Masala Mama
Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery

Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery
 
Minnesota, United States
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #35
ABV:
6%
Score:
96
Ranked #1,158
Avg:
4.31 | pDev: 9.05%
Reviews:
688
Ratings:
1,411
Status:
Active
Rated:
Wednesday at 11:46 PM
Added:
Jan 01, 2003
Wants:
  867
Gots:
  92
American IPA brewed using Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial and Mt. Hood hops. A beer with crisp hop flavor and bitterness well balanced with American malt sweetness.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Dantes:
Photo of Dantes
Reviewed by Dantes from New Jersey

4.63/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Package: 64 oz. screwtop Town Hall growler. Dated best by 8/23 (7 days from fill date I believe) and consumed 8/20 and 8/21.

Cost: Acquired via trade. Thanks Truthbrew, I still owe you!

Presentation: Shaker pint at ~50º

Appearance: Promised great things. Poured a lovely ruddy, orange-amber. Reminded me quite a bit of Celebration. The 2" ivory head was supertight and sticky. If I hadn’t been warned, it would have overflowed the lip. Very fine, active carbonation suffused the body, which was hazy with fine particles in suspension. Fine, heavy lace.

Smell: Begins to fulfill the appearance’s promise. Strongly piney, with some citrus and floral top notes. Still, not overwhelmingly astringent or sharp. I don’t get much malt or toastiness in the nose.

Taste: The long-awaited moment! My first impression is that this beer is remarkably sweet (not in a cloying way) and smooth. Then the hops jump out, tingling the palate and tongue, almost like it’s mentholated. This seduces first and bites second. The malts, not apparent at first in the nose, make their presence felt here. They provide just the roundness that the hops need to really sing. It's interesting to me that some people think this is super-hoppy and others say it's not as hopped as some monster IPA's. I think this dichotomy comes from the phenomenal balance this beer has. I think this is as hoppy as most West Coasters, but integrates them better than most. As mentioned, there’s a caramel sweetness, along with some toastiness and some nutty flavors (and some nice nutskin bitterness). Again, comparisons to Celebration come to mind. This isn’t “just” an IPA, it shares the rare roundness of early Brutal Bitter and Celebration. There’s some British winter warmer lurking here. It blows me away that this is “only” ~6% ABV. It’s not that its “alcoholy,” but that it’s more warming and full than that ABV suggests. Finishes with a nice, dry, bitter snap and with medium length.

Mouthfeel: Very smooth and well-carbonated with a medium to full body, especially for an IPA.

Drinkability: Super-drinkability. I could see myself drinking way too much money away if I lived in MN (which I almost did). Right in that sweet-spot for a session-beer.

Backwash: I’ll admit it, I had a little schadenfreude with this beer; I almost wanted it to not be as good as advertised. Could anything live up to the hype? Most beers in my experience don’t. I was wrong. Although this is not the perfect beer, it’s pretty close. Still, there are some other more readily available beers that come close: Racer 5, Pipkin Brutal Bitter, and most of all Celebration. To me, while they wouldn’t be mistaken for each other side by side, Celebration and MM seem as if they were created by two people shooting for a similar goal. In fact, it seems as if MM were created by a very talented brewer attempting to improve upon Celebration, and has done so. Masala Mama is smoother, more well-balanced, and better drinking. A work of art.
Jan 31, 2005
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.37 by bschmidt_37 from Illinois

Wednesday at 11:46 PM
 
Rated: 4 by Nyoder

Nov 26, 2023
 
Rated: 4.15 by EdFed from Illinois

Nov 10, 2023
 
Rated: 4.44 by DownyIsHungry from Minnesota

Jul 30, 2023
 
Rated: 4.1 by not2quick from Missouri

Jun 09, 2023
Photo of AdmiralOzone
Reviewed by AdmiralOzone from Minnesota

3.99/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4
Pours a clear amber/gold with a legitimate amount of off-white head. Leaves nice lacing. Aroma is a bold mix of caramel malt and piney hops. Flavor follows the nose, malty up front with lots of bitterness in the finish. Feel is medium bodied, a little light on the carbonation. Overall, a fine ale.
Oct 07, 2022
 
Rated: 3.79 by BRLockwood from Florida

Sep 29, 2022
 
Rated: 3.5 by blackcloud from Alaska

Sep 22, 2022
Photo of NCSapiens
Rated by NCSapiens from Indiana

3.85/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
CO2 version is an annoying combination of pine, resin and caramel malt.

Cask version is creamy, warm, and mild.

Neither yanked my crank.
Jun 16, 2022
 
Rated: 4 by atlbravsrno1 from Maine

May 07, 2022
 
Rated: 4.15 by adosen01 from Minnesota

Oct 04, 2021
Photo of jeffoert
Reviewed by jeffoert from Minnesota

4.21/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This is, no doubt, an old-fashioned IPA, strong on the malt/hoppiness side. This is much better than their Dortmunder beer, I thought. I bought a growler of each. Definitely a better than average IPA but not sure it is worth the extra trouble and cost.
Jun 10, 2021
Photo of hhughes2008
Reviewed by hhughes2008 from Minnesota

4.37/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
L: Copper-auburn color with 1 finger of soapy foam that retains well, some lacing
S: pine, grapefruit, some biscuity/carmel malt aromas
T: resinous with a chewy malt backbone. Grapefruit, Candied oranges, cherry.
F: medium body, somewhat velvety, good carbonation
O: Crushed a 32 oz crowler of this easily and probably could have had more. Def my go-to West/Midwest IPA in the twin cities.
Sep 11, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by MonkeyPilates from Minnesota

Jan 31, 2020
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.93/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Cask pour at MTHB. Cloudy, medium amber with cap of thick creamy head. Aroma is light hops with some fruity overtones. Taste adds a layer of hops to the bready malt base, subtle. Cask brings a nice creaminess to the brew, but hard to believe this is a Top 50. Not impressed.
Nov 05, 2019
 
Rated: 4.06 by wisegreensoul from Idaho

Aug 08, 2019
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

4.29/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Cask at Town Hall Brewery, Minneapolis, MN

A: The beer is crystal clear amber yellow in color and lacks visible carbonation. It kind of looked like a beer on nitro when the waiter brought it to the table with the yellowish and amber colors settling down and mixing together. It poured with a finger high white head that this excellent properties and consistently left a quarter finger high head covering the surface.
S: Light to moderate aromas of citrusy hops are present in the nose along with notes of floral hops.
T: The taste follows the smell and has flavors of citrusy hops - orange and grapefruit stand out in particular - along with notes of floral hops and hints of herbs. There is a light amount of bitterness.
M: It feels very smooth and creamy on the mouthfeel and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: I;'m really glad that I had this beer from a cask as it was a pleasure to drink, especially with the smooth and creamy mouthfeel.

Serving type: cask
Aug 04, 2019
 
Rated: 4.11 by smithj4 from New York

Aug 04, 2019
 
Rated: 3.99 by dbrauneis from North Carolina

Aug 04, 2019
Masala Mama from Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery
Beer rating: 96 out of 100 with 1411 ratings