Town Hall Masala Mama IPA

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

Perfect deep amber/bronze color, a great, milk-shakey froth, with tapioca-esque bubbling, atop. Aroma: intense citrus, grapefruit, pineapple, and pine, sharp, lively, and highly appealing hoppiness, all from Cascade, by the way. It's a powerful and potent nose, and I like to drink it in more, before I start to sip. Hops are the main ingredient on board the palate, of course, bitter, yes, but ever-so-tasty, and it's all over the mouth. Medium body, impressive mouthfeel, never-ending hop presense, just enough malt to back it up, with a long, sticky, delicious finish. Mmmm! The Mama gives and gives and asks little in return but your gratitude and appreciation, and that you return to drink of her again, not a hard promise to keep, I assure you. My favorite beer, one I've grown to adore over the years and return to again and again. Hopheads of the world, Minneapolis beckons!

In short: An incredibly intense “small” IPA focussing of intense foresty dry bitterness. Very tasty dry. A fantastic beer. My desert Island American hops fix.
How: Growler, a million thanks to oakbuff (Scott) for this unexpected gem. Drank fresh the day I received it
The look: Clear shinning golden copper body topped by a medium off-white head
In long: Enchanting strong nose of resinous and foresty hops. A very big body for such a small IPA. The toasty caramelized malts sweetness are quickly taken over by a very tasty intense bitterness and a surprisingly dry finish. Very resinous with coniferous bark. The pine tree flavour is very dry and feels like chewing on dried pine needles with the juice sucked out. Very light on the fruity side with only hints of dried fruit peels (orange, citrus). A little fluffy and dusty. The dryness of this IPA is off the chart. This beer is more intense than most 9% Imperial IPAs but is more refreshing and highly drinkable. Clearly one of the best hop-fix I’ve ever had and without any doubt the best below 7% hop-fix I have had. It may not have the intensity of the best IIPAs out there (Dreadnaught, etc.) but I cannot think of an American (I)IPA I’d like to drink more often. As much as I love the stronger IIPAs if I had to chose only one American hoppy beer to drink for the rest of my life it would be this one. Hence the perfect score. Too bad it’s only available on tap. Growlers are expensive to ship and shipping price from USA is proportional to the weight. It’s a good thing for Americans that this pricing rule doesn’t apply to plane tickets.

Sampled on-cask at the brewery on July 3rd, 2005... On my visit to the legendary Town Hall Brewery, I was expecting nothing short of the best from this beer. IPAs are my favorite style, so I figured I had better try the beer some label as the "best" IPA in the world. Well, I can honestly say that after trying it, it set the bar....and set the bar pretty damn high. I was lucky enough to sample this legendary concoction in it’s purest form...on-cask, at the brewery. Also, considering the ridiculous hype that surrounds this beer, I was amazed with how impressed I really was. Out of the hand-pump, the bubbles cascade beautifully up & down in the hazy orange brew. When it finally settles down, the head sits proudly atop a beer that essentially looks like perfection in a glass. The aroma from this brew is incredible...as rich and aromatic as any IPA I’ve ever had. The lacing is the best I’ve seen on a beer to date..entire rings of sticky lacing form on every sip...I’ve never seen anything quite like it before. Then there’s the taste..how many hop varieties they use, I do not know...but whatever the recipe is, I want it. Not too bitter, not too sweet..just perfectly well-balanced and smooth. I’m sure being on-cask helped with the smoothness, but I’ve never had a beer that went down as good as this one did. It’s just a damn good thing I don’t live in Minneapolis, that’s all I have to say.

On tap. The aroma is floral and piney. Dominated by hops, this is truly one of the best IPA’s I’ve ever tried. Very easy going down. Nice job, Town Hall!

When poured it has a cloud, not unlike a guiness, then it becomes crisp with a great foamy head that doesn’t fall and a lacing that’s unbelieveably stuck. It has a golden orange color. The smell is strong and elegant with fruity tones. The malty tones are creamy and soft. The smell is very strong. The taste is creamy and flavorful, bready and fruity with a hoppy aftertaste that isn’t invasive. I tasted a little wateryness, but unsure if that’s just a cask conditioned ale. The mouthfeel is unbelievable, it’s smooth and creamy like silk, just great. I would definetly drink this once a week if I had the chance, but there are not many beers I could have everyday.

From the Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery located in the Twin Cities, this growler came to me via BA feloniousmonk. The seal had obviously held up, as the beer came out with a nicely swirling fine carbonation forming a lace bearing eggshell white head, which was thin, but rich. The beer itself was rather clear, with an attractive copper amber color, which was a shade darker than the run of the mill IPA. The aroma was very good at the time of the pour, and got better as the beer warmed up. The smell was that of flowery, spicy, and citric hops, that were strong without being over the top. The sweet honeysuckle smell of the underlying malt base was permitted to shine through faintly as well.

Taste was unabashedly bitter and peppery with no qualms about the hyper hopped nature of the drink. The malts were caramel, and only there to prop up the hop fireworks going on in my mouth. I love when a brewer self assuredly brews a beer to take its rightful place in the world, and this is a mighty example of this. The soft tropical mouthfeel, dry palette, and leafy bitter aftertaste, all go on paint a cohesive and harmonious picture. I no longer thought a single IPA could wow me, but this one does. Utterly spectacular.

Originally reviewed back on 3/30/04. Received 4.85 score. Added to my RB list to check "Minnesota" as a beer state consumed. Growler trade(s) with Al (who else?) many times over the years. Solid hop bomb with hop oils and resins and juicy fruitiness dripping from the glass. Solid copper coloring and healthy head. Smells absolutely stunning. A favorite of mine. The hype is worthy.

I had this at a tasting I blindly stumbled upon over the labor day weekend. This was poured from half gallon growler into a wine tasting glass. The color was a nice rich amber with a very decent head and carb bubble. The nose was staggeringly good. The hops came through piney and earthy with a citrusy grapefruit background. I had to actually stop myself from smelling it to taste it. The flavor matched the nose very well. The piney hop took center stage, supported with a sweet grapefruit backdrop. The hop flavor didn’t linger, but instead, the aftertaste was sweet and mellow. This was a thick feeling beer, but just about where I wanted it for what it is. Unfortunately for me, I was actually dressed for and on my way to a wedding so I only had the one small sample glass, but I could easily have taken the growler with me and sat in the back of the church annointing myself with this most holy beverage. I am going to have to try and get a growler of this sometime.