Marzen
Wayfinder Beer

 

Pours beautiful deep dark amber, good clarity; very weird bubbly head fizzes like soda and disappears within seconds leaving nothing, I did managed to get the picture with head but after it looked like a cup of iced tea.

Sweet caramelized malts dominate the nose initially; whole grain bread, some toasted quality to it, sweetness as it warms.

The taste is similar; sweet malt with some caramel/toffee quality, reminds of soft whole grain bread, finishes with some sweetness; some lingering nuttiness on the finish.

Medium body, very low carbonation; clean though, finishes dry but with some lingering residual sweetness.

This beer hits most the marks for a good marzen but it’s lack of carbonation increases perceived sweetness and give it a little bit of syrupy quality.

2024-03-02
32oz crowler served in a snulip. Crowler filled yesterday at The Bine in Bothell.

Pours ruby/nut-brown, with an initial flash of head that fades to absolutely nothing. Gorgeous color and clarity...but no visible carbonation. Maybe a consequence of a day in a crowler, but doesn't seem right. Smell is nutty, toasty bread, light toffee, maybe a light hint of cocoa.

Taste is exactly in line with the aroma. Maybe a bit sweeter than I expected.

Mouthfeel is medium, but still. Overall, this is an excellent beer except that it needs a bit of carbonation. Whether that's a flaw of the beer or a flaw of the format, I'm not sure. If you have a chance to try it, I would recommend it, at least to get a sample and see if the carbonation is less disappointing for you.

 

 

 

 

Clear lighter brown bodied, slight golden hue. Rich pumpernickel, spicy floral notes, toasted malt, touch of toffee and medium toasted sliced bread. Medium bodied, good carbonation, smooth and bready, balanced with a nice mild hop bite. So drinkable.

16oz can

Pours over a finger of off-white head into my Perfect Pint glass. Retention is average at first, with the majority fading within a minute or so, but a firm sliver of creamy head lingers for quite some time. Initial lacing looks very nice. Body is an orangish amber, crystal clear, with a healthy amount of nucleating bubbles coming up. Looks quite good so far.

Nose is accurate. Bready malts, some mineral. Malty, but I expect this to be dry. Nice nose.

Flavor has a solid bready malt base, very clean, tasty, what more is there to say?

Carbonation is medium-low, but I assume a good deal of that has to do with the glass. Body is medium, good weight for a lager. Surprisingly sweet considering how deceptively dry this style often is; definitely malty, as it should be, but I can’t say this is all that dry. Bitterness is low, but firmly lingers in the background. I’m a little surprised by the sweetness, but it’s not really here nor there for me; the hops help the balance. Nice mouthfeel.

Drinkability is great, it’s tasty and I wouldn’t call this cloying.

Appearance turned out ok. No lacing but I assume there is some residue on this glass, the head was nice and I can only assume it would have left lacing were the glass a little cleaner.

Overall a pretty straight forward Marzen, with a little added sweetness. Maybe a tad off style because of that, but it’s not overly sweet for my preference, which is certainly sensitive to sweetness.

 

Crowler from the source.

A clear Amber with a dense, off-white head with excellent retention and lacing this looks great. The nose is soft, nutty, grainy and hoppy in great balance. Light toasted bread notes coupled with lightly caramelized wheat and a bitter, mildly oily moderately earthy hop character. Truth be told, this is closer to an Amber lager than a marzen, but it's still very good. On the palate there's mild caramel, toast, grain and some buckwheat. A touch of burnt caramel. The bread notes are a lot less than you'd find in most, making this seem closer to an Amber than a Marzen. Bitterness is mild, firming and pairing nicely with the delicately sweet flavors. A nice nutty flavor pervades the palate. Drying, bitter and toasty on the finish, this beer is light in body, very clean and very tasty.