Hitachino Nest XH

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Belgian Ale
Ibaraki, Japan

Amber Ruby with no head. Aroma is lightly oaky and malty, light alcohol, smells like a barleywine to me. Taste is lightly malty, a bit dry with heavy oak, and an interesting sake hint. Really interesting beer, it’d be neat to see what could happen with other styles in a sake cask.

11.2oz bottle from State Line (Elkton, MD). Poured hazy amber/brown with a creamy, moderate sized head. Wild ale aroma, with yeast, apple, brandy, wood, and caramel. Flavor is primarily sweet caramel malt, with nice accents of wood,fruit, and pepper. Warming alcohol finish. This beer was definitely a pleasant surprise. If only the flavor were as interesting as the aroma...

Light brown color with faint off-white head. Nice sour funk nose with faint oakiness. Tart fruits and some sake punch to it. Grapefruit hints without the sourness. Very interesting.

Pours a nice deep ruby reddish orangish hue, with a huge lingering head that just doesn’t go away. Nice sour apple and funky barnyard on the nose as well as some ripe dark and light fruits, primarily strawberry. Nice tart punch on the front end with a good dose of a grainy rice like sweetness and fruit as well as a good dose of ripe red fruits and alcohol.

fruity, slightly sour aroma. smooth flavor of malt, yeast with a great sour component. to me, very little sake flavor. tastes mostly like a belgian farmhouse ale. a great beer worth a try.

The aroma was malty with caramel and a fruity yet floral component that was earthy and spicy. The aroma had a light acidity which was tart and had a Brett character. Pepper and a bit of clove were the notable spice characteristics out of the gate. The beer poured into the glass murky amber with a beige low, yet lasting, head which laced the glass. The flavor was very nice with Brett and a light peppery spice with a smidge of cloves thrown in for good measure. The flavor was deep and mysterious with a fruity characteristic and a candy nature, yet the beer was not sweet. A very complex and interesting flavor that does not disappoint. The finish was dry with a woody flavor lasting into the aftertaste. The body was medium with a moderate level of carbonation. A truly great beer. Good job! 11.2 ounce bottle.

Medium amber, decent head, clear. Aroma is quite evident, very bretty, with dirty gym socks, faint sour cherry, cedar, and touch of caramel. Flavor is again clearly on the sour side of things, with a clear woody tannic note with cherry and gym sock finish. Better than it sounds, this was a very interesting beer.

11.2oz Bottle. Pungently fruity Brett aroma. Coconut meat, sweet papaya, and sweet pineapple. Very tropical and fresh. Dewy. Drops of June rain on a Black Spruce forest. The tang of apple skins cusps some dryness. Very nice. Beautiful hazed red, with a quick-to-rise silk in hazelnut, extremely fine texture. Flavor is dense and punctuated with a rather sharp Brett tartness. Lemon pith moves into deeper malt, touching caramels, graham cracker and honey. Ooh...a fresh blast of unique spice. Some gourd and liqueurs. Man, sake casks are the way to go. I’m totally digging this fruit profile, the light dry astringency, bits of brett-like sensation and a calming, grassy hop finish. The malt stands up to all of it and gives great balance. Plus, there’s this really explosive interesting spicy character that goes off every now and again. Awesome stuff. Thanks a bunch Sean!