Heartbeat
Mainstay Independent

Worrisome at first, because the foam created when a pint can emptied its contents into a clear glass liter mug, there was that seemingly perpetually expanding foam, so much a part of barley malt deprived ales. At least it's not starkly white, but it is a very light biege. The foam recedes unevenly and unattractively, leaving irregular glass lacing. Also, it looks more like a cola soda brown, not the darker black coffee brown of the great porters and stouts. But, there is solid roasted something, perhaps more than the coffee to inhale. OK, this isn't a great porter, but it's not nearly as bad as could be expected. There's some roasted grain, possibly not only barley, but there's a definite thinness to it. That's likely the additional coffee as much as the missing amount of barley. The body is light and wet, not robust and supple. But, its taste is passible as a porter, certainly a coffee porter, maybe because of an assist from some moderate hopping and the bitterness of black coffee. It's a mild rendition of the coffee stout/porter. Light in barley, light in a coffee hit, light in hopping, along with light in body and with a relatively low ABV, this is basically a light coffee porter. In the end, the coffee out does the porter taste and that's just not a great porter.

on draft in a shaker pint glass

clear dark brown, not much head. Weaker black coffee aroma and taste. Thin bodied, I would prefer much fuller bodied for a coffee beer.