Hitachino Nest Japanese Classic Ale

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

Bottle, Hazy red, little head. Very fruity nose. Oxidation is present. Highly carbonated, and fizzy. Has lots of depth and complexity and is fun and fruity. Lots of apples and plums and dried fruit too. Really enjoyable.

Pours a murky amber with a very thin white head. Strong peppery aroma, must be the cedar, light oily floral hops. First taste is very peppery, lots of cedar, spicy, mellow oily floral hops and dull malt. The slow cask maturing is evident in its well melded flavors and smooth body/carbonation. Interesting beer, maybe mine is too old because it isn’t very bright.

<i>Bottled. </i> Hazy amber, rich firm head. Strong perfumy cedar aroma. Medium sweet and medium bodied Densely malty with this very evident and unique woody cedar character. Fruity, yet elegant with piney bitter finish. Interesting, unique and mindblowingly tasty!

Very nice little brew here. Orange hazy golden colour with an off-white head. Aroma of pine, cedar, and sweet hops. Flavour was sweeter than expected but the cotton candy aspects mixed in well with the cedar funk. Almost what I might call a Cream India Pale Ale.

bottle from Knightly Spirits in Orlando. Nice cloudy amber color. Good light beige head. Aroma of wood, malty, malt and some faint hops. Flavor is pretty complex. I find some wood, sweetness, spices, hops, and some fruit. Well rounded and complex for this style. Nice.

Bottle. Pours a reddish orange. Woody, cedary aroma with some lingering hops. Taste has same cedar flavor to it, peppery, light tartness. Pretty good

Deep cloudy amber honey color with a finger of creamy cream colored head. Cedar dominates the nose, hops layered underneath. The taste is a nice malt backbone that finishes with a strong cedar sappiness and hops. Unique, the cedar makes this not very sessionable but it is good.

My first reaction, "OMG, cedar", right there on the front nose, very pungent, some pepper, pine, citrus and some caramel malting... the cedar seems like a spanish cedar (I smoke cigars and have spanish cedar-lined humidors)... but couldn’t tell you definatively... appearance is a cedery hazy amber-orange with a voluminous head, lacing is sticky and the lacy head lingers... flavor, well spicy peppery cedar, some piney hops and a slightly sweet maltback bone to take the edge off the casking... palate is smooth, oil and coats the mouth before the finish... once again, I’m kind of speachless like after tasting other hitachino stuff... I’ll have to revisit, my rating is based on that it is a very high quality brew with nice subtlties... definately cedar!!!