Hitachino Nest New Year Celebration Ale

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

A fully lasting average creamy tan head tops up a dark brown body. No lacing. No particles. No bubbles. Aroma presents malt being moderate chocolaty and lavender-like spices while hops are very faint ... Yeast character is moderate Also, there are faint evocations of sugar, nutmeg, vanilla. Flavor is moderate earthy/piney .. soft/smooth malt... Finish is medium to full body... creamy texture... Soft carbonation... [ Bottled ; chilled ; 2004 - Thanks to tiggmtl ]

Celebration Ale 2006 Amber with a light haze. Bottle was slowly foaming over the top after opening it. Spicy and malty. It’s a bit chalky but not too bad.

2005 Vintage. Unfortunately did not have the proper glassware for this great find. Aroma was very malty and sweet. On first taste on the palate came a wave of wonderful vanilla and a hint of spice. Finished out with a great aftertaste of nutmeg, vanilla, and orange. A great winter ale from a fantastic Japanese brewry!

2004 bottle. Pours hazy red with a moderate head. Nose and Mouth are very complex, spicy, woody, many barleywine notes without the barleywine sweetness. I thoroughly enjoyed this beer.

2004 bottle. Hazy red orange color with a monsterous beige head that made it hard to pour it into the glass. Very spicey nose with tons of cinnamon, nutmeg, wet newspaper and something meaty. The dominant flavor that I get is old orange juice, maybe even old orange drink. The cinnamon tastes flat, and the other spices seem muted. The finish is rather metallic. There is a lot of carbonation on the tongue. I bought this at a bottle shop near Detroit (don’t remember which one). I didn’t drink the same beer that the other ratings seem to indicate.

2006 bottle. Used a Chimay goblet. It pours with just a litte bit of head. The color is a very very dark orange or a light ruby. Cloudy, murky, one could see some sediment and a little bit of a swirling vortex in the center. Nothing dominant in the aroma. Taste is slightly sweet, no sense of alcohol and goes down easy. This bottle is different than the 2004, which I remember was a lot more citrus-like. Plus the label does not look as joyful. Well worth a try for the fans of the celebration ale but stock up on the 2004 bottles (i know I have).

Reddish amber appearance with a nice thick head. Aroma is spicey with some ginger and nutmeg. Tastes a little of everything sweet, spicy and even hoppy bitterness towards the end. Interesting mix of flavour that blends well together.

2004 Vintage.This beer is a very interesting take on a German Eisbock or "ice beer" style. This beer is brewed with five malts including pale, Munich, Wheat, Crystal, and chocolate malt. It is hopped with 4 different hops, including Goldings, Hallertau, Tettnag, and Saaz. It is then spiced with five different spices including orange peel, coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla beans. Suffice to say this is one amazingly complex and flavorful beer, but it continues to get better. Before bottling this beer, it is frozen for three days at 24F, where the frozen water is removed, concentrating the beer. This is a traditional method used by German brewers, and in that sense it does indeed make this beer an eisbock. It is then conditioned in the bottle for six months, and comes in at a mighty 10% abv. So what you have is a wonderfully rich, spicy, strong, soothing beer just exploding with big aromas and flavors. New Year Celebration Ale 2004 pours to a beautiful deep garnet color with a thick and creamy cinnamon colored head and a soft carbonation. The nose of this beer is just bursting with huge complex aromas of malt and spice. Fragrant aromas of orange peel, fresh vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon meld with sweet malty and chocolate aromas. The body is lush and full on the tongue with lots of big sweet malty and chocolate flavors that glide over the tongue. This is paired with more spicy flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and an ever present under tone of orange. New Year Celebration Ale finishes with more complex malty and spicy flavors, then ends with a soothing alcohol and vanilla burn. Wow. This is one of the most memorable beers I have had in a long time. The aromas and flavors in this beer are very vibrant when consumed young, and this beer could be cellared, and enjoyed with a year or two of age on it. There is a lot going on in this beer, and it makes for the perfect beer to slowly sip and savor on a cold night, or to sit and relax with after a big meal. I would not dare pair this beer with food. Enjoy this one with a good book or movie. New Year Celebration Ale retails for about $4 a 11.5oz bottle making a bit pricey for the average beer drinker. True beer lovers will have no problem paying that price for a crack at this beer.