Retreating Darkness
Town Hall Brewery

Thanks goes to hellomynameis for this hand bottled brew. poured black with a small bubbly brown head that didn’t last long. aroma coffee, smoky roasted malt, coco. flavor, what else but coffee? malt licorice, chocolate . for a coffee beer this was pretty good a little watery just wish the abv was a little higher would have like a little alcohol burn to this

Pitch black. Thick crop of whipped brown froth. Lacing is quite full. The aroma is thick with spent coffee grains, mocha and caramel. Coffee dominates the nose, as it should. The beer tasted like coffee and baker's chocolate. A nice little bitterness lingers. There are also some caramel and roasted malt accents. Body is about medium or so. Carbonation is light. Drinkability is quite high. I'm not a coffee drinker, but I do like coffee beers. And this is a good one. Town Hall seems to have a solid handle on coffee beers. And that's due to many factors I believe. One of which must be their coffee supplier...Peace Coffee.

Inky black with a small, softly placed tan capping of fluffy firm foam.
A few links of strings and spots lace the glass.

Aroma is simmering of coffee and chocolate, slightly smokey and a sliver of plummy rummy heat.

Grand taster! Wow, what a perfection of tender coffee roastyness and chocolate smoothness. The coffee realm has a nice rounded sweetened edge to its roasty boast of flavor. Tenderly smokey and slightly charred, much like a pot of coffee that's sat on the heat a bit too long. Great finish too! As it longs over the palate with a texturized smoothness of coffee and chocolate cream, bits of black licorice and molasses float off with a dark candied delight. Excellent, excellent flavors. Yum!

Body is medium with a thinner start and quite smooth with a nice texture of fluffy chocolate and coffee roastabilty, and one awesome finish.

A very nice winter treat that was a pure suprise of tasty goodness and pleasurably drinkable.

So a guy steps into a bar, asks his buddy what he'd drinking. "Coffee," says the dude. "Eh?" Turns out, a coffee black ale. Whatever the hell that is.

Turns out, its good. Ordered myself a glass, a dark black hue, decent dark tan head retreating to a nice film, ok lacing. The aroma is coffee bean, and lots of it. I like coffee, so I may be a bit biased, but with a nice supporting cast of roasted malts, this coffee aroma is just lovely. Taste, more of the same, dark black malts supporting a heavy coffee infusion, faint notes of chocolate and roasty toasty malts, and its just my cup of.... tea? Coffee.... ya. Body is medium, a little thin feeling at times, decently carbonated, an enjoyable seasonal for sure.

Hoops, you consarned ornery so-and-so! Once again, a brew we just can't peg! There's no slot for "American Black Ale", or any kind of black ale, it ain't a brown, and there's no specific designation for a coffee beer available, so I'm filing this under porter, just to get it over with!

Another team-up with PEace Coffee, this time using Sumatran French Roast beans.

"Retreating Darkness", though, sounds like a wishful thinking type of name for the dead of winter. Anyway, let's drink it...

Dark, dark color, nearly black, showing some slight transparency near the bottom, with a big, espresso-esque, toasted tan head.

Aroma is a monster, loud and proud, rich, roasty, earthy, as coffee as you're gonna get. Wow. Gorgeous. If you love coffee, like me, you're in heaven. I've been smelling this too long, gonna have to actually start drinking it!

Big flavor, big mouthfeel, nothing but coffee and black malts. Thick presence in the mouth, but lushly textured, and surprisingly refreshing.

Certainly not a porter, though I really can't think of where else I could have placed this one. I say, "who cares?"

Rich, roasty, some mild cocoa notes, and, yes, slightly smoky, as well.
And really damned good!
Really, really good!

Great winter brew, especially for a day like today when the snow fell on a Sunday and the next day was a federal holiday, plows are slow, and we were so accustomed to the mild winter we were handed. This is kind of winter warmer we need right about now. Nice job!