Wonder Cloud
Highland Park Brewery

 

 

Canned 7/16/19.
L: hazy straw yellow with a finger of a frothy white cap that displayed great retention. Moderate amounts of lacing left on the glass.
S: grapefruit, lemon and pineapple on the nose with hints of grass and malt. Very fruity with hints of bubble gum and malts.
T: follows nose in close suit. Citrusy with hints of mango and pineapple with underlying malt flavor that seems more and more dominant as I have more of the beer. Hoppy and earthy finish with vegetal and citrus after taste.
F: light to medium in body, lighter in terms of weight for a beer of the style. Carbonation levels are smack dab in the middle, which is a good thing here. No booze, soft feel with mild fizz.
O: the AbV is right, the flavor is great , and it’s enjoyable. It’s a simple and easy drinking offering that I’d easily go back for. I am very glad to try. Cheers!

Straight pour from a 16oz can to a flared pilsner glass—AZ Wilderness’ Wilderpils glass. This has a canning date printed in black ink on the bottom edge of the can which reads “Canned On 10.05.18”, making this beer four days old at the time of consumption.

Appearance (3.25): Two fingers of ecru foam cap a somewhat murky, very hazy straw-yellow body with orange/muddy-tan lowlights. Typical of Highland Park’s canned hoppy beers, the head doesn’t last long, fizzling away with soft, chunky bubbles dissipating to leave just a light, fragile collar of broken bubble edges.

Smell (4.75): Ohhhhh yeah, this is the good stuff. The nose is redolent with a gorgeous, even mixture of dank, fruity ganja blended with passionfruit and mango, navel orange flesh, key lime zest, a resinous bowl, fresh cut grass, and gooseberry to boot. Hachi machi I love what’s going on here. Light strawberry and papaya notes come through quietly, almost obscured by the more bombastic aromas wafting out of the glass. There are some simple, base malt notes underneath it all, composed of white sugar cookies and toasted biscuit crusts, but they’re almost completely overshadowed by the hops. Not complaining.

Taste (4.5): Oof, the beer really shines here. It’s very much a NE-style IPA, but it immediately telegraphs beautifully clear, bitter notes of navel orange zest, wads of fresh cut grass, underripe pineapple, and a moderately piney, definitely resinous dank note. It cuts through a soft, pillowy, juicy body that’s composed of overripe mango (meh), tangerine flesh (yum), floury southern dumplings (hmm), a bit of white sourdough (heh), and limeade, melding finally with the bitterness with a sour peach candy flavor, emphasis on the sour. This has an almost phenolic note on back end, leaving a leathery/bitter feel as it melds with the starchy, doughy malt body, giving the impression of tobacco leaf, as the dankness kind of fizzles away. In its place, a trailing lime zest and green grass bitterness slowly wends its way over the palate and dissipates quietly. It’s lovely. No sign of booze, and while it’s quite bitter it never quite reaches the point of being astringent.

Mouthfeel (3.75): The body has as full, juicy body right off the bat, leaving a very slight starchy feel as it washes over the palate with a modest, slightly prickly carbonation that helps it levitate just enough to not feel burdensome. The bitterness washes in quickly with a firmly drying, but not parching feel, aiding the slightly-too-modest carbonation in washing away the chewy body cleanly and completely. It’s still very satisfying, but it does have the feel of a less sophisticated NE-style IPA.

Overall (4.25): I dig it, through and through. The look is a bit underwhelming and the feel isn’t perfect, but the nose is absolutely fucking killer and the flavor is on point, too. I’m very pleased with this beer, and I like that they left in quite a bit of bitterness. All these juice bombs are fun, but sometimes you want to be reminded of what a (D)IPA is, anyway. This scratches a couple more itches than most of the rest, and I’m glad for it. Highly recommended, even if just for that nose.

 

Pours like hazy pineapple juice with a finger of head and residual lacing. Bursting with pineapple, pink grapefruit, honeysuckle, and light floral and pine notes on the nose. Initially tropical on the tongue, with additional resinous bitterness and moderately dry, mineral-forward pinot gris following shortly thereafter. Very well balanced between the two hop varieties.

 

 

 

A: Pours a near completely opaque straw yellow with a frothy white head that stays thinly afloat with moderate patchy lacing.

A: Smells of tropical fruits; mango, papaya, and that lovely white wine /"gooseberry" Nelson goodness. A little bit of earthy pine and a hint of new tire rubber on the finish.

T: Dominated by Nelson's white wine signature followed by a gentle pine goodness. The tropical fruits definitely find themselves in the background on this one, but are still present and wonderful.

F: Smooth and fairly dry. Prickly feel, and mildly bitter. Drinks more like a pale than an IPA, and refreshing and inviting enough to grab continuously for more.

O: This is an outstanding new school IPA, and thanks to its high drinkability, would love to find this more available for the warmer months coming up. Cheers and thanks again J!

 

Appearance: Pours with a cloudy goldenstraw color capped by a couple of inches of foam; a few shards linger

Smell: A juicy cocktail of tropical fruit, bringing mango and pineapple; a hint of vinous white wine grape, as well

Taste: The tropical fruit combo of mango and pineapple dominates the front end with bright, juicy tones; through the middle, a modest degree of bitterness builds, with the vinous white wine tones emerging to add complexity to the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: I was very curious to see how the Mosaic and Nelson hops would work together and can say without hesitation that it is a magnificent blend