Hitachino Nest XH

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Most common Japanese beers (asahi, Sapporo, yebisu etc) are very clean, crisp, filtered and dry. The hitachino nest xh is anything but. The xh is warm with strong flavours of plum wine instead of crisp like asahi, it is very thick and cloudy instead of clean and filtered, and finally it is malty rather than dry and bitter. Both styles make for great drinking, but I find the xh more enjoyable than the Japanese standards as it is far more complex and interesting. I encourage anyone to try this (and any other Japanese beers you can get your hands on) as Japan is grossly underrated in the brewing world.

Bottle from Tanakaya, Meijiro. Pours murky hazy brown, swirling malt with thin off white head. Nose is strange. Earthy, meaty, smokey. Taste is yeast, very malty with something spicy like clove or coriander. Also has a caramel back bone and on the finish is very very piney bitterness. Quite a curious brew.

33 cl. bottle @ home – purchased at Alvinne beer shop: A: clear copper amber with an off-white head – S & T: are completely off the chart as with almost every other Hitachino beer I have tried so far, some common traits are beginning to appear – S: sweet berries, rooibos, herbal, sweet malts, brown sugar, orange peel & touch sake – T: pretty similar, sparkling, seemingly hoppy but no clear typical hop tastes, sweet malts, touch caramel, sweet dark, wild berries, herbal, brown sugar, orange peel, lots of branches, touch ceder wood with a definite undertone of sake, bitter & stronger to strong sake aftertaste – B: light & sparkling – love what these guys are doing even if I have no idea what that something is

Bottle. Pours a cloudy amber with an offwhite head. Smells complicated of plum, citrus and perhaps some wood. Tastes of plum, sake and some other fruity notes. Texture is creamy. Medium bodied. Finishes mildly bitter. A very tasty beer.

Nut brown, thick tan, decent head, nice citrus-like taste. Sour finish, very heavy. Medium bodied. Very nice. I Love the Hitachino

11.2oz bottle from Pick’s poured into my Chimay Trappist glass. Pours a cloudy nut brown with about a finger of thick tan head. Aroma is lots of Belgian sugar, orange peel and lots of citrus fruit. Taste is heavy sour. Loads of grapefruit and other citrus. Medium bodied with a slick texture. Lively carbonation and a long sour finish. Overall, very good. Much better than I thought it was going to be.

Pours a clear and dark copper beer with an offwhite head. The aroma is malt, orange, wood, ash and notes of acidity. The flavor follows the nose with additional alcohol. The palate is sweetness. Overall an average beer.

Very different, atypical beer, but I enjoyed it. Light brown, very cloudy, good head. Sake is present but not overwhelming. Complex taste, enjoyable beer.