Hitachino Nest Japanese Classic Ale

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Ibaraki, Japan

Typically wonderful aroma; Hitachino Nest beers seem to have an abundance of terrific scents from the spices and aging processes. If only the flavor were as good...I had it on tap at the Seattle Int’l Beer Festival and the taste was a bit confused. It was my first beer of the day and my friends confirmed my feelings: A bit strong and hoppy, much like an IPA should taste, but then there were a few flavors all competing for attention. Not a very well developed palate for this beer, I’m afraid, but still refreshing in the heat.

Bottle poured a cloudy orange amber with a huge foamy head that ran over my glass and onto the table..whoops. Lots of floatys Strong aroma of ceder, pine and hops. Flavor is hops and citrus with a bitter hopy finish. Heavy, thick lacing hangs in sheets on the inside of the glass and as this beer warms the ceder aroma is becoming more pronounced. This is the first time I have experienced this aroma in a beer.

A nice-sized, off-white head atop an amber/orange body. I let this beer warm longer than I wanted it to, and returned to find a vortex of sediment hovering at the bottom of the glass (kinda’ cool). Strong presence of pepper in the aroma, with orange/citrus hops beneath. Spicy flavor with a hearty malt/hop balance, but peppers (green, black, white) again dominate. Rather good, and I’d probably enjoy it more at a lower temperature... my bad.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/ohe/library/bodyima in my sister-in-law’s fridge. <font size=-1>

Honest, it wasn’t an aggressive pour! And the bottle had stood quietly in my fridge for a week before I opened it. Still, I ended up with one finger of orange body to a yard of rocky off-white head. And the darned thing took a long, long time to settle down so I could drink some. The aroma is a delicate balance between sweet caramel malts and orange and floral hops. The mouthfeel is soft, and the flavors perhaps a bit too subtle; however, the malts take on a woody note and the hops add a generous, if subdued, amount of bitterneess that make this tase quite excellent regardless. An enjoyable "Japanese Classic." So much for all the stories about shipping ale to India...

As soon as I pop the cap, the beer tries to escape the bottle. It is incredibly well carbonated with a 4 finger thick head that sticks around for a long time. The beer is a fully hazy, orangish red color that has large chunks of yeast floating in it, hmm healthy. The cedar is immediately evident in the aroma, quite interesting. There is a bit of fruitiness here in the nose as well, but it is almost not perceptible under the cedar. I get aromatic notes of strawberry, tamarind, almost like a rose wine underneath the cedar. The beer is quite spritzy up front, with a fruity acidity. The finish is astringent and hoppily bitter with a long dry note of cedar that dominates the finish. There are notes of cedar (obviously), citrusy hops, and mint. This is quite an interesting beer, it is a mix of solid hoppiness and cedar.

12 oz bottle. Deep hazy orange in color with a nice head. Flowery aroma with hops. Fruity. Malty, hoppy, fruity flavor. Full bodied. Well balanced beer. Enjoyable. Nice beer.

12 oz bottle. Hazy orange with lots of floaties. Massive light tan head. Fowery (roses, daisies, tulips) aroma, with an underlying scent that says "SAKE". Malty hops flavors, with a larger than normal alcohol perception, with very fruity undertones. Decent malt body. Good hop flavor. Well balanced hop/malt finish. Real nice!

Noogfest victim. Very clear yellow color. Has a big citrus ricey aroma to it, very light aroma. Very carbonated with mild citrus hop body and it has alot of yeast going on in it.