Hitachino Nest Ancient Nipponia
Kiuchi Brewery

Hitachino Nest Ancient NipponiaHitachino Nest Ancient Nipponia
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From:
Kiuchi Brewery
 
Japan
Style:
Imperial Pilsner
Ranked #13
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
87
Ranked #17,353
Avg:
3.86 | pDev: 11.14%
Reviews:
93
Ratings:
204
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 11, 2024
Added:
Aug 13, 2010
Wants:
  17
Gots:
  20
"Nipponia is brewed using the revived Japanese breed of Kanego Golden barley which was first developed in 1900, along with another strain of hops called 'Japanese-bred Sorachi Ace'. Nipponia is a delightfully golden coloured beer with citrus edge and complex and lingering taste."

Malt: Kaneko Golden
Hops: Sorachi Ace
Alcohol Vol: 8.0%
Color: Golden Yellow

Won a Bronze Medal at the Australian International Beer Awards 2012 in category 5D "Other International Style Lager Packaged".
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Rated: 4 by AbeO

Feb 11, 2024
 
Rated: 3.92 by Kgharv from Sweden

Sep 13, 2023
 
Rated: 4.52 by Beecham from California

Oct 17, 2022
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Reviewed by imnodoctorbut from Texas

4.04/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
pours a clear pure gold body with cream colored frothy head that holds at two fingers height with moderately high retention

aroma is sweet and grainy with bright zesty fruit flairs

taste follows the nose. it's got a semi-sweet grainy malt tinged by lemon zest that has a certain spiced flair to it, and some muted nondescript light fruit in the mix.

mouthfeel is high carbonation and medium bodied that runs billowy and grainy with a nearly dry but certainly crisp finish, and a grainy zesty aftertaste.

overall:
even tho i used the word "grainy" like a dozen times, it's not abrasively so, at least in my opinion. the hops and malt here are seemingly entirely foreign to me - I don't believe I've ever encountered this malt bill before, and the hops seem unfamiliar as well, which made this much more enjoyable to sit, sip, and reflect on. the bottle i brought home went too soon and i will certainly hunt down another and will be researching this grain bill and hop to see what else i can sample that uses them.
sidenote: wouldn't it be awesome to be able to organize/sort through hops and malts used on this site? in a way similar to being able to find brews in the same style/brewery? i know there are other sites for this, but it'd be cool to see how many brews you've reviewed utilized the same hops etc i think.
Mar 20, 2022
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Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Shared 550 ml bottle from Vinmonopolet, ABV is 6.5%. The bottle is full of floaties, but not visible in the glass. Golden colour, the aroma is a little weird, but hard to describe. Hints of sea water and also some dill (Sorachi Ace). The flavour has also hints of dill and laurel leaves, but lacks the fresh lemongrass notes.
May 05, 2021
 
Rated: 3.84 by shelby415 from Oregon

Jul 11, 2020
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Reviewed by sjrider from California

3.88/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a bottle - a turbid and murky dark gold/orange with fluffy white head leaving moderate foamy lacing. Nose is odd muted malt and some citrus and a bit more grain. Taste follows more or less with an almost dry finish. An odd ,not objectionable brew. May be old as I found it pushed back on a shelf at TW.
Jul 02, 2020
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Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

3.93/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This one pours a clear golden yellow color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like lemony hops, grain, pear, and citrus.

As a pilsner goes, this doesn't really fit into that box. it's still pretty tasty, though, and is a good use of sorachi ace hops - giving that sort of lemon and spice character you expect out of them. There's some sweet graininess, maybe a bit too much, but at least the hop character is nice.

This is crisp, mostly clean, and very drinkable, with a nice smooth finish.

I think I'd like this a bit more if it was lower ABV, 4 or 5% or so, but it's still a nice little thing.
Jun 19, 2020
 
Rated: 3.91 by vrbulldog22 from Ohio

Jun 18, 2020
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Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York

3.68/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Dark gold with a ribbon of white; lagery grain + greasy lemon peel nose; granola, honey, lemon rind, + dill; medium + thick.

3.75 3.75 3.75 3.5 3.5

Man, do I hate Sorachi Ace.
That oily, pungent, herbal, over-lemoned character - almost like eating the skin off a piece of baked fish - is on display here, though not even the worst I’ve had.
But that’s not even what’s wrong with this beer. By going up to 6.5%, it’s too malty which, combined with some low carbonation, makes it sit sweet and heavy.
I’ve had the 8% version of Nipponia + not rated it so I was predisposed not to like this beer. And that’s why I won’t slam it too hard.
But it’s pretty far from the clean, snappy, refreshing taste you want from a pilsner.
May 17, 2020
 
Rated: 3.5 by archero from Texas

May 15, 2020
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Reviewed by rapayn01 from Kentucky

3.75/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
I had this in February 2017 at the Holy Grale in Louisville. It was kind of odd with an interesting hop taste up front and a weird finish that I struggled to identify. Apparently dry hopped with mosaic. My only Japanese beer?
Jan 02, 2020
 
Rated: 3.34 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Dec 10, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by schopenhauerale from Arizona

Jul 05, 2019
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Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

4.38/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
L- Deep amber, poured carefully after a week's rest but some fine particles of sediment have come with the pour. Begins with 1cm white head that is holding pretty well. (Later reduces to a wide ring)
S- Quite puddingy with stewed fruits, not quite as prominent as I might have expected from an 8.0%ABV.
T- Wow, and 5 seconds later another (genuine) wow as it builds. Deeply alcoholic on the tongue, as if this has been liberally doused with a fine malt whisky. Deep stewed fruit flavours (think plums, deep and rich), with a notable alcohol tang that balances it.
F- Intense, puddingy, deep, rich but intriguingly balanced by the heft of 8.0%. This is a great beer. The closest comparison I could make vs an EU beer is vs say a monastic tripel or even quadrupel from Belgium.
O- I've tried several Hitachino Nest beers and haven't had one I didn't like. A good job as they tend to be $$$ to buy in the UK. This one is seriously-$, a shame as I'd very happily drink it again, more often if it were somewhat less so.
The Japanese are masters of borrowing ideas from others, and then improving upon them and exporting them (computers, the Walkman, rotary car engines, etc/etc/etc). Now we have the pleasure of the Japanese moving beyond major factory brews (Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo etc) and into more characterful beers such as this one.
Bought From Wholefoods, London W8 £7.49/550ml bottle. BB 08/19. A lot of money, but then I splashed out on something special for my 400th rating, and am thrilled that I did and chose this one.
Trivia: the bottle is notably solid, I weighed it, 430 Grams!
p.s. Others below refer to it as being a pilsener, or labelled thus; but I see no reference to this at all, and it definitely isn't anything like a pilsener in style. The lable reads: 'Hitahchino Nest beer, Ancient Nippionia'. No reference to any 'Style' at all. In fact I suspect the style 'American Imperial Pilsener' is not the correct one.
Mar 19, 2019
 
Rated: 4.35 by Bumblebee from Florida

Jan 05, 2019
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Reviewed by monkist from Hungary

4.84/5  rDev +25.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
I know Kiuchi brewery from JP, and remember them for their awesome - and not so common style - brews. This one has always been a kind of a mystery for me, what this could be like, until I finally managed to buy it.
And right after popping the bittle open I knew I made no mistake. Looks amazingly rich golden amber. Smells like - what? Grains, crops, beans? But the taste knocked me out. Amazingly complex, don't know where to start taking it apart. This rich barley grain taste is really intensive, then behind this wall you find normal malts, slightly sweet but the forefront just makes it really different. Bready, toasty, like japanese genmai brown rice? I love it. I feel hints of hops somewhere, but now that I'm trying to catch them they slip away and let the grains thump you into the ground. The ancient Kaneko Golden barley and Sorachi Ace combo - this is a true rarity indeed. And perhaps that's the most appropriate word for it - you definitely feel that you're drinking a rarity, like a vintage wine. Amazing. It is like going to eat japanese at a ryokan or where they serve you food from the best ingredients, this is it. For those who have been or lived in Japan, this will be more than just a phenomenal brew.
If you ever felt that it was a pity that you opened a beer for it is just too good for the occassion, for it being simply too good - THIS is such a beer. For sure.
May 18, 2018
 
Rated: 4.11 by Andarel from New York

Mar 01, 2018
 
Rated: 3.8 by Jsalz21 from New Jersey

Sep 16, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by paulish from New York

Aug 15, 2017
Hitachino Nest Ancient Nipponia from Kiuchi Brewery
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 204 ratings