Hitachino Nest Lacto Sweet Stout

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Sweet Stout
Ibaraki, Japan

Bottle. Pours a small, creamy, light brown, diminishing head. Opaque, black body with faint lacing. Heavy malt aroma of molasses, chocolate, light coffee and a touch of roast. Molasses and coffee are present in the flavor, as is a weird sourness. A little bit of ash upon exhalation. Light, thinish body with lively, bordering on fizzy carbonation. Roasty bitter finish with some hop bitterness. Strange, mediocre beer. I had hoped for more.

11.2oz bottle. Pours a deep brown, almost black body with a thin, brown head that bubbles away quickly leaving a light lacing around the edges. Aroma is some light chocolate sweetness, but some sour bitter chocolates as well. Some funky, acidic soy sauce smell, over ripe dark fruits, and vinous caramels. Flavor is quite chocolatey with a light sweetness, but a really strange sour lemon that doesn’t blend well. Some creamy lactose, acidic plums, and licorice. Finishes with some sour plums and lemon, milky chocolate, and a light charred flavor. Dry, acidic, and light to medium bodied with a moderate carbonation on the backend. Overall, not too big a fan of this. It has enough flavor to pass off as a decent stout, but the sweet chocolates and sour lemon/plum is really throwing me off. Not quite a drain pour, but hard to swallow.

Bottle. Pours deep dark murky brown with a one finger light tan head. The nose is slightly sour chocolate milk and toasted malt. The taste is chocolate milk made from past due 2 percent milk and burnt malt. Light-to-medium bodied. Not very good and definitely not worth the price tag that these Hitachino beers command.

Pours dark brown with some light around the edges. Frothy head disappears quickly. Aroma is oddly roasty but sweet at the same time. Extremely thin beer - almost effervescent at first, but the carbonation nearly instantly vanishes, & you’re left with a bitter aftertaste to the sweet beginning. Not a good combination.

Bottle, label actually claimed 4.5% ABV. Dark brown with a creamy big beige head. Sweet roasted flavours with the aromas even more roasted. Some milkiness. Well-made.

Pours a thin black with no head, but very fizzy - looks like soda. Aroma of roasted malts, soy sauce, and fudge. Taste is the same plus fruits, and an almost lambic-like sourness that does not fit the style. Thin body.Barely drinkable, and not enjoyable. So glad I bought the 24oz. bottle.

Pours an opaque brown black with a medium-thick, medium fine, dark tan head. Dark roasted grain in the aroma with a hint of creaminess, faint coffee, and dark chocolate along with a slight metallic edge. Hershey’s chocolate syryp mixed with water is the dominant flavor along with a slight roasted grain bitterness, soft sweetness, and a strange bit of sourness in the finish. The body is far too light here with no indication of alcohol and a meager presence in the mouth. A fine beer, not terrible, but a disappointment given that I am a big fan of this style.

Bottle. Poured black with a tall creamy tan head that settles down to none. Strange aroma of rice, fruits, nut, spices, and cream that gives it a simulated aroma of alcohol even thought it’s only 3.8% abv. The flavor found coffee, bitter chocolate, and cocoa powered. Medium body that is dry and bitter sweet. Not a favorite.