Town Hall Masala Mama IPA

Brewed by Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA

Not sure who gave me a hefty sampling from the growler, but, thanks my friend.
It poured an amber body with a fairly dense white head. Good sturdy PNW aroma of pine, grapefruit, zest, and other citic bitterness. A solid caramel sweetness in the flavor provides a sturdy backbone for the strong hoppy flavors and bitterness that take over midpoint and linger long into the finish. Nice.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/events-detail.asp?eve Lord Day 2008 at Three Floyds, Munster, IN, 4/26/2008.<font size=-1>

sampled on dark lord day 2008. pours amber color, nice tan head. citrus. grapfruit aroma. creamy caramel in the flvor, followed by bitter hops and citrus. not bad, but this is my favorite style, so i am bound to like it. a respectable attempt.

Growler. Pours amber with a thick white head. Strong pine hops in the aroma. Flavor has quite a bit of caramel up front, with some bitter pine hops in the background. A touch of citrus rounds it out. Finishes bitter. Very drinkable!

From a growler. Clear light brown with a beige head. Nose is orange, toffee and pineapple. Crisp and refreshing. Carb married perfectly to the smooth body with a touch of resin. Taste is floral orange, honey, caramel and grapefruit peel. A lovely sweet citrus that fades to a soft bitterness. Beautiful.

64oz Growler I’m getting the chance to try this thanks to a great trade with mully, thanks Matt! Masala Mama pours a slighty hazy copper with streams of carbonation bubbles rising to the surface. That carbonation helps keep the incredibly dense sticky head going throughout the session. Two fingers worth of off white head was produced on the pour and quickly became meringue like and left great webbed lacing. This is the best lacing I’ve come across in quite some time! Biscuity and caramel malts greet the nose right up but an earthy citric hoppiness quickly comes forward. Sweetened grapefruit and orange pith are the culprits. Combined with the dry biscuitiness the hopping makes for an enjoyable nose for sure. Each swirl of the glass brings alive the aroma. When colder there’s a buzzsaw of bitter sprucey hoppiness right down the middle of the tongue, which is actually how I prefer things. As it warms the caramel and biscuity malts catch up to the hoppy bitterness and bring a bit more balance. The spucey, risinous hoppiness does try and run roughshod but the malt just barely holds on. I wasn’t expecting such a hop blast and I’m glad I got it. This is my style of IPA without a doubt! The body is medium in viscosity and the carbonation gives a light texture on the tongue. The carbonation seems pretty lively in the mouth and awakens the tastebuds which seems to intensify the hoppy bitterness. This IPA goes down without a problem. Big on flavor with a low enough abv to enjoy all night long. I can’t remember coming across a beer in this abv range with such a bold bitterness. Masala Mama is, without a doubt, a very well crafted beer. I actually prefer it colder than usual. This helps the bitter hoppiness come through boldly compared to when it warms and a caramel earthy maltiness make more of a play. 3/29/08

Growler from tytoanderso, enjoyed at An Evening with Pantanap #4. Pours a clear copper color with a white head. Fresh hop nose. Grapefruit, lemons, and pine. Flavors were similar with a little tropical fruit thrown in the fruit salad. The sweetness is balanced with perceived hoppiness from the flavors but not much bitterness. I’d like to see the Imperial version of this. Tasty beer though.

Growler from BDR drank while watching a Cubs game. Pours copper with a creamy whipped off white head. Think lace left down my glass. Really big aroma of pine and grapefruit. A little bit milder flavor that the nose would indicate. Still great pine/grapefruit flavors along with some nice Munich-ish malt character. Medium body. A little oily. The finish wants to be sweet, but is smacked down to size by an enjoyable bitterness. Wow. Thanks a million for this, Brad. I’ll be shipping the growler back for a refill!!!

growler from tytoanderso shared at P4. Thanks Tyler! pours amber with white head. a piney and grassy hop aroma. grapefruit and piney hop flavors. i was expecting a bit more bitterness. a tad watery. seemed more like an overly hoppy APA to me but not quite IPA standards.