Town Hall Masala Mama IPA

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

Bottle at the Laid Back Brussels Tasting (Feb 9, 2008)
Clear amber, off-white, fizzy head. Aroma is heavily on the american hops (even quite one dimensional on these) inducing also some flowery aromas. Some malty aromas of caramel are present too. Heavily hoppy bitter, lightly sweet flavour. The flavour is quite heavy on the hops as well, but the balance nor complexity aren’t well looked after. Nice but not great, too one dimensional.

poured from a growler into a pint glass, thanks to LordSloth for the trade (consumed: 2/15/08) A: Pours a beautiful, rich copper with a fast-rising creamy off-white head that lasts forever and a day and immediately begins to leave sticky spiderweb lacing. The beer’s clarity is also worth nothing, I could read a novel through this if I wasn’t so preoccupied with getting it into my belly. S: Mmmm...hops! My best guess is Cascade or Centennial, or a combination of the both of them, as pine & citric grapefruit scents are dominant. Not to be outdone though, there is a very nice cookie/bread malt character here as well. T/M: I was expecting to be smashed in the taste buds with hops right up front, but an unexpected initial burst of sweet bready malts begins the journey, then followed by a smack of bitter citric hops, with a deliciously bitter grapefruit finish. Perfect levels of carbonation make this seem like a cream soda, the oils from the hops coat the tongue and leave your palate wanting more. D: All I will say is that I wish like hell I had this beer available to me 24/7. Highest recommendation.

From a growler shipped over the Atlantic and tasted just in time. Pours dark-amber, looks OK, but the nose is awesome: brown-sugary and floral-hoppy. Sweetish flavor rolls into serious bitterness, which lasts through finish and aftertaste. Some bright floral and citrus notes in there. Damned nice.

Truly a top notch IPA. Of all the times I’ve been to Town Hall and of all the Masala I’ve had over the years, it saddens me to think that I’ve never rated it. Well... here goes. From a freshly filled growler. Excellently balanced. Pine, bitter orange zest is unison with caramel and toasted biscuit malt on the nose and palate. Some cedar, perfume and soap as well. Pours a dark, hazy, thick copper with a head that lasts forever and leaves excellent lacing. Medium to full bodied. Slightly sticky but never cloying. A lasting zesty, bitter finish. This one never disappoints.

From the growler. Pours an amber copper color, with a thick and dense head that cascades upwards for several seconds after the pour is completed. The off-white head sticks around forever and the lacing leaves a series of rings around the glass. Strong pine in the aroma, some citrusy notes, floral hops, caramel. This beer has a strong malt profile which in most other IPAs would be too much competition for the hops, but here the pine resin barrels right through the caramel sweetness and smacks you around. A little orange/grapefruit in the hop profile as well. Really bold and full but still well balanced. The carbonation is perfect here. This is a big IPA but it’s not too syrupy. You’d think there’s more alcohol judging by the big maltiness but it’s a very modest 5.9%. If I hadn’t split the growler with a friend I’m sure I would have no trouble finishing it solo. Top notch IPA.

This was the first of many Town Hall beers I had when I moved to Minneapolis. Poured from a cask: Nice burnt amber color with a nice head and floral citrus aroma. Good balance of flavor, bitter, piny, and sweet up front and a little dry in the finish. This is my pre Twins game warm up bar, it will be a sad day for me when the baseball stadium is built on the other side of downtown.

thanks kajerm. for this growler pour. brown amber hue. minimal head. balanced floral aroma, pretty malty too. flavor is excellent. balanced, not too hoppy bitter. some caramel in aroma. really good. a little flat, but pretty good at this level. i could easily pound a bunch of these. solid.

Clear amber colored beer with long lasting head and decent lace. Beautiful hop aromas, grapefruit, complex array of other citrus fruit, bready, biscuit and caramel malts. Citrus fruits abound, grapefruit and grapefruit pith dominate the hop profile. Medium body, nice even carbonation.Very good, lower ABV and fantastic flavors, supremely hoppy.