Sustain and Delay
Wayfinder Beer

can into glass
Medium frothy white head. Clear, medium amber gold, with a touch of an orange tint. Slightly tangy, mango and pineapple aroma accompanying a medium toasted malt note. Bright and a bit sharp mix of lemon, tangerine and a bit of grapefruit peel, in the taste, with some medium caramelized malt, to supply some support. Sustaining citrus peel finish.

Canned on Dec 12th, so not fresh but hardly dated. Light head and very vague aroma, not typical of an IIPA. First sip -- hops and more hops, well managed and free of excessive bitterness. As it warms, a pleasant dankness and a burst of hoppy flavor with floral and piney coming to the fore. The ABV is very well concealed, so beware. Clean finish, well assembled with well maintained carbonation. Good as any, but they're running in a tough crowd out here.

 

 

16oz can

Pours a finger of slightly fizzy white head into my Willi glass. Retention is average and the head fades within a minute or so. Initial lacing looks ok. Body is yellow, nearly crystal clear, with a modest amount of bubbles coming up. Looks ok so far.

Nose has some citrus rind, zest, and that’s pretty much it. Very citrus forward, nothing tropical, nor northwest hop wise. Pretty one dimensional, and it’s not my preferred profile. Ok nose.

Flavor is largely the same, mostly citrus. Just a very neutral, dare I say vanilla profile. I will say that it’s incredibly clean, exactly what I would expect from Wayfinder, and that does get bonus points in a double IPA since one of my biggest reservations for that style is its tendency to be cloying.

Mouthfeel is really where that clean, crisp nature can attribute itself. Carbonation is on the higher side. The body is quite light. Bitterness is medium-low. Very little sweetness, this is very refreshing and not at all cloying. The mouthfeel does a lot of work for this beer, very nice.

The drinkability is wonderful, this lovely mouthfeel and serviceable flavor (more on that later) make for an enjoyable palate.

Appearance turned out decent, lacing had some hold.

As this opens up and warms a little bit, the flavor does slightly develop. There is a subtle spiciness, and some clear gooseberry flavors. It’s not blowing my socks off in the flavor department, but it’s a significant improvement from “fine” to “good”. That combined with the mouthfeel make for a pleasant beer.

Can from Uptown Market.

A clear orange with a dense off-white head with good retention and lacing. The nose is an intriguing combination of fruit, pine and dank, not wholly appealing but compelling nonetheless. Onion like sweaty notes. Mildly vegetal? The palate opens mildly bitter with a blend of fruit, pine and dankness. The blend isn't for me, but it's well executed, clean and with minimal sweetness. Bitterness is moderate, but its a little disjointed in conjunction with the fruit and the dank, can't quite put my finger on it. Drying, clean, bitter and dank on the finish. Solid.