Wayfinder Finds A Way in DC

If it feels like every week a new brewery comes to town, that’s because it is. Fortunately for us breweries like Wayfinder Beer come well-regarded and highly recommended.

The first weekend in March saw Dovetail come to DC and northern Virginia. Last weekend I saw Wayfinder at the Brew Shop in Arlington. Then on Wednesday, six drafts were on at Churchkey and the cans on offer at Brew Shop were also on offer there.

Working my way through the beers, all of them were good to great. But there was a standout amongst the half-dozen: the Czech-Style Dark Lager, Secret Secret. Yes, it was the only dark beer out of the six I purchased and yes, I am certainly biased as I am generally a massive fan of the style having consumed it here, in Canada, in Mexico, and in Czechia. As far as Czech dark lagers go, Secret Secret may be darker than others. But it’s also likely better than others, or it is at least to my palate.

I’d talked with Jenny Pfafflin on the DC Beer show about Czech-style dark lagers and she’d mentioned how she’d come up with the phrase that a Czech-style dark lager is like “a Pilsner in a sweater.” That means several things, but significantly that Czech dark lager is NOT Porter. I could give you a few thousand words on why many American takes on Czech Dark are too roasty, too bitter, or not drinkable enough, but I’ll leave it at saying Wayfinder’s Secret Secret Czech-style dark lager is delightful. 

Secret Secret tastes light despite it being a beer of significance. It is 5.2% abv, but drinks closer to 4%. I cannot tell you in good faith that I specifically taste Moravian malt, Bohemian hops, or Czech yeast, but I can tell you I taste my moonlit nights in Prague in the glass: it tastes like I should really get back to my pension because we’ve an early day in northwestern Bohemia tomorrow but I can’t put this damn dark lager down. I mean, I can put it down. And I keep putting down mug after mug. And it keeps coming back! A tiny bit of malt sweetness up front before a very mild and mellow bitterness and then a dry, crisp finish, which reminds my tongue one somehow tastes malt, hops, soft water, and yeast and somehow the half liter has vanished before my very eyes.

In town Wayfinder is being distributed by Craft and Cellar Distributing, LLC. We emailed Brandon Bryant, owner, Craft and Cellar, and he let us know there are several spots throughout DC and Northern Virginia where Wayfinder will be available. Obviously call before you go, but the list is as follows:

We are told that Wayfinder beer will become a regular within our market though the frequency is a bit unclear now. It’s likely that Wayfinder will be here quarterly, but it’s also possible that it may come a bit sooner. For now, I’d advise you to invest heavily in the Secret Secret Czech-style Dark Lager. I can’t spend your money, but for my money I’ll be taking home another pack.