Hitachino Nest XH

Brewed by Kiuchi Brewery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Ibaraki, Japan

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

uhyuh. smells great! No idea what this was until I opened it and read the description above. Dark dark red with a boatload of dark stuff bobbing around in my glass, light tan head of small bubbles that settles down to a skim and leaves some messy bubbly lacing. Damn - on my second sip I drank a quarter of the glass... this stuff it tasty and has that funk taste that I’ve been missing of late. Wonderfully fruity and funky aroma, citrusy funk at that, mango, caramel, wood, an interesting sweet spice. I do dig this beer! And it seems to continue to evolve at an amazing rate. Pepper shows now. Taste wise this is really getting it done as I’m holding back just to get the review in. More will be purchased. Mild yet tart funk, notably sour, caramel underneath or blended in or something... not elusive yet not easily found over top of other flavours. Woody, pepper and bitter. Fruitiness continues throughout. Finishes dry, clean and seemed a bit prickly on the palate. I can still suck the sourness out of my tongue. I just recently had an Orval for the first time in a couple of years and this reminds me of that. All I have to do now is compare directly. Wonderfully drinkable beer that is all around wonderful.

Good, but I found this to be somewhat underwhelming. In particular, I would describe this as a very dry example of the Belgian style. It lacks either the strong alcohol flavor, the sweetness, or even the yeasty notes of so many Belgians. Rather, it is woody, dry, and fades to a bitter finish. Perhaps this is the effect of the sake casks? I can’t say for certain, but it makes for an interesting exception to so many of the norms of the Belgian style.

bottle. gusher. tart aroma and lots of oak, raw oak. loads of oak in the flavor as well with some light notes of fruit and funk. very dry.

A: snifter. wonderful, vibrant mahogany color. beautiful light orange head. wonderful lacing and amazing head retention. S: great fruity smell, some apples, cherries, figs, very unusual aroma as well that I can’t describe. tons of spices as well. T: Wow! the sake casks are really unique. some alcohol burn , very tart flavors, so unique. some serious spices and some pumpkin. M: medium to full bodied. medium carbonation level. very tart. D: only one of these for me. I enjoyed the uniqueness of it but one is all I can do

Serving: 330 ml. bottle from Bruisin’ Ales.
Aroma: The nose is a unique mix of Belgian yeast, spice, wood, sake, varnish, vanilla, and a slight earthiness. Very interesting.
Appearance: Be forewarned, this one was a gusher for me! Once I was finally coaxed it into the glass, it was a dark amber color with a very tall, foamy, light tan head. Needless to say, the head hung around for quite awhile.
Taste: This brew combines a unique maltiness with an odd bitterness. I am not sure I care for this one. It seems a bit of a mess and here is why: it has a malt sweetness that I normally attribute to Belgians but a distinct taste of fusels, varnish, and an off bitterness. There is some wood, vanilla, and nuts. Mix in some stale earthy hops and I think you’ve got it.
Palate: No winner here either. What starts of as generally pleasant degrades quickly as the all the carbonation foams up in your mouth taking away all the flavors and leaving an odd bitter finish.
Overall: I wanted to, but I just can’t recommend this. It’s not very good. I can only hope that this bottle is either too old or slightly infected based on the gushing I got when I opened it. It is very much a disappointment for the $5.50 I spent on it.

Bottle from 16th St.Liquors in West Vancouver. Pours a hazy amber with a thin beige head. Aroma is woody oak, vinous with notes of light berry, allspice, nutmeg and toffee. The flavour is moderately sweet with caramel, golden raisins, vanilla/oak and berry. Medium body is soft with moderate carbonation. Decent but quite unlike the standards of the style.

330mL bottle, pours brownish orange with a beige head. Aroma of caramel malts, cinnamon and spices. Flavour of somewhat muted caramel malt, with a noticeable hop astringency, yeast, and some unripe fruits. Not bad.

12 ounce bottle purchased from Corti Brothers in Sacramento. Very bizarre aroma. I definitely get some smokiness and a fair amount of Juniper Berry, too. Anise, and burnt rubber also makes an appearance. I also detect a strong aroma of Pool Toys. Lots of Pool Toys. Not a fan at all. Pours with a massive off-yellow head and a moderately hazy amber body. Starts with some caramel notes, and becomes a bit chewy in the middle. Finishes with a bit of a tart funkiness with some oakiness present, too. Nice Brettiness. Definitely different, but not too bad in the end.