Hitachino Nest New Year Celebration Ale

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

Thanks to DenverLogan for sharing this: Pours a murky apple cider color, aroma of apples, cereal (cheerios), strong on the noce. Flavor is bitter, slighlty sour, with spices overwhelming and bitter on the mouth. Interesting.

Hey, a very nice spiced ale, and just about the first I’ve had from Kiuchi that wasn’t immediately weird and somewhat off-putting. The spicy aroma is both complex and restrained. The orange peel and coriander were immediately and obviously apparent in the nose. The cinnamon and nutmeg less so, and combine in a weird way to make me think of thyme. I get no vanilla in the nose. A bit of a rummy pineapple character perhaps, or spiced rum. Outstanding palate, smooth and with a nice soft carbonation, with a breaddough yeast character typical of their beers. Juicy. On the sweet side, but not under-hopped. No spices stand out in the flavor, but meld to create a uniquely flavored ale. Really one of the nicest and drinkable spiced ales I’ve had.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry & blankboy - courtesy of HogTownHarry. 2004 vintage. Hazy ruby-amber colour with a massive mocha head. Aroma is an odd mixture of vanilla and tropical fruit juice . Flavour has a good tartness, with some spice (cinnamon, coriander) and citrus. Definately the most interesting Japanese beer I’ve tried.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry & GregClow -- courtesy of HogTowHarry. Vintage 2004. Pours a cloudy dark amber with a large foamy off-white head. Aroma of fruit, spices, malt, wood and vanilla. Spicy malty flavour with a nice amount of hops added to the mix. Quite carbonated. I liked it.

Well this beer was so festive that it decided to explode all over my desk, thankfuly since i hadn’t been as drunk as the beer inside i was skillful enough to salvage 3/4 of the beer into my glass. I thought for sure this was going to be infected, but it still tasted fine, and actually really good. Very big blend of spices that didn’t leave the palate feeling wrecked, instead very refreshed. Nice hints of orange peel, vanilla, and nutmeg. Might not get many points on appearance since it looks like a mud puddle, but tastes like a nice holiday brew.

Bottle (12oz - 2004 bottle). Shared with blankboy and GregClow and tupalev - my bottle. Poured murky orange-brown with a massive ligthe brown foamy lasting head. Aroma of massive sweet rost malt, fresh light resiny hops, orange juice, hint of table cream and mossy oak resin - and pineaplle juice. Mouthfeel very lively and spicy, hops present -

Bottle 2005 poured a cloudy orange with a large, lasting amber head. Aromas of citrus, spices,and a hint of vanilla. Palate was light bodied and smooth. Flavors of orange, spices, and a hint of vanilla with a mildly bitter finish and an odd lingering aftertaste. I’m not impressed.

BW tasting at Dumdum’s, Late March 2005. Deep amber ale with a big bubbled head, light fluffed egg-whites. Nice yeasty aroma with notes of cumin and nutmeg, german hops. Sweet malt in mouth, with astringent hops and loads of grapefruits. Rich bodied with smooth scotch alcohol. Went well with the Kenogami cheese.