Hitachino Nest White

Hitachino Nest is the beer brewing arm of the Kiuchi Brewery in Japan. Kiuchi Brewery is a nearly two century old sake brewery in the Ibaraki prefecture. To give an idea of just how much Japan has changed over the past two centuries, the Kiuchi Brewery was started by a village headman who collected rice as a tax payment. He then used the best excess rice left over to brew sake, and as the Meiji Restoration began, he named one of his best sake recipes in honor of the Emperor. In the post-War economic boom, Kiuchi rededicated itself to creating sake with high quality ingredients, a practice that they extend to their Hitachino Nest beer.

A few bars in my neighborhood have recently begun to carry the Hitachino Nest White in bottles, and needless to say I was very excited to try it. The beer pours a hazy white-gold color with a thin quick to dissipate head that’s not surprising from a bottle pour. The scent was composed of surprisingly bright citrus with other strong fruit flavors and a background of wheat and yeast. Most shocking was the White’s surprisingly full body for a white ale with a sticky syrupy mouth feel that coats your mouth in flavor.

What makes the Hitachino Nest White so wonderful is its sweet and complex flavors. The wheat and yeast are surprisingly mild when compared to other Belgian Whites, but that leaves room for the other tastes to really shine. Spices, namely coriander and nutmeg, come out and mingle with the wheat to create a rich tasty sweetbread flavor that pairs wonderfully with the strong citrus notes. The White is brewed not only with orange peel but orange juice as well, and unlike other breweries who make use of the juice, you can tell that the Kiuchi brewers use fresh squeezed in their brew. It provides a sweet and slightly tart orange complement rather than an overpowering or medicinal fruit flavor like other brews. The beer’s finish is, understandably, a little tart but it has a touch of coriander to round everything out.

Overall, I look forward to trying more Hitachino Nest beers, and I know I’ll have my eyes peeled for them when I visit Japan in the fall.