Hitachino Nest White Ale

Hitachino Nest White Ale.

5.5 % ABV, Kiuchi Brewery, Naka-shi, Ibaraki, Japan. 

This blog has only three Japanese beers within it, yet so far. Four years ago was the last one, a can of Sapporo Black given to me as a sample. And before that, a can of Kirin Ichiban, and before that, Angry Boy Brown Ale from Baird, one of the few Japanese craft breweries available domestically, as far as I know. That's it. And nothing yet so far from one of the other better known Japanese craft breweries, Kiuchi, who market their beers as Hitachino Nest. Looking at BeerAdvocate.com, I've reviewed nine of their beers over there, and nothing here since. I can't tell you how many of their beers are still imported here, but there are just two available at the store where I currently work. One, really. This bottle that I purchased was the last one, until we get more. 

So, now we will drink a Belgian-style beer from a Japanese brewery, and I will share notes from 2006, which oddly enough, are not from a bottle, but from when I had it on tap at the Blue Nile. Which makes me wonder, did I have it on tap before I ever saw the bottles? Things get fuzzy after all these years. 

So, here are those notes from September, 2006: 

Highly hazed and golden-toned, a thin layer of bone white foam above, eventually narrowing down.

Lovely aromatics, a twist of lemon, hint of orange, and beautiful spices. I'd always assumed coriander, but recent research revealed to me they also use nutmeg in here. It works well.

Taste: light bodied, but sublime drinkability. Just enough flavor to keep the tongue happy. Zesty and refreshing. Minor hops, slight bitterness, a touch of sour, and a dash of sweet. 

Moderate carbonation, not too spritzy, just mellow enough.

Never dreamed I'd have a Japanese Belgian wit on tap, but, hey, crazier stuff has happened.

And look at that, I still have the glass the distributor gave me, fourteen and a half years later. 

This White Ale is brewed with wheat malt, and flavored with coriander, orange peel and nutmeg. Please enjoy the soft and flavorful taste.

Sapporo Premium Black Beer

Sapporo Premium Black Beer. Imported by Sapporo Brewing Company, La Crosse, Wisconsin. Brewed and canned by Sapporo Brewing Company, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. (But originally, this was made in Japan, right? Right.) 22 fl oz.

So, I got a sample from The Sample Man of what he called "the new Sapporo Black". What new? Didn't they have this already? No, that was "stout draft", but it wasn't a stout. So, is this a new beer or a new name? Either way, it's new to me, so let's crack it open.

Dark brown coloration, not quite black, with a nice cocoa-tinted head, lasting long, though thinnish.

Aroma: sweet and malty, creamy, nutty, lovely.

In the mouth: smooth and creamy, lovely dark malts. Low to non-existent hop bitterness. Lightish bodied, but not necessarily thin. A little nutty, and ultimately dry, despite initial sweet notes. Nice, drinkable, tasty schwarbier, here.

Go ahead and drink one.

Kirin Ichiban

It's not all about craft. Sometimes you have to go back to the well, and check out a macro.
And we go, with Kirin Ichiban,... Kirin's Prime Beer, 100% malt, Brewed for the Good Times. The Ichiban shibori process uses only the most flavorful portion of the finest ingredients. 24 fluid ounces, can. Freshest taste within 180 days, packaged on ...04-Mar-11...(ooops, ....I maybe stop shopping at that store. Or at least check the date before purchasing.)

Bright gold color, voluminous pearl white head.

Soft, slightly sweet aromatics, grainy, lightly malty and vegetal, but overall pleasant.

In the mouth, light, bready malt, crisp as a cracker, mellow mouthfeel. Soft and clean on the palate, utterly inoffensive.

Maybe that's why I don't go to the macro lagers, as much, because I can't find much to say about them. And, still I soldier on.
{I just discovered that I've already reviewed this one, and completely forgotten about that. What does that tell you. Just for kicks, here's what I wrote back in May, 2003:

"Brewed under the strict supervision of Kirin's brewmaster by Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Los Angeles, CA" 24 0z. can, with the mythological Japanese deer/dragon beast striding diagonally up the aluminum container.
Color, a transparent bright yellow, with a prodigous, fluffy, bone white head, that hastily, noisily crumbles.(Perhaps the head size was helped by the enormous Weihenstephaner glass I poured it into?)
Aroma: rather dull and dry, and perfectly in step with a typical cheap lager smell, and am I smelling the rice? Is there rice? Taste will tell...
Very smooth on the palate, to a fault, to the point that it's existence barely registers or makes any impact upon the senses at all. Body is so light light that it rings hollow at every turn. There's is a decent texture, I admit, a nice grit and play on the tongue and lips, that makes it a far more bearable beer than many ordinary lagers, but...I can't at all detect the "complex character of one of the world's premium beers." You've got to have a narrow definition of "beer", and "premium"...and "world"...
Drinkability? Yeah, you can drink them, if you've got nothing better to do, nothing better to drink, and a mean streak of masochism...

Baird Angry Boy Brown Ale

Let's journey to Japan for a moment, bottle I consumed last night, notes are from May 2010:

Dusky brown color, pale beige head on top, long lasting.

Wide awake, out loud and proud sweet malty aromatics. Caramel, toffee, brown sugar, molasses. Maybe a little too sweet, though.

Taste: Fills the mouth, and floats about. Gets a bit sour, mellows again, harsh malt sweetness, then dry. Bitterness abounds, and remains. Unfiltered? Tastes it. Very full in every way, body, mouthfeel, texture.

Tartness tasted earlier, which scared me for a second, is now gone, and it's all sweet, brown malt, all cocoa and caramel.

Now I'm reading the label: "fleeting malty sweetness, a barely controlled bitterness, and, naturally an angry edge..." Why is it I so seldom agree with what they put on the bottles? Not really that angry, not so uncontrollable with the bitterness (or, not the word I'd use)...the malt sweetness was fleeting?

Oh, well, I like it fine, not bad stuff from the Land of the Rising Sun.