Hitachino Nest Lacto Sweet Stout

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Sweet Stout
Ibaraki, Japan

My label is different, but it says Sweet Stout, so we’re cool on that. Goddamnit, if i had known this was rated so low I’d have bought something else! Oh well, here goes nothing. The pour is very dark brown with a minimal khaki head. It’s a 3-4 depending upon the repour. The aroma is roasty and malty, not real pungent, with some chocoff and oatmealy cereal. I also get a woody aroma like mushrroms dipped in brown sugar, and a tiny bit of female gymnast ass after a meet. The taste is tart; very tart, like sour milky tart, with a definite cherry component. The palate is watery, with more cereal and dark roast malt in the taste as it warms, and more tartness, which even starts to get a barrel-aged oaky feel to it, but it comes across a lot like Cisco Moor Porter, only not quite as complex or balanced or hefty. Mix 3 parts standard porter and 1 part cantillon and you’d have this beer. I don’t mind tartness, and as I’ve said before, not every infection is a bad infection, and that applies equally to beer and the flora of the female genitalia. I will buy the other Hitachino’s next week, and i expect you all to stay posted with bated breath.

Robe noire surmontée d’une mousse beige épaisse qui persiste. Arômes légers de café. Saveurs légères de café et de caramel. Crémeuse et aqueuse.

Pours a pitch black with a modest tan head. Did I just see sediment? The sweet, malty aroma comes out right away. Body is a bit thinner than I was expecting... actually, this seems pretty dry for a sweet stout, too. But the flavor is nice-- fruit, chocolate, a hint of coffee in the background. Very fruity, actually. Bitterness is just right for the style, and there’s an interesting tartness in the finish. Maybe a little too carbonated for a sweet stout-- I guess I like mine a little flatter. Not bad.

Pours a dark black color with an initial off-white head that quickly disappears. Slightly sweet aroma, not much else to note. Taste starts off sweet, finish is sour and a bit dry. Light mouthfeel for a stout, clean and not sticky sweet. Different, worth a try.

A dissapointment. About the best thing that this beer has going for it is the great color. Just the right silky dark chocolate color. Lacking in almost all carbonation or head. Pours right into the glass to make a thin tan head. Smell of burnt leaves and burnt sugar. No Belgian lace left on the glass. Original flavor is just lacking something. No, really it is lacking almost everything. I feel like a bride left at the altar. No initial maltiness, no hoppiness (expected), no lingering flavor on my palette. If this had any less finish I would suspect it was a lager. I have a couple of other Hitachinos in my fridge. I have higher hopes for them.

11.2 oz bottle. This just isn’t very good. Murky, muddy brown body with an off-brown head. Aroma is decent, coffee with some malty sweetness. Flavor is weak coffee/chocolate at the onset, with a bitter, yeasty finish, and a sour note as it warms. Palate is quite thin.

This was really hard for me to try, being somewhat lactose intolerant. Sweet, almost cloying, and artificial. RIch milk chocolate and cherries. Malty caramel flavors, and some sour flavors are dominant towards the finish as it warms.

What’s with a lot of the ratings for this one? Here I was thinking this thing would be somewhat strange and gross, but it’s a fairly decent milk stout. Aroma is sweet, chocolatey and fruity. Flavor is like chocolate-covered sour cherries, very sweet, slight coffee notes, and a bittersweet finish. Maybe a slight, slight hint of smoke. Pretty good. I really like sourness in dark beer, so i think it’s great.