Birch Bark Porter
Kickstand Brewing Company

Drinking a 16 oz can poured into my snifter. No date stamp on the label or can , even though the label does implore me to drink fresh.
The beer pours a dark cola brown and a soft fluffy beige head of almost 3 cm foams up in my glass. This foam leaves sticky lattice every time I take a sip or swirl the glass. Head sticks around as a robust surface covering throughout the sampling.
Aroma is malt driven with some light chocolate notes, a bit of cocoa powder and some roasted malt. No hop presence on the nose.
First sip reveals a medium body and soft texture with very fine and tingly carbonation. Beer drinks very easy on the physical traits. Flavor is some roasted malt notes and a bit of chocolate and cocoa powder again. The chocolate is not super sweet, definitely higher cacao % kind of thing. No hops on the flavor profile really either. ABV is hidden through out and the beer drinks pretty smooth and easy. A tasty, straightforward porter. Sort of refreshing in its simplicity.

 

On tap at Which Craft in Midland MI. Revisited with a 16 oz can in August 2025.

Appearance. Dark reddish-brown with ruby colored edges and a minimal head.

A nice touch and bold flavor with hints of bitter chocolate, roasted nuts, and medium roasted coffee.

 

Pours a deep, deep brown with plenty of tan colored head. After several minutes, the head receded to a thin cap & ring. Aroma is rich, chocolaty and inviting. Taste is delicious. Smooth, light roast, not too sweet. Really digging this one.

Poured dark brown with little in the way of head, but nearly white lacing ran down the glass.
The aroma was faint for me, but I do get dark fruit and bready malts. Pleasant smelling actually.
The taste was very good, just a bit sweet and all those 7 malts made for a tasty and complex beer. Bready malts, assorted fruit and a touch of hops.
The feel was good, a bit thin but at the moment it was what I was wanting.
OA, it’s a very good beer, but far from my favorite porter. Still, it’s tasty enough to drink just for that reason (it’s tasty)

L - On draft poured into a pint glass. Dark brown with 1/2" mocha head.
S - Dark roasted malt with hints of chocolate.
T - Roasted malt, toasted nut, chocolate.
F - Relatively soft, full bodied.
O -Great balanced and easy drinking. Would definitely buy again.

 

Fairly nice porter sampled on tap at a local restaurant. Pours a dark brown color, looks good with some mild white head and rings of lingering lacing that lasted for a long time. Smells surprisingly faintly of mild coffee, mild chocolate, roasted nuttiness and toast. Taste follows the nose - and all of the flavors were quite light and thin. I was expecting a little more robustness (more like a stout, perhaps). Smooth, mild, thin mouthfeel with decent carbonation. Not really any creaminess. A decent beer, but there are others in this style that I would always prefer.

This Porter was an extremely enjoyable quaff. All of the advertised flavors were detected and none were overpowering. The flavors together with seven, count them seven, malts combined into a virtual sensual symphony pleasing to the nose and the taste buds. This beer did not deliver the disappointing cacophony normally experienced with a beer having so many moving many parts. This beer delivered. Bravo!

A really good porter. My wife just started on beer and she like this one. It's one of their staples, and for good reason. A bar manager at another venue raves about this Porter, and he has tried a ton of crafts. I concur. It is pretty great

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 9/20/2017. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted dark/brown bread, and nuttiness; with light notes of cherry, plum, smoke, wood, herbal, grass, and roast/toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with good strength. Taste of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted dark/brown bread, and nuttiness; with light notes of cherry, plum, smoke, wood, herbal, grass, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal/woody/grassy hop and roast bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted dark/brown bread, nuttiness, light smoke/dark fruit, herbal, wood, grass, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet balance, and zero acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/silky, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 6.4%. Overall this is a delicious English porter. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mildly bitter/drying finish. Very rich English malt complexity; mild complementing fruity yeast and balancing earthy hops. Impressive mouthfeel/body for the ABV. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.