Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Stout
Ibaraki, Japan

Bottle. Pours a deep black with a 2 finger fluffy tan head and chunky head. Nose is coffee grounds, roasty malts and cocoa. Taste is chalky cocoa, burnt malt and coffee grounds. Medium creamy mouth feel. Reminds me a lot of Bells Java Stout, and the Bells version isn’t $5+ a bottle.

330 mL bottle. Pours a menacing used motor oil black with a powerful dark brown head- fierce. Okay lacing. Aromas of- surprise- espresso, whole Kenyan coffee beans, dark chocolate, raw cocoa. Does not smell like a stout but rather just a straight up great cup of coffee. Taste though is not too overpowered by the coffee- the roasted malts shine through. Mouthfeel is creamy but the body is slightly thin. Aftertaste is dry, bitter, and surprisingly sour. A very interesting brew albeit pricey. I wish it were more intense and went all out.

Pours thick and rich, viscous black with aerated brown head that dissipates fast. Enormous coffee bean aroma, like stickng nose into a bag of beans. Dark roast, would never believe it were anything but coffee if blindfolded except for the whisper of chocolate malt. Fizzier and thinner body than expected. Lingering roasted malt and coffee in the aftertaste. Not burnt. Some lactic sourness at the sides of the tongue and a strange bitterness both detract from the experience. Poorly priced at $4.75 for small bottle in store.

<b>In short: </b>A full bodied chocolaty-coffee stout. Very satisfying.
<b>How: </b>Bottle 12oz, consumed fresh a month or two after receiving it as a bonus in a trade. Sorry I forget who sent it to me, but thanks a lot man for this fine brew.
<b>The look: </b>Black body topped by a medium tan head.
<b>In long: </b>Nose is roasted with some coffee beans. Body is pleasantly full, creamy yet roasted. For an Espresso stout the taste is not really dominated by coffee. A ton of dark malts, chocolate and cacao, espresso, roasted coffee beans, a light astringency (lemony hops?) in the finish increases drinkability. This is very tasty and with a big body showing that you don’t need a 9%+ beer to make a heavy stout. This one proves that bigger is not better, and unsurprisingly it comes from Japan.

What a pleasant surprise.Great nose of caramel and coffee. More carbonated than most Russian Imperial Stouts but this led to a balancing lightness and a great mouthfeel. Sort of like Peche Mortel lite. Love it.

<b>12 oz. bottle</b> from Plaza Liquors - Pours a dark brown color with a small tan head. Faint lacing. Aroma is coffee, tobacco, and esters. Flavor is roasted malt, coffee, tobacco, chocolate, and esters. Dry palate. Light to medium body. A nice beer, just a little pricey.

A good balance between coffee and beer. Flavor has a really good mix of the two, with some nutty overtones, but for some reason falls a little flat. Taste is good but has a weird sour astringent character too it. Some fresh melon. Slightly thin.

Black with a thin tan head. Aroma is espresso, roasted malts, dark chocolate. Taste is dry with espresso, chocolate, light alcohol.