Pointer IPA
82/100
The short takeThe hop character is clear, but the lean, somewhat thin finish limits the body.
Tasted Karl HillHow we score
Who it’s for Pour it for the hop, and only if a lean, thin finish is acceptable.
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In the glass
- Nose
- Grapefruit, citrus, and light tropical fruit.
- Palate
- Light-bodied, with mild fruity sweetness and noticeable hop character.
- Finish
- Lean, and can feel somewhat thin.
The beer
Record
Grapefruit and citrus lead, with light tropical fruit alongside them. The body is light, and mild fruity sweetness shares the palate with noticeable hops. The finish is lean and can feel somewhat thin, leaving the fruit and hop character more convincing than the body.
The bottle
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Special mash and maltose-negative specialty yeast, followed by pasteurization to prevent further fermentation
Research notes
Press Herald describes Pointer and then states that Patrick Rowan uses a special mash and specialty yeast followed by pasteurization to prevent further fermentation. This supports naturally-low-alcohol; the record does not claim post-fermentation alcohol removal.
Where to buy
- Woodland Farms (direct)
- Package
16 oz can
- Typical price
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$12.99 / 4 × 16 oz cans
≈ $3.25 per can
- Availability
wfbrewery.com DTC (Kittery, ME); NA Beer Market; Untappd
Availability is market-specific; a producer link does not establish shipping to every country. Prices and availability are independently observed and may change. Retailer listings do not imply endorsement. A different package is labeled as a different format. Reader-service exceptions and commercial links are identified above; neither affects scores, rankings, classification, verification, or editorial coverage.
Product facts
- Producer
- Woodland Farms Brewery
- Origin
Maine, United States- Hops
- Cascade, Citra, Mosaic
- Bottle / can
- 16 oz cans; sold as a 4-pack
Sources disagree on Ingredients, Calories, and Method. Send a correction
Sources & verification
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Source links leave this site and open in a new tab.
Where sources disagree
Sources disagree on the following points.
- Ingredients: The Pointer page and the nutrition label list Cascade, Citra, and Mosaic. The 14 Jul 2022 Green and Healthy Maine caption says Pointer is juicy and hazy with Amarillo, Cascade, Mosaic, and Galaxy.
- Calories: The can reads 80 calories. In the 14 Jul 2022 interview Rowan says a 16 oz can of Pointer has 90 calories. We print the can.
- Method: Retracted 2026-10-03: earlier revisions carried brewery-range process prose (special mash, maltose-negative yeast, pasteurization) sourced to press. Range-level press evidence does not establish this SKU’s method, and the producer page discloses none, so no method value is claimed. The press account remains in the production note.
Evidence at a glance
- Producer documented6 facts
- Bottle verified2 facts
- Press sourced2 facts
- Unverified4 facts
Production record
2 core facts remain to be documented or rechecked.
- Classification
- Not verified
- Method
- Not applicable
- ABV
- Ceiling declaration
- Origin
- Documented
- Record
- Has open discrepancy
Sources
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Producer wfbrewery.com
Producer documentedNote
- Country
- Homepage: brewed in Maine. The Pointer page says Maine’s first non-alcoholic IPA.
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Bottle / can label Bottle label
- ABV
- Calories (sources disagree)
-
Note
- Production
- Exact Pointer context states Patrick Rowan uses a special mash process and specialty yeast, followed by pasteurization to prevent further fermentation; brewer interview also names maltose-negative yeast and special mash.
Additional sources
Product record history Sourced changes and open disagreements. Prior claims stay on the record when sources conflict.
- ReviewedReviewed and published.
- UpdatedCatalog record updated from sourced research.
- Classification changed · ClassificationCorrected from Unclassified to naturally-low-alcohol. Opened the 24 Jan 2022 Press Herald piece, which describes Pointer and then a special mash, a specialty yeast, and pasteurization, and the 14 Jul 2022 Rowan interview that names a maltose-negative yeast and says they do not cook the beer.
- Method verified · MethodCorrected from (empty) to A special mash and a specialty yeast, then pasteurization. The 24 Jan 2022 Press Herald states that process just after describing Pointer. Rowan told Green and Healthy Maine on 14 Jul 2022 that the brewery uses a maltose-negative yeast and a special mash, and that they do not cook the beer. No removal machine is named.. The Press Herald places the mash, yeast, and pasteurization with Pointer. The later interview specifies a maltose-negative yeast and rules out cooking the beer. No machine is named.
- Classification changed · ClassificationCorrected from naturally-low-alcohol to Unclassified. Range-level press evidence does not establish this SKU’s process: the Press Herald (24 Jan 2022) names Ruby in the brewery’s NA range when describing the mash, maltose-negative yeast, and pasteurization; the Green & Healthy Maine interview (14 Jul 2022) is brewery-level. The producer product page discloses no process for this SKU, so the classification reverts to Unclassified.
- Classification changed · ClassificationCorrected from Unclassified to naturally-low-alcohol. Deep recheck 2026-10-10 found exact-context brewer interviews supporting controlled low-alcohol fermentation rather than post-fermentation removal.
- Method verified · MethodCorrected from (empty) to Special mash and maltose-negative specialty yeast, followed by pasteurization to prevent further fermentation. Deep exact-SKU brewer-interview recheck 2026-10-10.
- OpenDiscrepancyIngredients, Calories, and Method.