Hitachino Nest Lacto Sweet Stout

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Sweet Stout
Ibaraki, Japan

$4.00 for a 11.2 oz bottle.
Poured black with a smallish head. Subtle aroma of sweet chocolate, malt and roasty notes. Flavor is a bit dry and not overly sweet at all. Roasty chocolate and coffee. Mild and easy drinking. Overpriced!

A great big head in a big bottle. I had six inches of foam over a half inch of opaque black brew. The head eplodes into the glass, but it is made up mostly of large bubbles so it settles quickly. It took awhile before I could get that first sip. The first reaction was sweet and mild even for a milk stout, but not creamy. It could use a little more hops and a stronger roasted grain taste. It’s gassy. This quality along with the head and the 21 ounce bottle made this a long almost tortuous evaluation. The lingering taste had a soda quality, kind of like a black Bromo Seltzer.

Weird, it tastes like a malted milk with Whiskey. Kind of Beer like in its bitterness and slightly stout like. Dark color and everything, but it tastes like a stale chocallte soda Not too good but novel.

bottle. deep dark brown with a light hued mocha head. aroma is subtle - some lactic milk, light roastiness, and mild coffee. body is a little on the thin watery side.. medium carbonation. sour flavour with raisin and fruit notes. Lacking in flavour in complexity. I wasn’t too impressed with it but it was nice to be able to try it.

This beer sits in my glass a dark, almost black color, it shows a rich brown, clear color when held up to the light. The head is wispy and light brown at first, but once roused shows a frothy brown head. The aroma smells lightly of coffee, with notes of sweet chocolate, and a hint of astringent roasted grain. The beer is surprisingly dry up front, with a certain acidity to it that seems to be mainly contributed by the dark malts. This beer has notes of dark chocolate, a bit of lightly acidic espresso, and even a bit of milk chocolate. This beer has a certain fullness to it as it hits my tongue but all in all it is fairly light on the palate. This beer was not at all what I was expecting from a sweet stout, really only lightly sweet, but I probably like it better because of this.

Marcello’s Wine Market, Baton Rouge, La. - 24,3 oz bottle. The pour is dark cola colored with some ruby red tints. The head is fizzy and slightly off-white and fades fast. Slight coffee in the aroma with a bit of caramel and dirty dish water - slightly "off". Flavor has a bit of a roasted element to it with notes of bittersweet chocolate and coffee and a sort of winey back end. Not altogether bad, but lacking that sticky sweetness I seek out in Sweet Stouts. Mouthfeel is rather thin and it is a bit fizzy. Had better sweet stouts.

Original score 4.1 Smells great. Extremely, extremely sweet. Good though. Has the same ricy/sake flavoring of the red rice ale, but much less, so it is more drinkable. It’s just too sweet to drink much of.

11.2 oz bottle. Thick, dense light tan head, moderate in duration, tops a coal-black body...sweet milk chocolate and licorice in the nose with a bit of wet pine...body extremely smooth and milky, with a light pervading fizzy sourness, a bit like the faint underlying citrus in a cola, and a moderately sweet chalky cocoa texture overlaying it, touches of anise and cherry...relatively dry, smooth and quick finish. Something told me I would hate this, and I don’t though I’m not quite sure what to make of it.