Heavyweight
Workhorse Brewing Company

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $3.85 plus tax. Caned on 11. 16. 23, so this beer is almost 10 months old. I took this from the cellar and refrigerated for less than a half hour. It's just slightly chilled.

Look: Pours basically jet black with a decent viscosity. However as I move the beer around in the glass, I can see that it is more like dark brownish in color. As the volume in the glass decreases, it shows its walnut brown color. There was a couple fingers of light brown head that receded to a very thin rim.

Smell: Nice coffee and charcoal aromas. I also get dark chocolate and vanilla, perhaps subtle hints of dark fruit also (raisins, cherries, figs). Notes of spice also like cinnamon and nutmeg. There's not much else to it. Smells pretty nice though. Smells like quality, complex coffee.

Taste: It's really tasty. This is a fine Baltic Porter and the flavors are enhanced with the addition of the Rival Bros coffee. The beer is very smooth and highly drinkable. Up front, it's very smooth with nice coffee flavor and a touch of sweetness and baking spice notes. Nice licorice notes on the finish as well as very dark chocolate. The finish is dry but not astringent. A nice roasty flavor lingers in my mouth. The bitterness from hops is low, I think that the subtle bitterness here is coming from the coffee and the roasted malts. It hides the 8% ABV very well.

Feel: The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied. That being said, this is a Baltic Porter and thus it is a lager and its body comes off as being more light than thick. I think that the carbonation level is good here for a Baltic Porter. It's not too high and not too low.

Overall: It's a very solid beer. Nice integration of local coffee into a Baltic Porter.

I am trying this beer off the tapper at the brewery as part of a four sample flight with my old hockey teammate whilst in the area for my daughter's Natty gymnastics meet at Ursinus College. It poured an opaque dark mahogany amber with off white head that is leaving some lace. The scent had nice coffee notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with crisp malt base and roast and coffee profile. The mouthfeel was medium in body and had good carbonation. Overall it is a great beer!

On tap at the source.

Almost black pour with a nice roasted chocolate and coffee dominating nose with a slight bit of char. Taste follows with chocolate, chocolate char, and coffee while finishing with the same condiment of bitterness. Medium body and nice lingering flavor on the palate. Definitely worth checking out.

 

16oz can from my brother. Dark brown pour, one finger foamy beige head. Coffee is first on the aroma, roasty malts behind. Taste also leads with the coffee, roasty, malty, faint sweetness. Well balanced coffee in this, malty, smooth.

Ironically, it's not the black coffee brown color of most porters, even though coffee is an ingredient. As it sits in a clear glass liter mug, there's a hint of mahogany, or something dark brown similar to a cola beverage. Emptying the entire contents of the pint can went without any trouble, as the head produced was just the right size. It seems to be enduring. Its aroma is a well balanced one between the roasted malt and the black coffee. Like many in the style, there are also some chocolate notes. This initially drinks so richly and smoothly, it's hard to believe there isn't some lactose included. The taste is as the aroma, in every way. Although it drinks richly and smoothly, the finish is remarkably light and clean. The moderate level of bitterness is also notable, considering all the roasted coffee and barley malt. This is so nicely flavored, you may like it even if you don't like the taste of coffee. If the 8% ABV contributes anything to the overall taste, it's very subtle and only adds to the flavor. There's almost no glass lacing, but the head does sustain. This is so good, the temptation to have another is hard to resist, even when it's late at night and you're very susceptible to the caffeine in coffee.

Pours a dark reddish-brown with fine creamy head. Beautiful deep dark roasted malt with complimentary coffee aroma. A complex flavor of: dark roasted malt, dark chocolate and coffee. Perfectly balanced. Full, viscous mouthfeel with delicate carbonation. Overall, this is one of the best Baltic Porters I’ve had. Great robust body and flavor with the perfect amount of coffee!