Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout
Kiuchi Brewery

The beer is dark brown/near black in color. Small tan head.
Aroma of coffee and chocolate.
The taste amplifies the aroma. Espresso coffee, dark chocolate.
A little on the thin side, but still a very drinkable beer.

 

 

 

11.2oz bottle served in a snifter glass. Date stamp on back label: E5.22.07m - whatever that may mean.

Appearance: Poured a very dark brown with ruby read highlights, but once in the glass, it's approaching black and letting no light through. Thin tan head with some strands and islands of lacing noted.

Smell: Espresso powder, dark chocolate, a little bit of an herbal note, and a tiny metallic whiff every now and then.

Taste: Roasted malt, but with some underlying sweetness for balance. Definite dark roast espresso coffee flavor, along with dark chocolate. Bitter finish that is part coffee, and part roasted malt.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, nice thickness, surprisingly dry finish.

Overall / Drinkability: Quite tasty, and the coffee definitely shows up in this beer. A bit sweeter than I expected, but I think that this was a good thing. I would not have minded a larger bottle of this.

 

11.2oz bottle coded ES.21.06 P poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 7% ABV. The beer pours dense black with minimal light penetration and light brown head. The head recedes to a thin ring and little else. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring dark chocolate, rich black coffee and fudge. The taste is bittersweet with more of the same. Very dark chocolate, fudge, expresso all make an appearance. Moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with just less that average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. There's a fair amount of alcohol presence here for the ABV. Not enough to be a problem, but it's there. Overall, very good. You would have to like strong coffee in your stout to get behind this one.

From a bottle. Black color with a quarter inch of crema-colored head. Smells like dark roasted malt and iced coffee. Medium body. Roasted malt flavors and a dry earthy finish. Feels more like an Irish dry stout than a Russian imperial, but not complaining, it's good either way.

 

 

 

Dark black pour with brown head creates a nice looking beer in the glass. Not much lacing during my tasting.

Nose is a wonderful espresso coffee with strong chocolate and a bit of vanilla. Body flavor features the coffee beans and roasted malt. There’s a pleasant balance, so the beer is more of a traditional stout than a coffee one trick pony. Good flavor but I’d like a tad more body and mouthfeel. Reminds me a bit of Great Lakes Blackout Stout in what the body lacks the taste delivers.

Overall a very enjoyable stout which makes me curious to try its barrel aged sister.

 

 

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 7.5%. Pitch black colour, big brown head. Nice roasty aroma, notes of coffee and chocolate, hints of dark fruits and vanilla. The flavour has a distinct roasty character with strong notes of espresso coffee and dark bitter chocolate, some malty sweetness, bitter finish. Excellent rich mouthfeel.

Poured very dark almost black with a light tan head that dissipated quickly.

In the taste, there is plenty of coffee, dark chocolate and a char dryness with light bitterness mixed in and a very pleasant lingering aftertaste. Nice one.

A: Pours a mahogany color with 2 fingers of head that fades down to a thin cap

S: Roasted malt, coffee, and caramel up front. Some dark chocolate in there as well

T: Follows the nose. Starts off with the roasted malt and coffee and then picks up some caramel and dark chocolate. Finishes with lingering coffee and roast

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation

O: A solid coffee/espresso stout that is straight forward and easy to drink

Pours a black small tan head not much in the way of lace.

Aroma is espresso beans no surprise there some light chocolate even lighter earthiness hints. Not bad not overly complex not really getting the Russian Emperor reference at 7% but not bad.

Taste is roasted malts with light chocolate sweetness and good espresso notes. Fairly decent stout wouldn't really put it in Imperial category at 7% otherwise I would be lowering my scores some. Not bad little stout with some earthiness in the finish.

Mouthfeel is medium with fairly smooth carbonation.

Overall no a bad regular stout with some added espresso beans.

 

 

Pours dark redish-brown with a thick head that lingers. Some lacing. Smell of caramel and dark chocolate. Taste is full-bodied, creamy, sweet with a bit of bitterness and strong burnt chocolate. The chocolate flavor lingers on the palate. Not too bad but not the best stout I've had, but a pleasant surprise for a Japanese beer.

 

Solid coffee stout - rich flavors suggest both the bitterness of espresso as well as creamy, sweet coffee flavors - medium-weight but full-bodied feel, smooth, bittering coat lingers - each sip brings a wash of sweet coffee and molasses as well as drier, charred, wood-like notes - the sweet and dry and bitter play against each other through the finish...

 

Look: a very dark brown, almost black with a 1 inch light brown head that dissipates within a minute. Standard for the style.

Smell: A faint scent of cocoa nibs, coffee and maybe sea salt. Not a crazy amount going on here.

Taste: Very good. 80 percent dark chocolate, mild coffee notes. The dark chocolate flavor stays for a solid 20 seconds after consuming, delicious. Not sweet or bitter, just a great balance.

Feel: Smooooth and silky. Creamy. Rich. A damn near perfect texture for a stout.

Overall: A very good solid stout. Would recommend.

12 oz bottle. Near black pour, cola colored, light beige head fades. Sweet, roasty aroma, coffee. Taste also features coffee, light roast, minor sweetness. Finishes dry, light stickiness.

 

 

 

330ml bottle from Beerhawk online shop (£3.69):
Dark & opaque, bordering on black with a thumb-sized, bubbly beige head that's turns to a patchy surface lacing. It's sweet on the nose, almost like a foreign extra stout that has some vanilla to go with the coffee & darker malts. Dark fruits with an alcohol backing follow whilst the taste is mainly coffee & chocolate with the usual dark malts & sugars too. It was well-carbonated & slightly fizzy with a medium body & semi-sweet finish.

 

 

 

Filtered, so zero sediment to be concerned about.
L- One of the darkest beers I've seen; held right by a halogen bulb all I get through the black is an occasional thin flash of ultra deep ruby red. Pours with 1Cm deep tan/caramel coloured fine-bubble head. Also notable as one of the darkest heads I've seen.
S- Clear pungent coffee notes together with a some smoke.
T- Coffee, smoke, sooty log ash from a fireplace. Sip2 and boom the coffee soars.
F- The richness is enough to stop the coffee/smoke overpowering. The Feel might be best suited to winter, as a slow-sipping beer.
O- I think you need to enjoy notably strong black coffee to have a chance with this, as it's the big and central focus here. I start the day with a couple of espressos so that flavour is ok for me. [My wife drinks tea, but also has an occasional coffee with milk and sugar and she found the espresso notes way to pungent/blunt for her. To be clear: Her view is not reflected in my ratings.] It's very different, interesting to try and as usual with Hitachino Nest shows exceptional skill in it's recipe and crafting. That said, it's that idiosyncratic I'm not sure I'd buy again due to it's pretty off-the-scale pungent flavour.
330ml bottle: BB: 12/20. Bought from Beerhawk/UK

Dark orange head, super strange! Dark black color. Little bitter. Head dissipates quickly. Burnt coffee flavor. Not very creamy, but it’s not bad! “A deep and profound stout brewed with well-roasted coffee beans.”

Bitter nose and bitter taste. That is how I don't like my coffee stout. But that is exactly what you get here. Burned coffee beans. Regular stout lovers may enjoy it more, but those who prefer Peche Mortel or Founders KBS, will probably not.
Having said that, Hitachino did a relatively good job replicating the style...even if there is no head retention and there is a bit of stickiness. Okay. I seem to be bashing more than giving kudos, so I will just quit at this point.

Black liquid; some light passes at the edges.

Nice khaki head; nice lacing.

Coffee beans & milk chocolate smell. Inviting.

Thick mouthfeel.

The flavor is a touch more muted than the smell; nice espresso & milk chocolate but surprisingly easy to drink.

A tasty beer with a big nose. I'll return for more.

 

 

Medium light carbonation , slightly above average body with a bit of a oily feel
Aroma is a mix of espresso, fresh black coffee,and roasted malts
Taste is rich,like a shot of espresso backed up by dark and milk chocolate, and roasted malt