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Hitachino Nest Pale Ale
Kiuchi Brewery
- From:
- Kiuchi Brewery
- Japan
- Style:
- English Pale Ale
Ranked #77 - ABV:
- 5%
- Score:
- 82
Ranked #24,544 - Avg:
- 3.61 | pDev: 14.13%
- Reviews:
- 23
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Oct 15, 2022
- Added:
- Dec 27, 2002
- Wants:
- 5
- Gots:
- 15
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by wl0307:
Reviewed by wl0307 from England
3.62/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.62/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This bottle-conditioned beer is the only beer my British friend managed to bring back for me from a football-match trip to Yokohama three months ago. Liverpool won at first and lost in the end, to his disappointment, but at least a souvenir is in order. Made on 22/11/2005, no BB date specified on the label. Served lightly chilled in a large tulip-shaped wine glass.
A: hazy, dark orangey and pink grapfruity hue, coming with a thin off-white beer head with o.k. retention; quite low carbonation
S: very pronounced aroma of sour-sweet yeasts upfront, reminiscent of Yakult yeast drink; as the aroma gradually softens, a refreshingly flowery, prune+柿子-fruity, as well as piney hoppyness takes over, unlike most American and English pale ales... a sour-sweet, almost honeyish, malty (almost like malt-syrup) backbone sustains, but smelling a bit static and not very colourful... quite different though.
T: piney, woody, and lightly sour grapefruity flavour of hops and yeasts hit the palate upfront; lots of yeastiness to play with on the palate, which is the natural result of a cloudy pint. Gradually an herbal dryness develops, leading towards a little herbal dryish-bitter aftertaste which magnifies to a certain limit and stops at the back of the palate. Hops are pretty restrained in terms of flavour but contribute a lot to the refreshing texture.
M&D: medium-bodied, less complex and flavoursome than expected, and thinning out at the end of tasting; in a sense this is a distinctive beer in its own right, if not judged against English pale ales or the American counterparts. I guess the house yeast-strain and hops make the whole world's difference, and the end result is not as approachable as I'm used to over here in Britain. That said, this is still a solid and decent brew, but might take me some time to really get hooked to it...
Mar 29, 2006A: hazy, dark orangey and pink grapfruity hue, coming with a thin off-white beer head with o.k. retention; quite low carbonation
S: very pronounced aroma of sour-sweet yeasts upfront, reminiscent of Yakult yeast drink; as the aroma gradually softens, a refreshingly flowery, prune+柿子-fruity, as well as piney hoppyness takes over, unlike most American and English pale ales... a sour-sweet, almost honeyish, malty (almost like malt-syrup) backbone sustains, but smelling a bit static and not very colourful... quite different though.
T: piney, woody, and lightly sour grapefruity flavour of hops and yeasts hit the palate upfront; lots of yeastiness to play with on the palate, which is the natural result of a cloudy pint. Gradually an herbal dryness develops, leading towards a little herbal dryish-bitter aftertaste which magnifies to a certain limit and stops at the back of the palate. Hops are pretty restrained in terms of flavour but contribute a lot to the refreshing texture.
M&D: medium-bodied, less complex and flavoursome than expected, and thinning out at the end of tasting; in a sense this is a distinctive beer in its own right, if not judged against English pale ales or the American counterparts. I guess the house yeast-strain and hops make the whole world's difference, and the end result is not as approachable as I'm used to over here in Britain. That said, this is still a solid and decent brew, but might take me some time to really get hooked to it...
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by hk117 from Hong Kong
3.44/5 rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.44/5 rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
330 ml bottle - a relatively average and unexciting beer from Hitachino which I've come to expect more. No Japanese twist or influence in anything and just a very basix pale ale but with a sweeter malt taste and more hopped. Not bad by any means but nothing special
Sep 21, 2020Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England
2.73/5 rDev -24.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
2.73/5 rDev -24.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
L- Dark amber, very slight haze, pours with 5mm white head. Holds very well.
S- A light touch of perfumey fruit. Mild.
T- Hoppy on the front, but also that quite dry/carbonic austerity of hipster beers. That dominates for me and I'm unable to divine other flavours (or any subtlety) beyond it.
F- Dry, carbonic, well carbonated in the mouth. With a rich facet of mouthfeel it might be a refreshing summer beer but that's lacking so it comes over as all a bit unecessarily blunt and austere.
O- This is the 9th kind of 'Owls Nest' beer I've had and sadly perhaps the one I've least enjoyed. Japanese F+B is invariably about seeking a harmonious balance of flavours, one designed to sing to you. This beer is a foreign style to them and that balance has gone, which is a shame as when they do their thing and get it right they are perfectionists and the quality often follows (context: I used to live in Tokyo). I wonder what Western fans of hipster beers make of this one? I hope they enjoy it, and see the care and crafting in it that I describe experiencing in other JPnese F+B.
330ml bottle: BB: 08/20. Bought from Beerhawk/UK.
Dec 02, 2019S- A light touch of perfumey fruit. Mild.
T- Hoppy on the front, but also that quite dry/carbonic austerity of hipster beers. That dominates for me and I'm unable to divine other flavours (or any subtlety) beyond it.
F- Dry, carbonic, well carbonated in the mouth. With a rich facet of mouthfeel it might be a refreshing summer beer but that's lacking so it comes over as all a bit unecessarily blunt and austere.
O- This is the 9th kind of 'Owls Nest' beer I've had and sadly perhaps the one I've least enjoyed. Japanese F+B is invariably about seeking a harmonious balance of flavours, one designed to sing to you. This beer is a foreign style to them and that balance has gone, which is a shame as when they do their thing and get it right they are perfectionists and the quality often follows (context: I used to live in Tokyo). I wonder what Western fans of hipster beers make of this one? I hope they enjoy it, and see the care and crafting in it that I describe experiencing in other JPnese F+B.
330ml bottle: BB: 08/20. Bought from Beerhawk/UK.
Reviewed by Nass from Florida
3.67/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
3.67/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
The aroma reminds me of biscuits & crackers. On the taste I'm getting some baked biscuits, slight herbal tea note, & a little bit of caramel character leaning towards the backend. This beer is actually beer some Pale Ales that I've had from English brewers. Cheers! B
Aug 04, 2019Reviewed by monkist from Hungary
4/5 rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Kiuchi Brewery makes proper beers under the moniker of Hitachino. I never had any bad ones from them, on the contrary, they have been quite outstanding.
I must say that this pale ale is also a proper one, actually much better than most of ehat other breweries try making in Japan - Kiuchi stands above them all. It has a nice darker amber color to it and a really fruity aroma. The beer is drinkable with an ideal balance of hops and malts, not too sweet but not too dry either. Right there in the middle. It does what it has to do very well - but that’s about it. It doesn’t move any mountains.
It is a nice beer but nothing more, nothing less - so I give it a strong good 4 out of 5 in every respect.
May 06, 2019I must say that this pale ale is also a proper one, actually much better than most of ehat other breweries try making in Japan - Kiuchi stands above them all. It has a nice darker amber color to it and a really fruity aroma. The beer is drinkable with an ideal balance of hops and malts, not too sweet but not too dry either. Right there in the middle. It does what it has to do very well - but that’s about it. It doesn’t move any mountains.
It is a nice beer but nothing more, nothing less - so I give it a strong good 4 out of 5 in every respect.
Rated by leslie91 from Singapore
3.36/5 rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.36/5 rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
orangey?
Jan 04, 2018Reviewed by kitschiguy from Hong Kong
3.85/5 rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
3.85/5 rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Writing as I drink.
Poured a 330ml bottle into a 350ml beer glass. Poured a nice coppery brown with a good fluffy off-white/beige head. Fetaind quite well. Some lacing.
Nice nose. Lots of biscuit, malty aromas, caramel.
Palate is OK. MIld hop bitterness and fairly well balanced.
Mouth is a little thin. Carbonation quite high.
Recommended for fans of the style.
May 03, 2016Poured a 330ml bottle into a 350ml beer glass. Poured a nice coppery brown with a good fluffy off-white/beige head. Fetaind quite well. Some lacing.
Nice nose. Lots of biscuit, malty aromas, caramel.
Palate is OK. MIld hop bitterness and fairly well balanced.
Mouth is a little thin. Carbonation quite high.
Recommended for fans of the style.
Hitachino Nest Pale Ale from Kiuchi Brewery
Beer rating:
82 out of
100 with
68 ratings
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