Hitachino Nest XH

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Belgian Ale
Ibaraki, Japan

Poured ruddy and hazy. The head was gorgeous. Light tan, creamy, rocky and seemingly everlasting. The aroma was caramel, light hints of funk and yeast and lightly sour fruit. The flavor was caramel, funk, mango, a bit of lemon and some earthy/oak. The mouthfeel was medium and coating with a slightly medicinal twang on the end. Interesting.

Pours a dark amber to reddish color with no head. Aroma is sweet and funky with notes of yeast, overripe fruit, barnyard, some hints of distilled spirits, light honey and caramel, wheat. Flavor is sweet and funky with notes of yeast, wheat, distilled spirits, fruit, oak, light smoke, some hints of spice. Generally light to medium body wtih a boozy finish.

11.2fl oz bottle shared by Lubiere (merci!), served cold in a Scotch-Irish sampler glass. JL29/09.

App.: Cloudy, fairly deep copper, small off-white head with olive green hues. Aroma: Lots of sour, funky fruit (Flemish Sour), some caramel and toffee, a little brown sugar, light warm spices, slightly savoury. Palate: Medium+ body, full, soft effervescence. Flav.: Wood, deep, tart fruit, lots of burnt sugar and molasses, a little funky, sour cherries, alcohol tingle, slightly green hop flavour, dried fruits; fairly sweet with some bitterness, decent brightness, some alcohol sting and residual malts.

Quite interesting!

The only Japanese beers I’d had before this one were Kirin, Asahi, and Sapporo, so imagine my delight at pouring the most amazing, aromatic, vibrant orange-red beer I’ve ever poured. Yeast was still quite active so the beer literally exploded from the bottle. Nose is fruity and strong, like banana and rose along with Japanese gummy candy. A light but pronounced malt flavor with muted oak and plum flavors and a noticeable "ricey" shochu or sake aftertaste. Sweet and sour. A very original Belgian interpretation, I’ll give it that, but difficult to drink with any regularity and a bit on the pricey side.

Bottle. Nutmeg coppor color. Thick off white head that looks like meringue. Citrus and sour nose that was totally unexpected. Peaty, roasty, and bitter taste with tannins. I don’t detect sake but recognize the complexity.

Brown copper in color with hints of orange. Not much on the nose. Very muted. Sake profile takes some time to come out. Drink this guy a touch warmer than most brews. This beer almost needs decanting like a wine. Easy to drink though, but not worth the high price tag.

Bottle. Pours mostly clear brown with a nice lasting beige head. Smell is sweet malts, slightly tart, funky wood, a little fruity and boozy. Those are all pretty much there in the taste, but it’s richer and a little more malt-forward with some banana and char. Charred bitterness sneaks in in the finish and lingers longer than I’d expected.

A gorgeous reddish dark amber with a light moka head. A rather strange interesting aroma of dark fruits,s our notes, wooden, licorice and cherries, funky and complex. In mouth a smooth rich malt with Brett notes, corky nature, lambic, warming alcohol, overall, a nice experience. Bottle shared with Probstk, July 29 2009.