Passing Clouds

According to the producer's website, Passing Clouds was MURI's first blend, developed in 2020 with Murray Paterson reportedly spending countless hours tasting and iterating to arrive at the final recipe. The producer states that the blend was built around a kvass element specifically to capture the brioche flavor associated with champagne, and Paterson describes it as MURI's gold standard blend, noting that it is incredibly hard to blend due to a tiny sweet spot where all five components align. The drink takes its name, according to the producer, from a former nightclub in East London.^[1],[2]

The producer's website declares the following ingredients: water, white currant juice, gooseberry juice (11.5%), quince (9%), wheat malt (gluten), sugar, jasmine, woodruff (0.01%), salt, geranium, and yeast. These are assembled, the producer states, into five base components: Quince Kefir, White Currant Wine, Jasmine Tea Infusion, Geranium Kvass, and Woodruff Infusion.^[1],[3]

Quince Kefir — Backbone. The producer describes this component as the backbone of the drink. Fresh quince is ground and infused in water, then fermented with water kefir grains, yielding what MURI characterises as an aromatic liquid with lactic creaminess and a slight acidity.^[3]

White Currant Wine — Fruit Core. According to the producer's website, the white currant juice is sourced from a farmer named Niels in Thy, on the west coast of Denmark. The juice is fermented with a special yeast into what MURI labels a non-alcoholic white currant wine.^[3]

Jasmine Tea Infusion — Floral Lift. The producer states that this component uses sencha green tea aromatised with jasmine flowers from Grasse in the South of France. It is cold-infused, MURI says, to preserve floral aroma while extracting only a small amount of tannins and no bitterness. The producer additionally notes that Passing Clouds is the only MURI product to contain caffeine, owing to this tea component. Jasmine is described as contributing a profound floralness to the blend.^[3],[4]

Geranium Kvass — Structure & Depth. The producer's website describes the Geranium Kvass as contributing a floral yet sweet aroma and providing structure and depth to the final blend. Geranium is additionally cited as adding to the blend's profound floralness, and the kvass element more broadly is the vehicle for the brioche character MURI sought from champagne.^[3]

Woodruff Infusion — Honey & Almond Accent. Woodruff appears in the declared ingredient list at 0.01%. The producer states that woodruff contributes warm honey and almond notes, and that MURI forages it from spring through summer to maintain a year-round supply for Passing Clouds.^[5]

The producer's website states that each of the five components is treated and fermented differently, with variations in temperature, acidity, concentrations, and fermentation times, before being blended together. The quince base is fermented with water kefir grains; the white currant juice is fermented with a special yeast into a non-alcoholic white currant wine; the geranium component is built as a kvass, the element MURI explicitly identifies as the source of brioche character; and the jasmine green tea is treated as a cold infusion rather than a ferment, so as to preserve floral aroma while limiting tannin and avoiding bitterness.^[3]

Nose. The producer cites flowers and honey on the aromatic profile, with jasmine and geranium contributing what MURI calls a profound floralness, and woodruff adding warm honey and almond notes. The geranium kvass is described as floral yet sweet.^[1]

Palate. The producer's website describes Passing Clouds as showing bright acidity, flowers, honey, ripe fruits, and a vinous funkiness, and positions the drink as sitting somewhere between a pet-nat, a light beer, and a cider. The Quince Kefir is said to bring a lactic creaminess and slight acidity that anchors the blend.^[1]

Structure. Per the producer's stated tasting notes:^[1]

• Acidity: bright
• Tannin: minimal — the jasmine tea is cold-infused to extract only a small amount of tannins and no bitterness
• Complexity: vinous funkiness, positioned between pet-nat, light beer, and cider

The producer's website notes that MURI Passing Clouds is used as a topping component in POPL's non-alcoholic Red Spritz cocktail, described as a take on a floral gin-based sour. MURI also states that Passing Clouds has been on the menu at at least one establishment continuously since 2020.^[6]

For food, the producer suggests oysters, spicy Asian salads, and ceviche.^[1]

Specifications. Per the producer's website, Passing Clouds is classified as a non-alcoholic sparkling white beverage (Danish: alkoholfri frugtvin) with an ABV of less than 0.5%.^[1]

• Category: non-alcoholic sparkling white beverage (alkoholfri frugtvin)
• ABV: <0.5%

Ingredients Policy. The producer states that Passing Clouds is vegan. The declared ingredient list flags wheat malt as a source of gluten.^[1]