Mpls Breweries Day by Day #5: Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery & Tropic Hop IPA

Bourbon-barrel-aged barley-wine? Oh, yeah!

Saturday, December 30. Day #5. So. Cold. Once more, I'm sticking to same route, and taking a slight diversion, to keep me out of the chill. Only a little bit out of the way, a hop, skip, and a jump, to Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery at 1430 Washington Avenue. Of all the breweries I've ever written about here in the Nib, they are the least under-served. My last visit was on December 23. I've written about more than 120 of their beers here, (and more than 250 of them on BeerAdvocate) so there are plenty of ways to hear my opinions. Long story short: I like this place, and I love their beers. This certainly won't be the only time I stop in this month, but this visit will mark as the one I count for this project. Once the temperature gets above zero, maybe into the double digits, I'll plan trips to those far-flung breweries of NorthEast Minneapolis. But I'll always keep stopping in here.

Coconut Barley-wine? Yep.

Looking at the beer list, I see good ol' Twisted Trace, the Buffalo Trace bourbon barrel-aged barley-wine, which I wrote about almost 5 years ago here. So delicious. I had enough time for a second beer, and really wanted to  have a glass of the  fruited version of their Quadrupel, Foolish Angel, called Blueberry Angel. Too late! Curse you, lying menu! So, I chose it's replacement, the coconut version of Twisted Reality, the barley-wine that Twisted Trace is based on. It's strange, I can't find it listed on
Untappd or BA. Am I the only one who tried it, or maybe no one else wants to create the listing? No matter. It was what it was, and it was interesting, even tasty, but I wouldn't elect to toss one back very often.

Then it came time to choose my growlers and wanted to get a Double Milk Stout, especially since I realized that 3 of the first 4 beers were IPAs. But, no, I lose out again, the growlers are gone. I have to go with my second choice, an IPA. Boo hoo, poor me. And here it is:

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery Tropic Hop IPA. 5.9% ABV.

Tropical hop IPA? Mmm, hmmm!

Clear, bright golden toned, with a touch of tangerine, and a great, wide, lasting ivory head.

In the nose: more brightness and freshness, tropical fruits a ton, lovely stuff.

In the mouth: Starts mild on the palate, but builds the hop bitterness. Some malty sweetness keeps hold in the center. Fruity hop flavors grow, more tropical, more pineapple, papaya. Delicious. Light bodied, lean malt, low bitterness, ending dry. Tasty, tasty, tasty.

When I read that it was unfiltered, I imagined the horror of an NE IPA coming from Town Hall. This unfiltered beer is still clear, and is not a thick, dense glass of orange juice. Seeing that at MTHB....I shudder to think of it.

(Self-correction: Town Hall has done a version of the NE-style IPA, though it certainly wasn't as orange juice-y as many others. I wrote about it here.)

Unfiltered IPA brewed with New Zealand hop Pacifica