Sunday, May 10, 2015

Clouded Dream (Saranac High Peaks)

Saranac’s Clouded Dream (from their High Peaks Collection) pours with a brownish-orange coloration and a decent amount of whitish head. Clouded Dream laces itself down a glass as the head is persistently remaining on the top of the effort. The beer has a spicy (cinnamon, hop) nose that is fairly sedate, while the initial sip refreshes while exhibiting some strong flavors before dissipating as quickly as it began. The beer does an admirable job warming up with the hop side becoming more prevalent as Clouded Dream approaches room temperature. I feel that the blending of the Belgian/golden ale style with the hop-heavy IPA format makes for something that is as a whole much more dense and intricate than beers in either tradition could be.cloudedjpg-ba8f3a66eeb62d83


Clouded Dream has a good amount of sweetness from the Belgian ale side of things, a tendency that is moderated by the presence of a good amount of hops. I feel that the beer would be a good introduction into solitary Belgian or IPA formats for those that have only been familiarized with lagers / Oktoberfest / marzens in the past.


Check out our Saranac Legacy IPA and Immortality reviews for our coverage of other Saranac brews, while additional information about the rest of Saranac’s year-round and seasonal offerings can be located at their domain. The brewery’s Twitter and Facebook profiles are a good source of information about festivals the company will be attending, new products, and tap takeovers.


Rating: 8.0/10


Clouded Dream / Belgian IPA / Saranac High Peaks Collection / 7.3% ABV / www.saranac.com / www.facebook.com/Saranac / twitter.com/saranacbrewery /