Hitachino Nest New Year Celebration Ale

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

11.2 oz. bottle. Muddy brown pour with big nasty light floaties and a thick foamy khaki head. Very effervescent. A variety of subtle aromas in this one. There’s some vanilla beans, alcohol, orange peels, nutmeg and cinnamon. Carbonation is VERY high. Manages to maintain a medium smooth body while staying wheaty, crisp and refreshing. Tons of sweet flavors with zesty orange peels, alcohol and vanilla dominating. A subtle spicy and bitter finish. Love the cartoon on the label.

Pours with a huge sweet head like a porter. Smells of various spices for sure. Sweetness gives way to flavorful complete finish. Great even this late (5/8/05). Had again and rerated at 4.2, so I say this is solid!

My first review of a beer from Japan. This poured out with a murky opaque brown body with a huge light tan head. The head falls leaving a cap of bubbles to cover the body and leaves sticky rings of lace around the glass as it is consumed. Fruit sweetness with a good touch of caramel stands out first in the nose before giving way to the huge spiciness in this brew. Cinnamon and nutmeg where the two spices I could identify but there was a lot more going on in this great smelling brew. A nice caramel flavor greets you when you first sip that is covered in spices. There was a bit of fruitiness to the flavor as well as a nice bitter spicy after taste that was excellent. Very complex in the nose and mouth, I will need to gather a few more of these to full appreciate them. The mouthfeel was almost full and it was silky and left you wanting more with every sip. Unfortunately I only picked up one bottle, as after I drank this I wanted more. This is definitely on of the best beers I have had and really left me wanted more.

11.2oz bottle. Light brown color with a big tan head. Sweet, fruity aroma of yeast, spices and citrus. Sweet flavor is cut somewhat by the extremely aggressive carbonation. I agree with other raters that it reminds me of a spiced fruit cake. Lots of sweet spices, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg. If it wasn’t so carbonated I would have given this beer an even higher rating.

(Bottle) Pours a murky burnt orange body with a huge "long-lasting" rocky beige head. Aroma of bread, caramel, orange, and spices. Flavor of spicy fruit cake and malt. Chewy body with a lively carbonation.

Cloudy dark amber/brown (like apple cider) with a monstrous thick beige head. Aroma of orange peel, pear and clove; very vibrant and fruity. The flavor is very bitter, harsh and sweet at the same time. Has notes of toasted malt, caramel, molasses, apple cider, orange peel, clove and various other spices. Lingering fruity bitter finish with an alcohol presence. Medium body with VERY lively carbonation. Not much lacing, good head retention. Overall, pretty complex but it just wasn’t my thing. I found this much more drinkable after it sat out for an hour or so and the carbonation mellowed.

Pours a cloudy, and due to a bad pour, yeasty, amber /brown hue with a wonderfully foamy head with a decent head. Aromas of bananas, caramel, a little grassy, very complex.... hints of all the spices said on the bottle and the vanilla mellows it out. Mouth feel is medium bodied. Flavors of all the said spices with a slight sour bitterness that doesn’t do the beer well. Tea and cinnamon dominate the finish.

(Bottle) As mentioned below, this beer was very good - something of a surprise from this Japanese brewery as many of the bottles that find their way to Eastern Canada are somewhat flat in flavour or spoiled. I found the New Year Celebration Ale to be hoppy, spicey, soy, oysters, and piney in the nose with a strong flavour of the latter. It pours a thin white head with a deep orange body. The hoppy flavour is very likely due to this 2005 barleywine’s youth yet it is still loveable though not terribly to style. My thanks to Lubiere for sharing this bottle at the DumDum Small Bottle gathering,