Hitachino Nest XH

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Belgian Ale
Ibaraki, Japan

12 ounce bottle purchased at Big C Liquors in Orlando, FL for $4.49 Excellent beer!

2007 Bottle and served in my Ommegang Anniversary glass:
Coppery hue with a small head which left some lace upon the glass and oily legs too, some floaties from bottle conditioned. The aroma has notes of plum and fig, cedar and oak, grainy vapours, vanilla and some caramel, and a dash of fresh cut grass.

The taste is different from the nose has warming alcohol and vinous fruit greets the taster before heading off towards an earthy, cedary and minerally finish. Strange and interesting, I am not sure I have ever tasted anything like this before. Additionally the flavor profile changes a lot as it warms. The mouth feel is sprite and aggressive with an oily and tannic finish.

Some parts of this brew are wonderful and other parts leave me questioning... but overall I would say this is worthy of a try for sure. (I swear this is more barleywine than Belgian Ale).

This poured amber in color with a thick head. Aromas of sour red fruit with a touch of malt and funk. In the mouth it is medium-bodied with lots of carbonation and great balance. While quite crisp and refreshing there is nice concentration in the midpalate. Well done!

Hazy darker brownish red with a thinner tannish head. Sweeter foot-like woody smell. A bit of booze. A bit of vanilla. Creamy. Nice fullness, but perhaps too viscous. Sweet and creamy boozy caramel with vanilla. A bit of alcohol. Tannic fruity finish. Cloying, boozy.

Bottle from WLV Liquors. Pours a clear amber orange with a smooth beige head. Nose is surprisingly sour and slighlty fruity at first but that fades to reveal the Bazooka Joe bubble gum that surrounds this beer like an aura. Carbonation is spritzy. Fruity flavors. Some cherry, grapefruity, bubblegum and earthy notes with a touch of sourness. There is a distracting earthiness that comes from the yeast but my sample without the yeast remains fruity and smooth. I never noticed Bazooka Joe chalky bubblegum like this in any beer before. A strange one but enjoyable.

This is one strange beer... Aromas of cherris, malt, and a bit ok funkiness (maybe brett?). Cherries are more pronounced in the flavor, with barnyard and a bready yeast finish. Very interesting; the oak age is evident but I do not pick up on any sake or shochu flavors or aromas. Worth a try.

This beer is wild. Weird garbagey aroma blows off revealing a nice cedary slightly citric dry aroma. Fairly dry flavor. Very interesting.

This Belgian Ale pours a medium copper amber color from a 33cl bottle. Huge white foamy head with nice lacing. The aroma is fruity and sweet, with a touch of wood and some yeast. A medium bodied Belgian Ale. The malts are fruity and sweet, touch of vinous quality as well. The hops are citrusy. Interesting beer, kind of fruity and sweet, some wood, some yeast with a wine (sake?) like character. The flavors change with each sip. Subtle. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.