Hitachino Nest New Year Celebration Ale

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

Dark amber color with a great big head that doesn’t want to settle. Very cloudy. Aroma of spice, with good hops, decent fruit. Amber malt, slightly sweet; earthy, with some barnyard notes. Dryish. Strong amber malt flavor, rich and very sweet but with great hops as well. Lots of fruit. Strong but doesn’t taste 9%. Some citrus, barnyard flavor is there too. Alcohol and big hop finish with amber malts and fruit. Long lasting. Rather heavy body and medium to better carbonation Like a spicy Belgian Noel. Well balanced, a touch too sweet maybe. Excellent overall.

2004 Celebration - Pours a murky brown that doesn’t let light through, huge light brown head, aroma is malty but acidic, woody...flavour is wonderfully complex, half tripel, half sour, half winter ale (:)), I was very impressed, this was a nice surprise..

Hazy amber. Big head. Aroma: Spices, caramel. Flavor: Caramel, spices, yeast, very complex. Bitter, warm finish. This is a very good beer and demands a new look at beers from Japan.

Bottle 2004 pours out a hazy amber topped with a san head. Aroma of spice and sweetness. Tast of bread malts and more odd spice. So So

Hazy tea color. Initially coarse web of head condenses to a fine enshroudment. Very strong barleywine-like aroma exudes immediately and continues to do so with strong vanilla notes. Light aroma of toasted malt, toasted nuts, vanilla and sweet spices. Reminiscent of Anderson Valley’s Winter solstice, in the aroma at least. Initially very sweet - but ultimately very tart - aroma is permeated with coffee made from reused grounds, cinnamon and lemon, a bizarre blend of taut tartness with sweetish malt and sweetish spices. Highly carbonated, which accentuates the tartness. I don’t think it all really works together here.

11.2 bottle Lukas Kansas City, MO. 2006 Vintage. Pour is a murky orange brown with a fast developing two inch tan head. Head is firm and lasting. Aroma is soft floral, lavender, coriander and some soft lemon citrus notes. I also get clove and cinnamon. Smells like a holiday candle, only softer. Its a very inviting nose. Taste is big on the nutmeg initially, then turns to the citrus bitterness and then finishes with the various spices, most notably cinnamon. The aftertaste is the sweet vanilla - really nice natural vanilla sweetness, also very soft. There is almost too much going on for me in this beer, really a ton of spices. Don’t get me wrong, its enjoyable, and well integrated, just a real onslaught of holiday spices. Palate is right for the variety of flavors, medium to full. This was a nice one.

Bottle, 2004. Pours cloudy rust orange with lasting beige head. The aroma is somewhat fruity, with cherry and raisin notes, with a good deal of orange peel, pretty strong yeast, and a somewhat subtle spiciness. The flavor isn’t quite as solid as the nose. Kind of a spicy hodge-podge, a little bit lacking in grace. Orange peel and coriander are the only spices from the commercial description I detect, but there is a maelstrom of blended spicy notes behind them, something like an overboard tisane. There’s a somewhat dark malty sweetness as the base, with some cherry and wood notes. It finishes with a pleasant dryness and a slightly oxidized sherry-like note. Ok, but I bet this would have been better fresh.

Poured a deep cloudy amber color ale with a nice off-white foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of nutmeg and cinnamon is well balance with the sweet caramel malt profile. Taste is a mix between some deep caramel malt with loads of spices which may includes cinnamon and nutmeg. Body is full and beer is very rich with no apparent alcohol and some good carbonation. I very much enjoy this one even though it is quite filling and wouldn’t drink more then one at a time. I ma starting to really enjoy beer from this brewery and looking forward to more discovery.