Hitachino Nest Weizen | Kiuchi Brewery
Brewed by:
Kiuchi Brewery
Japan
kodawari.cc
Style: Hefeweizen
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.00%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
Added by BeerAdvocate on 11-16-2001
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers
Ratings: 280 | Reviews: 163
3.75/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.93/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2.8/5 rDev -24.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
3.87/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.92/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.94/5 rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
3.74/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Very hazy yellowish color with a thin white head. No lacing and teachers soon disappears. Smells like yeasty and spices. Tastes like it smells and has a nice light smooth mouth feel. Quite refreshing, but nothing award winning
226 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Very hazy yellowish color with a thin white head. No lacing and teachers soon disappears. Smells like yeasty and spices. Tastes like it smells and has a nice light smooth mouth feel. Quite refreshing, but nothing award winning
226 characters
2.92/5 rDev -21.7%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
BOTTLE: 11.2 fl oz. Brown glass. Branded black pry-off crown cap. Owl on the label in classic Hitachino Nest fashion.
5.50% ABV. Best before: 2016.10. Hefeweizen.
HEAD: 5cm wide. White colour. Frothy. Soft-looking. Leaves no lacing as it recedes, which takes about 2 minutes.
BODY: Turbid hazy orange. Sadly, it`s rather dull. More vibrance would make it more appealing. No yeasty sediment is visible within.
AROMA: Lemony twang, wheat, doughy yeast, coriander, barley. Suggests a spritzy light-bodied ale.
I detect no banana or orange peel.
Aromatic intensity is average.
TASTE & TEXTURE: Fruity, nodding towards faint lychee and some kind of vague tropical citrus (but not the usual orange peel one would expect in a hefeweizen).
Spritzy and light with a toned-down wheat backbone. Not terribly fresh in taste, but not stale either.
Yeast character isn`t as doughy or as subtle as the aroma suggested. It`s a light beer, yes, but it`s also somewhat thin, bordering on watery, and stops short of feeling refreshing. Smooth and wet. Well-carbonated.
OVERALL: The subtle yeast esters and impeccable balance boasted by the best hefeweizen style beers is absent here, replaced by an atraditional fruity character. I like that the brewery is approaching the hefeweizen style in a different way, but the result is not a cut above your average German hefeweizen in terms of quality. It`s not a bad brew by any means, but I`d sooner reach for a Franziskaner, Ayinger, Weihenstephaner, or even Erdinger. This isn`t in the same league by any stretch.
C (AVERAGE)
1,564 characters
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
BOTTLE: 11.2 fl oz. Brown glass. Branded black pry-off crown cap. Owl on the label in classic Hitachino Nest fashion.
5.50% ABV. Best before: 2016.10. Hefeweizen.
HEAD: 5cm wide. White colour. Frothy. Soft-looking. Leaves no lacing as it recedes, which takes about 2 minutes.
BODY: Turbid hazy orange. Sadly, it`s rather dull. More vibrance would make it more appealing. No yeasty sediment is visible within.
AROMA: Lemony twang, wheat, doughy yeast, coriander, barley. Suggests a spritzy light-bodied ale.
I detect no banana or orange peel.
Aromatic intensity is average.
TASTE & TEXTURE: Fruity, nodding towards faint lychee and some kind of vague tropical citrus (but not the usual orange peel one would expect in a hefeweizen).
Spritzy and light with a toned-down wheat backbone. Not terribly fresh in taste, but not stale either.
Yeast character isn`t as doughy or as subtle as the aroma suggested. It`s a light beer, yes, but it`s also somewhat thin, bordering on watery, and stops short of feeling refreshing. Smooth and wet. Well-carbonated.
OVERALL: The subtle yeast esters and impeccable balance boasted by the best hefeweizen style beers is absent here, replaced by an atraditional fruity character. I like that the brewery is approaching the hefeweizen style in a different way, but the result is not a cut above your average German hefeweizen in terms of quality. It`s not a bad brew by any means, but I`d sooner reach for a Franziskaner, Ayinger, Weihenstephaner, or even Erdinger. This isn`t in the same league by any stretch.
C (AVERAGE)
1,564 characters
3.75/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.62/5 rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
The loose airiness of the head results in a swift evaporation from the just under one finger level, pure white and spotless, the lacing starts off broadly but lacks meaningful stickiness. Transparent liquid with a fine gauziness, faded yellow gold hue, the bubbles are widely dispersed and show good vigor in flowing upwards. The nose has a confectionery element to it, flower petals, bubblegum, yeast and raw pie dough, honey, banana and clove, the wheat does not enunciate all that clearly, ends with a burst of pepperiness. Medium to full-bodied, more the former but it tends to drag itself slothfully across the palate which adds volume. The carbonation does a good job of starting off prickly and then ending on a creamier note. Here too you get a mix of sweets and bitters, same bubblegum, honey, yeast, whipped cream to banana split flavors and then same cracked wheat, pepper, clove and herbaceous grasses. The fruit seems to alternate, at some moments peach or apricot, others cherry to berry. Has more of a funky aftertaste than clean freshness. Interesting for its slightly off-kilter character but nothing you’d pound all night.
1,142 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
The loose airiness of the head results in a swift evaporation from the just under one finger level, pure white and spotless, the lacing starts off broadly but lacks meaningful stickiness. Transparent liquid with a fine gauziness, faded yellow gold hue, the bubbles are widely dispersed and show good vigor in flowing upwards. The nose has a confectionery element to it, flower petals, bubblegum, yeast and raw pie dough, honey, banana and clove, the wheat does not enunciate all that clearly, ends with a burst of pepperiness. Medium to full-bodied, more the former but it tends to drag itself slothfully across the palate which adds volume. The carbonation does a good job of starting off prickly and then ending on a creamier note. Here too you get a mix of sweets and bitters, same bubblegum, honey, yeast, whipped cream to banana split flavors and then same cracked wheat, pepper, clove and herbaceous grasses. The fruit seems to alternate, at some moments peach or apricot, others cherry to berry. Has more of a funky aftertaste than clean freshness. Interesting for its slightly off-kilter character but nothing you’d pound all night.
1,142 characters
3.59/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
4.6/5 rDev +23.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75
3.37/5 rDev -9.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Hazzzhy blonde with a 3 finger head of foam. Sparse lace as is always with a Hefeweizen.
Hahaha, this is Japan all over. Smell is of jasmine rice, cilantro, bamboo, rain water, celery, and of course white wheat and yeast.
Flavor of winter wheat, spicy cilantro, already-been-chewed bubble gum, black pepper, sea salt, and leafy greens. Not really reminiscent of Hefeweizen whatsoever, but it has its own thing going on.
Feel is very carbonated, with a semi dry parch throughout. A little starchy on the finish.
Hey, I got this for $1.99. I won't lie it's not bad at that price. But for the original price of 5 times that? Ah, I'd be super disappointed. Gotta take that into consideration.
696 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Hazzzhy blonde with a 3 finger head of foam. Sparse lace as is always with a Hefeweizen.
Hahaha, this is Japan all over. Smell is of jasmine rice, cilantro, bamboo, rain water, celery, and of course white wheat and yeast.
Flavor of winter wheat, spicy cilantro, already-been-chewed bubble gum, black pepper, sea salt, and leafy greens. Not really reminiscent of Hefeweizen whatsoever, but it has its own thing going on.
Feel is very carbonated, with a semi dry parch throughout. A little starchy on the finish.
Hey, I got this for $1.99. I won't lie it's not bad at that price. But for the original price of 5 times that? Ah, I'd be super disappointed. Gotta take that into consideration.
696 characters
4.57/5 rDev +22.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
I had this on Koh Samui in Thailand. Very great beer, in my opinion. Golden, cloudy color with a quickly disappearing head. Great full taste - normal wheat beer flavors coupled with citrus. Very good on a hot day - very refreshing. I will get this one again.
263 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
I had this on Koh Samui in Thailand. Very great beer, in my opinion. Golden, cloudy color with a quickly disappearing head. Great full taste - normal wheat beer flavors coupled with citrus. Very good on a hot day - very refreshing. I will get this one again.
263 characters
3.25/5 rDev -12.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
2.85/5 rDev -23.6%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
This bottle seemed overly sweet, lots of the banana and bubblegum, but lacking in the bready flavors and a little weak in the body. Bottle may be a little old.
159 characters
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
This bottle seemed overly sweet, lots of the banana and bubblegum, but lacking in the bready flavors and a little weak in the body. Bottle may be a little old.
159 characters
4.47/5 rDev +19.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
3.75/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Hitachino Nest Weizen from Kiuchi Brewery
Beer rating:
3.73 out of
5 with
280 ratings
0 characters. We love reviews! Turn your rating into one with ≥ 150 characters.
In English, explain why you're giving this rating. Your review must discuss the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) and your overall impression in order to indicate that you have legitimately tried the beer. Nonconstructive reviews may be removed without notice and action may be taken on your account.