Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Stout
Ibaraki, Japan

Black pour with a dark tan head that dissipates rather quickly. Aroma is dark roast coffee, cream, lactic sugar, dark chocolate, lightly roasted barley, and molasses. Flavor is unsweetened chocolate, cocoa nib, creamy mocha, roast, and gratuitous coffee notes. Palate is thick and rich for the style with a distinct caressing velvety smoothness and a dry chalky finish. Quite tantalizing.

Beautiful black pour, brown head, small but attractive. Aroma holds coffee, cream, sweet chocolate, caramel, roasted malt- really solid aroma. Flavor is also excellent; lots of coffee and roasted malt, along with caramel and cream and chocolate. Flavor notes are similar to the aroma, but hit in a different order; coffee is robust at the front and the bitter roast complements it well, then the sweet aspects come through closer to the finish. Palate is very full for a regular stout, and glides across the tongue beautifully. Really nice brew, particularly for a Japanese brewery’s efforts on such a good style.

Very nice. Has a strong coffee taste that I think would cover up any other delicate or less-pronounced flavors. Only complaint would be that I didn’t think it had the gravity or fullness I would expect from a stout. However as a coffee snob as well, I loved it!

A lot of chocolate in the aroma-dark chocolate. A great great pour. Very black with thick dark head. Taste is thick, both chocolate and coffee. Finally a truly great beer form these gives, especially given their relatively high prices.

13th August 2008. Glorius thick tan head on this beer with a wonderful tangy coffee creaminess. The beer itself is opaque black with a very strong coffee flavour. Also has tang about it that borders on fruity. Not that bitter even in the finish which has that espresso roastiness about it. Thought I wouldn’t like this beer. Very pleasantly surprised.

THOUGHTS: Almost mocha like. Incredible beer. I will buy this again if I can find it. Not super complex, but the flavors and aromas are perfect. Almost like a coffee drink instead of a beer. The best Asian beer I think I’ve had so far and one of the best stouts overall. I recommend it highly. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brown that was nearly black in the glass with slight red highlights and a small tan head that mostly diminished, but left good lacing. The aroma was heavy coffee and slightly less dark chocolate. The initial flavor was sweet and slightly sour; while the finish was sweet, a little sour and fairly bitter with a fairly duration, but consisting almost only of coffee bean. There was coffee, chocolate, fresh ground coffee, coffee beans, hints of vanilla, slight dark fruit, but mostly coffee bean, and roasted malt. There was also some bitter and sort of sour coffee. The overall flavor was more coffee bean than the actual coffee. The medium to full body was a little oily, yet creamy with very fizzy and tingly carbonation and a slightly chalky and lightly alcoholic finish.

Black colored with little beige head. Very rich aroma with real cocoa note, strong coffee roastiness also here, mild vanilla also comes up. Medium to full bodied, creamy palate. Flavor is similar with very rich and dry coffee-cocoa, some berries and dark chocolate also here. Aftertaste dries with berries still, roastiness and wood is also present.

Source: 12 oz bottle purchased at Cool Springs Wine and Spirits.
Glass: Brooklyn Pint.
Appearance: Dark black pour with a two finger brown head.
Aroma: Coffee dominates, with a hint of bitter chocolate.
Flavor: Pretty simple coffee and chocolate flavors. Very well done.
Palate: Medium body with mild carbonation.
Overall: Excellent coffee stout. Wish it weren’t so expensive though.