Hitachino Nest New Year Celebration Ale

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

Pours hazy orange – brown with tall big bubbled tan head. The aroma has herbal notes to go along with pine hops and some sticky sweet maltiness. The full force carbonation punctuates the tasty citrus hops, spicy hops and light colored fruity esters at first. Then notes of pine hop bitterness and hints of citrus hops round things out. Very tasty with tangy bright flavors.

(Bottle). Strong spicy fruit aroma. Hazy reddish dark amber body, insanely large off-white head. Loads of carbonation. Flavor is sort of weirdly fruity, and quite sweet, but very pleasant once you get accustomed to the unusual character. Definitely different.

2005 - Sweet, almost too sweet. Lots of spice though - kind of an Asian Take on DFH Raison - but needs to tame the sugars. Couldn’t really taste the coriander, but definitely the vanilla.

Courtesy of cigarcitybrew. Pours hazy brown, off white head. Aroma, had the signature Hitachino aroma., with plenty of nice added spices.Close to one of the Belgian winter warmers. Taste, yeasty, filed with nice spices, fruity orange and citrus notes, reminded me a lot of the typical Hitachino taste with added malts and the Hitachino twist that makes this one a nice little gem.

The beer completely caught me off guard. It poured with a high amount of carbonation, similar to a champagne, except the pillowy yellow head lasted for about 10 minutes. The is defintely a champagne taste as well. The beer has a hazy brownish orange hue with poor clarity, but the lacing is extreme. There is a strong taste similar to a beligium double. The alcohol is semi-hidden , but there is a great warmth that exudes this brew. This is a perfect winter solstace beer and can supplement the yearning for a dark red vinous taste if in the mood. The aftertaste is bitter and sweet, with an overemphasis on tartness. It is also sour and citrusy, with an acidic closure. This is the type of beer that you can drink one of at a time and would be a fine accompyment to a succulent lamb chop!

Bottle: pours a orangish amber with a frothy white head, spicy aroma, taste is spicy, dry fruit and leaves a crisp, clean feel in the mouth. Nice stuff.

Pours amber with very little head. The aroma has very obvious spice and a lot of vanilla. The spices and vanilla dominate and almost completely hide the malt and hops. Full smooth body with carbonation that is fairly light. The flavor starts with some toasted malt, vanilla and very gentle spices. The finish is sharper with cinnamon biting you along with earthy / spicy hops. A very interesting beer.

Bottle. 2004 Bottle. Caramel colored beer with a big dark-cream colored head. Spice, caramel aroma with cinnamon and vanilla. Caramel, sherry flavor with light orange, spice, and cinnamon. Medium bodied. Lingering caramel, light sherry, light orange, and spice. Nice oxidation - sherry notes adding to complexity.