Hitachino Nest Pale Ale

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: English Pale Ale
Ibaraki, Japan

Serve in English pint

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Bottle at The Flying Elk, April 2013. A bit hazy orange-amber with a large white head. Aroma of toffee, light pineapple, mango and light malt. The taste was soft with toffee, some pineapple and mango. A bit on the thin side, still quite drinkable. I wonder how old the bottle was?

Pours a hazy amber colour with a huge over the top(literally you have to be careful so it doesn’t go over) white head that lasts longer than the beer does. Aroma is grassy, earthy, malty and slightly tangy on the nose. Flavour is grassy, mildly sour compared to a sour beer but more then I would like in a pale ale, some sweet malts, and mild-med bitterness. Overall high carbonation and a big fizzy mouth feel.

Pours a hazy amber copper colour with a big frothy white head. Aroma of grassy hops, caramel, toffee and earth. Taste is grassy hops and a bit of sweet malts bit finishing dry. Mouth is a bit tart hit the dryness helps make this a decent beer but bit is a bit too tart.

Tap pours hazy deep gold with creamy light tan off white head. Excellent lace. Aromas of rice, sweet crystal toasty malts, near pine citrus but overall floral hop notes a touch tartly sour. Light medium body, med soft carbonation. Finishes lightly sweet and tart. Balanced sweet sour and hoppy.

Bottle from Brewdog website. A cloudy orange-amber beer with caramel, earthy hoppy notes and a sweet warming chocolatey finish.

On draught at JiBiru - Singapore. Pours a clear copper color with a lasting white head. Light-to-medium body with mellow maltiness and dry (rice?) finish. soft mouthfeel. OKAY.

Clear light copper red colour (I like it); Smallish to minimal head and very thin white foam which fades in 20 seconds. Small but sticky lacing with active carbonation; Fragrant aroma of sweet malt, brown sugar, caramel and canned fruits; Light but expressive sweet taste of malt, yeast, light peaches and grass; Light body, thin and slightly oily palate; Hop bitterness is moderately strong and expressive. Initial low sweet fruity taste then with lingering hoppy finish. Dry after taste, very easy to mouth.

Comments: I had Brooklyn East IPA last night so it was inevitably drawn for comparison. Both have similar kind of colours, head and body, while the aroma and taste profile for Brooklyn is predominately orange, this one is a rather low key brown sugar and canned fruits. Hop-wise, this one is stronger than Brooklyn. While this is a more-than-competent English Pale Ale, I prefer Brooklyn EIPA for the nice citrus profiles with just right hoppiness. That said, I will have this again because it is a pretty decent craft beer.

Draft at Taps Beer Bar, Kuala Lumpur. Poured a very slightly cloudy copper colour with a thin white broken head and a little lace. The aroma is malty, but a little weak. The flavour is medium to weak bitter, hoppy, malty, but with a slightly metallic, medicinal aftertaste which does nothing to enhance the beer! It’s a little watery and lacks any kind of dominant flavour. Would be great in a can on the beach, but its no craft beer.

Pours slightly hazy with a ridiculously huge head. Very light hoppiness; fruity and somewhat herbal. Goes pretty well with sushi.

Bottle, shared with Bergen Beer Geek Tasting Crew. Pours a hazy amber body with a small white head. Aroma is caramelly syrup-piney tones, much like a classic American DIPA. Apricot and hints of mango in the back. Nice, particularly for the low ABV. Taste is smooth caramelly apricot and mango tones, pine and hints of melon in the back. Mild bitter finish. Highly drinkable and light bodied. A very nice English pale ale. From Japan. Gotta love globalization. :-)