Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Stout
Ibaraki, Japan

Tasted at the real ale fest. Black with a foamy tan head. Good espresso aroma. Dry chocolate and roasty coffee taste.

Bottle: Poured a deep black color stout with a nice foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of espresso coffee is gorgeous with some notes of roasted malt also noticeable. Taste is a well balance mix between some roasted malt, nice black chocolate notes with some lactose also noticeable. Full creamy body is perfect for the style with no discernable alcohol. I must admit having been surprised by the creamy body and the nice balance between all the element in this beer.

Bottle from SL, highly anticipated based on slob’s reviewing this before me as it sat in my fridge for quite a while. Pour was deep black, slow developing tan-chocolate head, but it thinned to a circlular ring quickly although retained itself as such quite well (interesting). Lacing was weak. The aroma was rich dry coffee, a touch of chocolate, really quite simple. The flavor started out a bit bitter, disappointingly so, bitter rough coffee. However, temperature was absolutely critical on this one, with warming immense improvements, bitterness less prominent yet not subtle, quality of the coffee flavors started to work, chocolate playing a nice subtle supporting role. Definitely doesn’t approach a sweet coffee stout, yet the dry bitterness (turned more gentle with warmer temps) does seem to work well. I tend to like the Breakfast Stout on up in terms of sweetness, so this is a notch below (or more in appearance), yet pretty nice, nonetheless. Mouthfeel is much lighter than those two, silky, slightly acidic, quite drinkable for 7.5% ABV.

A thick, syrupy, pours black body spawns a massive column of dense, light brown foam. The head settles slowly to a wavy, completely asymmetrical mound. Randomly placed, thick clumps of lacing hang on the glass like pictures on a wall. The aroma is pure, unadulterated espresso. Nothing more, nothing less. This is without a doubt the most intensely coffeed-out brew I have ever some across. Any other scents or aromas that might be present are crushed by the massive avalanche of sharp, biting espresso. A heaping helping of sweet, malty sugar has been added to make this concoction drinkable, which causes it to sit very heavy on the stomach. Still, its bitter as hell, despite the sweeteners. Finishes roasty, with a slight sour tickle in the back of the throat. Just a hair shy of full bodied. I can’t get past the intense coffee and roast, but if espresso is your thing, this one is a must try.

1/12/2008: Hitachino Espresso Stout pours out in a thick stream of near black coffee color. There is an average-sized creamy brown head that doesn’t disapear quickly (or really at all for that matter). Smells of fresh, black dirt mixed with coffee. There are some notes of bittersweet chocolate as well. The flavor is dense with coffee, roasted malts, and bitter chocolate (almost ike unsweetened Baker’s Chocolate). It is also dry and earthy with some old, used coffee ground type flavor coming through just before the bitter, dark chocolate finish. The palate of this medium-full to full-bodied beer is thick and creamy. It kind of has the density and texture of heavy whipping cream. Overall this beer is good and solid, but not great. I would probably never pick-up another bottle of this again.

11.2 fl.oz. bottle (7.5% alc./vol.) from River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio. Rating #143 for this beer...

Dark brown, nearly black, with a rich, roasty tan head, 1/4 ", slowly simmering, but beautiful. Cocoa, coffee, and cola coming out of the nose...vanilla beans and maple interject. Espresso notes get bigger, more bittersweet, richer, deliciouser. Fullish mouthfeel, then flavor explodes and spills all over. Bittersweet dominates the flavor. Huge espresso, some licorice and molasses. Big chocolate, too. Could use a fuller body, could be richer. Of course, I’m comparing it to things like Bell’s Java Stout, which is plenty thick. Long, chocolatey, bittersweet cocoa finish. Lays long on the tongue. Yum. Good stuff, Japan!

For some odd reason I could never quite get up the nerve to open this, but tonight I decided to go for it. Not sure what my reservations were, perhaps just a couple of wretched flavored stouts and porters I’ve had over the past few months. In any case, this was a very nice reversal of fortune. Poured black with brownish ruby highlights at the edge, decent dark tan head fades entirely. Aroma was just fantastic, richly dark chocolate with smooth espresso. Flavor was more espresso driven, with chocolate as as the underlying note. Not as thick in the mouth as the aroma would have made you think, but still full bodied. Excellent beer.

bottle, tar pitch color with wispy crema, nose is a vegetal roast with syrupy flavor of soybeans, coffee and cocoa, nice bitterness on the finish