Town Hall Meeting: Minneapolis MN

Happy New Year.  This is, of course, the first post of 2012 and I am starting this year by revisiting Minneapolis.
Last time I was here, stumbled into one of the smaller local breweries that specialized in German style beers.  On this visit I found Town Hall Brewing in Minneapolis.  Definitely less specialized, but seems to be a favorite hang-out among the locals.

Town Hall's original location is in downtown Minneapolis near the University of Minnesota.  On their website the mention that they are doing some expanding at the moment to keep up with demand.  Part of that expansion was the addition of a taproom farther to the South.  That is the location that I stumbled into on a Friday evening.  It was completely filled.  Completely.  I ended up ordering a beer while awkwardly standing at the very edge of the bar waiting for a seat to open up somewhere.
It took a little time and some rather impressive reflexes to finally snag a seat and enjoy the beer I had ordered, the Marsala Mama IPA.  It's Pretty average IPA in my book.  It had a very strong aroma of lemon and grapefruit. The taste was slightly different, it seemed to be much stronger on the pine and herbal flavored hops than the citrus.  There was still a hint of lemongrass, but this one was much more like an English IPA being drier and being loaded down with the bitter herbal hops that stick in the back of the throat.
The food there was pretty typical pub fare, although I ended up with a beer-basted brat that was pretty excellent.  It was the special for the day, so I think it is a 'get it while you can' kind of deal.
I moved on to the Java Porter Those who don't like the taste of coffee in their beer should probably pass this one up all together.  I liked this one for the simple fact that the brewer obviously had a goal in mind and he accomplished it.  The aroma is just like a mocha.  The flavor: pretty much the same.  It was a little sweet for my tastes, but overall it was very smooth and very drinkable.

Finally, I had one of the seasonal beers they had on tap.  Town Hall has four or five regular beers on tap at any given time, and about as many seasonal offerings that they rotate in and out.  Right out of New Years, they still had their holiday seasonals on tap.  I had a bit of their Elves Elixir, a Belgian-style IPA.  This may seem like an inherent contradiction in terms, and it very much is.  Belgian beers an known for their rich, malty character as opposed to the highly bitter, floral flavors of an American IPA.  But I have seen the two styles make sweet love before and produce a love child that, strangely, lives right next door to me.  The Hop God, produced by Nebraska Brewing Company is also a fusion of Belgian and IPA styles and is still one of my favorite beers.  Elves Elixir had a banana-nut and citrus nose.  I picked up a surprising amount of coriander and clove spice in the flavor, along with tropical fruit.  It slowly moved to a bitter, dry finish.  When I first started sipping this beer, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.  By the end the Elves Elixir proved surprisingly drinkable.  I came to like it quite a bit.

With that, I want to wish everyone a happy 2012.  I'm looking forward to my travel schedule coming up.  If plans hold true, I will find myself in Tennessee next.
Cheers!