Hitachino Nest New Year Celebration Ale

2004 bottle - Deep murky brown with a huge frothy head -- very nice. Smells sweet with white grapes, vanilla, faint orange juice, and some light spice. Taste is oaky and nutty, with chocolate and some bitterness on the finish. There’s still some of the wheat there, but it’s co-mingling with bolder and sweeter flavors -- there’s even some sweet raisins and bourbon notes. Haven’t had this one fresh, but with five years on it, I like what I’m tasting.

Poured from the bottle into a pint glass to drink. The beer had a cloudy amber-red color with some light sediment and a huge foamy tan head with great retention but little cling. It had a spicy, floral aroma with some citrus and grassy notes, and some cinnamon and malt. The beer tasted sweet and spicy with some fruity and floral components and a constant underlying bitterness. It had a lively, highly carbonated and full mouthfeel, was fairly dry and did have a slight presence of alcohol.

Stylistically this one bounces around a lot, which is just testament to Kiuchi’s style bending creativity. The beer pours with a very hazy red color with a medium head that goes away almost completely after a minute or so. The aroma is floral with notes of vanilla, sweet malt, yeasty spiciness, and plenty of spices this aroma reminds me of a Abbey Dubbel. The flavor is cinnamon and lots of other spice with plenty of booze. The beer is sweet but well balanced with the sweetness against the spices and the alcohol along with the Belgian yeast character. Delicious.

Bottle. [thank you, madmitch76]
Pours hazy red-orange with a giant, frothy, off-white head. Really lovely aroma. There is brett, cinnamon, vanilla, holly, caramel, lots of nutmeg. Lovely. Medium to high carbonation, lovely dry bretty and spicy mouthfeel. Flavour is extremely well-balanced and still extremely spicy. Ginger, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon, coriander. Fantastic dryness. Lightly warming. There is piney hops, caramel malts, light chocolate and a slight herbal ginger finish. I, as one who like spicy ales, this is really brilliant.

Most amazing aroma I have ever smelled- like Christmas potpourri. Also the biggest, thickest, longest lasting head, color is a cloudy orange-yellow,. Flavor is very vanilla and nutty nutmeg. Delicious!!! Bottle from Knightly Spirits in Orlando.

Bottle, from John’s Grocery, shared with Traci and Matt. Copper/gold, good cap of fine white bubbles. Gentle caramel, vanilla and cinnamon nose, touch of soft oak. Raisin sweetness, piney resiny bitterness. Lingering bubblegum spice. Pleasant, but not quite as cohesive as it could be.

Pours umber with a huge tan head. Snickerdoodle cookie aroma, with a touch of ginger. Sweet and warming spicy flavor, only detraction being from a heavy handed carbonation that makes for a bad ginger ale finish. Nice brew though