Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Traditional Ale
Ibaraki, Japan

Cloudy, golden-amber body with a big yeast load and a soapy white head. Unusual and distinct aroma reminds me of cocoa, nuts, guava, and cherry plus an underlying adjunct signature. Lightly sweet, waxy flavor with rye notes and hop characters suggesting dry tea leaves. Also has some acidity as if from tart berries. Finish is drying and moderately bitter. Interesting beer.

Pours a pinkish amber color with a tight white head that persists. Aroma is average and mellow nothin’ speacial. Flavor is a little sweet and crisp with a very strange finish. You just have to drink it. If you want weird, hitachino will deliver.

Very, VERY spritzy, almost ticklish on the palate and throat as it goes down. Big ABV, but not overly intrusive. Strange melange of flavors intermingle, yet remain unfamiliar to me, defying easy deconstruction. Weird berry-like fruitiness, and tart bitterness mix it up all over my tongue. Generally pretty refreshing in a very disquieting way.

11.2oz (330ml) bottle. Poured a medium and hazy goledn color with an averaged sized white head. What is that aroma and taste. I know I know it but I can’t nail it down 100%. I’m thinking red rice vinegar, but the name may be throwing me off. Could also be strawberry lemonade or olive juice. Definitely has a light sour and tart finish (I’d call it a sweet then sour). There’s also some flowers, wood, and citrus in there. Very different. I enjoyed the experience.

Bottle. Flowery / litchee fruit malt aroma. Hazy reddish amber color with a film of a head. A litchee syrup flavor - not much else. Light body. Wasn’t impressed - the sweet fruity flavor came out too much for me - wasn’t particularly cloying but not great.

From a bottle. Pours a beautiful red color with a thick and lasting white head and eventually fantastic lacing. Aroma is strange. The rice is definitely in there but there’s also a rather interesting woody/smokey scent in there. Flavor is immediately tangy with a fantastic smoked meat sensation dominating. Sour apple cider finish really caps off this unique drinking experience. Mouthfeel is sparkling without being overly carbonated and the lasting effect given by this beer just makes me want more. One of the most surprisingly enjoyable beers I have ever tasted. Highly recommended.

This definitely won the Uniqueness award at the beer tasting at the office christmas party. It also won the best bottle label design award (updated from what’s pictured on this site). Everyone seemed to have a different experience with this beer, or at least it conjured up different flavour associations with everyone, including soy sauce, rice, cajun sausage, lake water, and others. I found it interesting and spicey (I made the sausage association myself), and I think it would go quite well in, or with jumbalaya. A bit too "wacky" for casual consumption, for my tastes at least.

well, it was a unique experience. very sweet taste with some kind of meaty mysterious layer to it; primarily meaty, sweet/cola syrup, perfume, spice; i really didn’t like the aftertaste, though. a must try, in any case.