Town Hall Masala Mama IPA

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

On tap at the brew pub. Nice floral, piney, citrusy aroma. It was a little too bitter for my taste.

Growler. Pours a rich amber, with a very light head sitting right on top. Color made me anticipate a decent malt backdrop to this IPA. Floral nose with fresh fruit. Flavor is most certainly hoppy with some residual bitterness in the finish. Tons of fruit at the end as well in conjunction with the piney grapefruit upfront. Malt backbone not as sturdy as perceived but suffient to support this very nice IPA.

Had this on ecask a few times. Lots of floral and citrus hops. I got a lot of floral piney hops flavours with only some citrus like ones. The flavours meld well together and the palate on this is heavenly. A great standard IPA, made to, what I think, is what the style originall was.

At the pub, hand-pulled. Beautiful looking, amber with nice hand-pulled head. The aroma is loaded with floral and citrus hops. The flavor is quite citrusy throughout with a very good malt backbone which leads to a wonderful palate. A damn fine IPA, if only more could be like this.

On tap at the brewpub. Enjoyed both a draft and a cask pull while visiting the brewpub. Ruddy-amber colored pour with a tall serving of creamy beige head. Tantalizing aromas of ruby red grapefruit hops are balanced out by some strawberry and raspberry fruity dimensions, as well as a pleasant honey sweetness. Rich, creamy, resinous, medium bodied mouthfeel. The fruity hop dimensions are mellowed out by a tasty green pepper spice and some woody coconut bark. The fruity red fruits and some orange tones sweeten up the palate a bit, but the citrusy grapefruit notes are plentiful enough to quench my hop craving. Well balanced, multi-dimensioned, tasty IPA overall.

Special thanks to PBR advocate Nathan "Nate-Dog" Droste for picking me up a couple of growlers when he went to visit his sister in Minneapolis. You rock, dude. Day-old Grolwer. Excellent pour. Very dark for the style, like overbrewed tea. Dark orange on top, lighter near the middle. Sun sparkles through. Ahh…midday Sunday. Huge foamy white spiderweb head. It dies down to a respectable quarter inch that sticks around for the duration of the pint and leaves great lacing behind. Smells like citrus hops and a solid malt background. Resinous, pine and orange, bitter. It’s good, but not particularly strong or complex for an American IPA. Taste hits you like a jackhammer. Intensely bitter hops start with pine, move into flowers, then grapefruit and orange, get a kick of sweet near the middle, and end on an absolutely perfect caramel malt finish. Like a good translation of a Greek poem: to the point, brisk, and perfectly balanced. You’re amazed that something says so much in so short a time. I’ve had bigger, hoppier pale ales. But those rarely come close to this. Its perfect taste comes from its balance. Truly a wonderful beer.

Cask at the brewery. Dark Amber with small white head. with Aroma of pine, citris, orange. Taste is basically the same. Nice easy bitter end. Solid IPA.

Tap at brewpub. Nose-yup, it’s an IPA. PNW hops all the way through. Good use of hops plays off of the big malt backbone very well. Not bad at all, but just another standard IPA. Good lasting head.