Hitachino Nest Amber Ale

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
Ibaraki, Japan

Bottled. Clear mahogany colour, brief head. Orangey and toasty. Light bodied with clean, rounded crisp mouthfeel. Grainy with salty licorice. Fresh orangey hoppiness, medium bodied. Balaned bitterness. Well made all the way through.

Sampled @ GJBF Yokohama: Copper color, nice thin head, light lacing. Nose of light caramel malt, some light hop and full bodied creamy malty body. Nice and full, rounded and rich.

Bottled, shared by the OMH gang. Pours out in a brownish amber colour with a small creamy disappearing white foam. Crisp and fresh aroma of black cherries, grass, nuts and blood-oranges. Medium-bodied with a crisp and rather hoppy flavour of cedar-wood, grass and orange-peels with sweet undertones of red berries. Black cherries, toasted malts, nuts and orange-peels in the long aftertaste. Very nice, a hoppy and elegant amber ale, that’s quite rare.

Bottle from KyotoLefty. A very nice toasty amber. Sweet malts, but the toasty character is the best. Why isn’t this imported.

I have had this beer a couple times on tap and to tell the truth it was always disappointing. It’s better from the bottle, and this rating is of one that was cellared for 7 months, and was much better than usual. Darkish amber. Strong hops and fruit aroma. Good malt in the as well. Only slightly sweet, some cookies and maybe chocolate and great caramel, cherries and other dark fruits. Good hops that linger on in the finish with the malt. Excellently balanced with head on barley and hops. Truly exceptional. The aged version was extra mellow and smooth.

Dark brown color with an off white head. The nose is balanced with caramel malt and cascade hops. The mouth starts hoppy then huge caramel malts come in and then finally the hops come back at the end. Like most of Hitachino nest beers, really well balanced.

Iced tea and biscuits nose with a muddy palate. Some minor malt astringency and a touch of diacetyl. Very mediocre beer.

Bottle at the RB Rochester Gathering, Sept. 09. Thanks, KyotoLefty! Unfiltered light brown with reddish highlights. Sweet, caramel, dryness in the finish, nice sweet sticky mouthfeel, especially as it warms.