Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Stout
Ibaraki, Japan

Bottle from Rustico, VA. Very dark brown ’espresso’ appearance. Strong coffee and chocolate aroma. Balanced taste. Clean finish. A great combination of coffee and beer.

Small bottle from PF Changs. Pours near very dark brown with nice sustained brown head. Excellent roasty coffee aroma. Flavor of chocolate, cocoa, coffee was not overbearing which I really liked. Nice velvety body. But it is horribly expensive, so I have to dock it a point.

Bottle from City Beer Store in SF. I just wasn’t really that impressed with this one overall. Someone I was tasting with commented that, "It’s like a cold cup of coffee." It has some quality that makes it similar to Hitachino White strangely. Appearance is dark brown with a huge tan head that takes forever to go down. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee, and some funk. Flavor is coffee, roasted malt, and a sort of sour Japanese quality that I can’t quite describe. Not particularly strong flavor overall. A little creamy and pretty smooth on the palate.

33cl bottle from Whole Foods (Tampa, FL). Pours a dark brown cola cola color with a massive tannish-yellow two finger head that settles slowly. Aroma is roasted and malty with notes of coffee, pine, juniper, chocolate, asian spice some faint sweetness. Flavor is roasted and malty as well with notes of coffee bean, asian spice, dark chocolate, some caramel and honey sweetness. Generally medium to full body with a roasted malty and spicy finish.

Bottle. Poured deep black with a tan darkish head. Aroma is definitely coffee. Flavor is rich, cream and coffee, with a bit of fruity esther at the end.

Bottle, $4.49. Pours a rich dark brown with a wispy brown head. Aroma of strong, black espresso and ash; downright menacing. And this is from the same country that puts out wimpy-light stuff like Asahi and Sapporo?? Flavor starts with dark chocolate bitter black coffee beans, sweetening slightly with some vanilla and brown sugar in the mid-palate, before finishing with assertive roasts and coffee. As an avid coffee drinker, this brew makes me very, very happy. Its like finally finding a restaurant willing to truly cook spicy food: this brew has unmistakable dark, bitter coffee bean presence. Reminds me of a more balanced version of my favorite “coffee stout,” Peche Mortel. I only wish there was a touch more carbonation to liven the flavors. Delicious!

Served on draft as part of the Black Moonday event at Capital Alehouse in Richmond, VA. Pours a caramel brown color with coffee, oak and cherry notes. Taste is dry roasted coffee w/ cherry and other stone fruits. Full bodied.

Pitch black coloured body, 90% opaque with a very large dense deep brown head. Aroma of funky sweet malt, candy, cherries, cherries and a bunch of vanilla. Medium-bodied; Strong assertive roasted malt up front with cherries and vanilla very noticeable. Aftertaste shows some oak, a lot of sweetness, fake sugars and a bit of a coffee finish. Overall, not much of the coffee is noticeable, more of the fake sugars and a super strong amount of cherries too. Good to try, but not my favourite sweet stout! I sampled this 33 cL bottle purchased from Whole Foods in Clarendon (Arlington), Virginia on 22-October-2008, sampled at home in Washington on 24-January-2009.