Hitachino Nest New Year Celebration Ale

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Ibaraki, Japan

Orange brown, chalky, transluscent appearance with an explosive foamy brown head. Incredibly rich spicy malt aroma. Rich malty palate with complex spiciness-- bitter orange, ginger, jasmine flower. Crazy stuff! Really really nice.

Pour is thick reddish brown and muddy appearance with spacious bubble structure. An uneven head, which is kinda different and cool. Aroma is saison like with some more spices than typical. Flavors are sour apple, perfumy hops, spice, and overall a nice sweet and sour combo. A unique brew for sure. Like a sugary saison, I think it works here. Definitely some belgian influences in this brew. I liked it quite a bit.

Bottle from Sams in Chicago. Pours a cloudy copper color with a thick and powerful off-white head. A powerful yeast and spice profile in the nose. The taste was mostly a strong dose of spices; orange peel, cinnamon, and nutmeg, along with some dry yeasty flavors. A full mouthfeel, quite interesting. This brewer does a lot of good work.

Bottle. Pours a hazy dark amber with a big, rocky off-white head that takes a while to settle down long enough to finish the pour. Aroma is interesting - sour vinegar, vegetal, with a bit of spicy yeast coming through. Taste is - wow. Sweet malt at the beginning quickly moves towards citric sourness and vegetal notes with a bit of barnyard in there also; tomato sauce. Finish brings out some individual spice notes more clearly, notably nutmeg and coriander, to complement the sourness. Mouthfeel is largely defined by a very biting carbonation that couples with the sourness to give the beer a notably sharp character. Interesting, completely unorthodox beer.

Bottle from mgumby. Thanks Mike! Pours a hazy orange amber with a small, champagne-like head that fades fast. Nose is vinegar, french fries, spices, tomato, a bit of sourness, and a whole lot of weird. Flavor is also very interesting. Slightly vegetal, with some nutmeg, and some carbonated fruity sourness. Mouthfeel is way too carbonated kind of irritating in my throat. This beer is all sorts of weird. I would not say it is soothing. This is an interesting beer, but in this time and place, I was not a huge fan.

330ml Bottle: Aroma is sweet. Smells of sour mix, fruit, spices, coriander, and Bretty yeast. Gusher! Poured brown/amber/orange in color with a huge beige head that lasted throughout. Very sparkling. Opaque. Flavor is light to medium sweet and spiced. Tastes of tomato sauce, spices, Brett, yeast, and sour mix. Medium body. Tingly, dry texture. Lively carbonation. Dry, tomato sauce finish. Very over carbonated.

2004 vintage with maniac. Pours a cloudy brown with a good tan head. Nose is vegetal with a hint of cocoa. Tastes like a barlywine with cherries and some sourness. Medium body with medium carbonation.

Deep brown body with mahogany highlights. Big caramel and molassas aroma, with some rum soaked fruit and lots of spice. Lots of spice flavor, more caramel and molassas, and vanilla shining through. Medium body with moderate carbonation and a bit of alcohol on the finish.