Hitachino Nest Lacto Sweet Stout

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Sweet Stout
Ibaraki, Japan

This is my first experience with a milk stout. The flavors are somewhat subdued compared to a normal stout, but I still found it pleasant to drink. The tast improved considerably as it warmed to something closer to a cellar temperature. I didn’t find the aroma to be very strong and got almost no head from the pour at all. I wouldn’t have a problem drinking this again, but at the price I paid for a 12 ounce bottle, I would likely select another stout, given the choice.

330 ml. Opaque with a large head that settles to a small ring. Aroma of chocolate, caramel, coffee, slight smoke and a dab of sour cream. Flavor is coffee, chocolate, and sour cherry. Some dried wood and char on the finish to dry it a bit. Medium body is a tad rough times, but almost smooth at others; slightly astringent and tingly from the acid. Interesting brew that almost seems like a stout fermented with a lambic yeast.

Not terribly impressive in my opinion. Has an overly sweet nose, that lacto sweetness, ripe red fruits and saccharine. Soad like mouthfeel, cola flavors, and a light bit of roastiness, but very subtle and dull, with a thin watery finish.

Bottle. Pours black with auburn glowing on the edges. The head was pretty thin and very quickly dissipating. The aroma is funky and smells of used socks and reminds me of a Lindeman’s Kriek (yeah, I didn’t like that soda pop). Wow, I’m not looking forward to drinking this one. UGH, so sweet. Wow, it’s as if Lindemans made a stout soda. The initial taste is extremely milky. Not much flavours except a fizzy milk until it passes the tongue. I was hoping the sock aroma wouldn’t be in the flavour, but yes, yes it is. It’s a dull but strong flavour. Subtle but very noticeable fruit flavours show up as well, much like cherries and raspberries. Some notes of coffee and cocoa slightly appear after. The finish is smooth and milky. Flavours diminish quickly leaving you nothing to remember from this bad beer, thank god.

Pours an extremely dark mahogany brown color with a dense, foamy, tan colored head. As I’ve learned to expect from Kiuchi, the nose is as strange as the come. Sweet and sour red berries jump out as the first identifiable component, followed closely behind by pipe tobacco, darkly roasted caramel, distant chocolate, and powdered milk. Weird. Flavors are off the wall and completely unlike any other stout. Sour fruits, lactic sugars, tobacco, and mildly roasted mocha-caramel notes just do not work well together at all. Notes of flat cola, molasses and soy are present as well, muddying the already cloudy waters even further. Medium bodied with a strange, bubbly mouthfeel and a lingering, sour finish. Pretty lousy, overall. A disappointment, especially coming from a respectable brewery.

Bottle. Originally I split a bomber of this with my buddy a couple of years ago at the beach. It was laughably bad, perhaps the worst stout I’d ever tasted. I didn’t rate it and I’ve spent the time since trying to track this stuff down again to make sure I was right. Well, tonight is my "lucky" night. The pour is okay, deep red with a fair head. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced my original sample was infected. However, I am certainly not impressed with the aroma on this. It’s light with hints at uncooked rice, seaweed, and very thin caramel. The mouthfeel is fizzy with a surprisingly light palate. I’m not sure I even consider this a stout. Now I’m thinking about how awesome their espresso stout is. It might be time to revamp the recipe on this lacto puppy. What is the deal? Nothing jumps out at me here, just some weak caramel type sweetness with grainy notes. The finish is gummy. Several problems are present in this "sweet stout". Not particularly enjoyable, though not offensive, per se.

Pretty Gross really, milk tasted sour and was really thin on the palate. Not pleasant to drink. I was really let down with this one after really liking the Espresso Stout.

Sweet Stout? Really? Hmmm. This one pours black as midnight...literally no light was visible through the glass. Kind of watery and somewhat weak. I made a joke once to BlackForestCO about pouring some sweettarts in a beer and calling it "sour", and that’s almost what this one tasted like. Not terrible, but not really a "sweet" stout either. Wouldn’t mind having another; acceptable but average.