how much alcohol flavor was in this beer considering that it's only 8% ABV. It's not like 8% is a weak beer but with all the cherries and apple in this beer I didn't expect the booziness to be so up front.

This beer has a real mellow finish, there is no abrasive tartness or bitter hops in this beer. The Culinaria Holiday Ale was a little thinner than I'd expected but the texture is great, nice and smooth. This beer coats your palate with a warm tartness that puts your lips on the verge of puckering up.

Schlafly's Culinaria Holiday Ale is a fantastic beer with a great taste. It's festive but tastes like you could enjoy this any time of the year. If you're within a days drive of St. Louis you owe it to yourself to find a bottle of this beer before it's too late.