Town Hall Masala Mama IPA

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

Well balanced IPA. Some sticky and sweetness. Taste of fruit. Orange hue. Enjoyable.

Growler pour at RBSG Grad Tasting 09. Smells of peppery hops, tart malt and mineral water. Flavor puts a huge vaporous hopping on your tongue like the effect of Drakes 1500. Body is a big tart malty bite that avoids biscuity very well. Sort of absent on fruit, and feels bigger than 6%.

Growler at PPRBSG09. Orange pour waith creamy white head and lace. Very evergreen/grapefruit aroma. Apples caramel malt and a very nice finishing bitter. An evergreen/citrus flavor as well. Medium bodied with damn good carbonation.

Original review date 5/30/2009... Growler with BBD 6/4 . Poured into the Duvel tulip...cap pops with a nice little fizz.... Pours a honey/butterscotch/copper/bourbon color with a sourdough/eggshell head - about 1 finger that drops down to about ½. Decent lacing...a little chill haze on the body. Sparse carbonation rises with moderate speed. Lots of hops...Nugget/Amarillo/Chinook? I dunno, but it’s fresh and absolutely wonderful. Very nice bitterness here. Quite subtle, but quite clean. Malt is there too - a little spicy caramel here. Light-bodied and very enjoyable. This is a little different. It’s not a caricature grapefruit hop bomb like many other IPAs (not that there’s anything wrong with that), although the Beautiful Bride does note that it’s like drinking a fresh clean grapefruit with a little Sprite-ly character. It’s clean, it’s refreshing and the balance on this is absolutely huge. The hops show off more than grapefruit citrus...there’s flora...a little pine...it tastes like very fresh pellet hops or hop oils. The malt is mild in the balance with a slight caramel hint. This doesn’t rate high for an overpowering taste; it’s simply extremely even-keeled. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with how this hits the palate. Hop character with a little pucker? Yup. Solid malt backbone that’s not heavy? Sure thing. Clean finish with no aftertaste? Oh yeah. Maintains its bountiful yet balanced character throughout, leaving an extremely fulfilling and long finish behind? Uh huh. This is one I didn’t expect to experience for a very long time. Trading is a thing of beauty. KeefD - thanks much. And this deal drinks so cleanly it’s not funny, but it reminds you there is some meat on the bone. This growler doesn’t have much of a life expectancy at the moment and I fully intend to induce and enjoy every bit of its rapid demise. Another note: This is not a great beer because it overpowers the senses like a sledgehammer; it’s good because it’s extremely well-constructed, balanced, clean and a full-bodied pleasure to enjoy. I had similar sentiments with a reasonably fresh bottle of Ithaca TEN; this even more so. Something to sit back and enjoy without full frontal assault. So well done. This is indeed the Little Black Dress of IPAs.

Gowler into pint glass thanks to Skinnyguy. Thanks man!! Great copper body with a bit of a red hue with a very appealing creamy white head holding very nicely on top. (after nearly an entire growler, I mist say, this bad boy leaves some great lace!). Aroma is all juicy hops, mostly citrus like grapefruit, lemon, and lime. The more I sniff, the more piney hops I pick up too. Flavor has more of a malt presence than the aroma, but is still all about the hops. Outstanding balance. Dry biting (but not overly so) finish. Soo smooth and drinkable. Medium body with the perfect amount of carbonation. Feels like a cask ale on tap!!! Overall: the perfect session IPA, and the perfect beer to turn timid beer drinkers onto hops (plenty of flavor without the aggression that some find off-putting). Outstanding.

Golden amber, hop nose, hop central. Super bitter, very spicy. a crazy beer. medium body, super bitter finish.

Growler at PPRBSG09. Mmm, mmm... good. Deep amber with a thick white head. Loads of rich sweet hoppiness. Citrus and grapefruit and pine. There is a chewy malt back note. Sweet and fruity with loads of hop flavour even if the bitterness is pretty moderate. Solid brew.

On Tap 06/15/2009 Clear amber color with moderate white head. Distinct, pleasant aroma of citrus, pine with slight caramel malt notes. Well-balanced and crisp finish. One of the better IPAs - cheers!