Way back in the 15th century, a crazy Italian had the idea that if he sailed far enough west, he would eventually end up east. The crazy Italian, of course, was Christopher Columbus and the whole reason he wanted to go west was to get to the spice routes of the east. This was especially ballsy since people at the time thought the world was still flat.
For this month’s Session, I’m taking a page out of Columbus’ book, but instead of traveling west to head east, I am traveling east to head… east? The two beers I am reviewing for this month’s session are from the “Land of the Rising Sun”, better known as Japan. It would be easier for me, living here in California, to just head west to reach Japan. But Girl Likes Beer specifically wanted us to head east to find our beers. So east is where I headed and the far east is where I ended up.
In her own words, here are the details of this month’s topic:
So to sum up I would like you to pick your favorite beer made east form your hometown but east enough that it is already in a different country. It can be from the closest country or from the furthest. Explain why do you like this beer. What is the coolest stereotype associated with the country the beer comes from (of course according to you)? And one more thing. If you do a video or picture of the beer (not obligatory of course) try to include the flag of the country.
So set your compass to east and enjoy that Eastern Beer.
Hitachino Nest Espesso Stout, Kiuchi Brewery, 7.5% ABV
Very dark brown in color, clear as a dark brown beer can get, with cola highlights and a thin, brown head. The coffee aroma has a very phenolic character reminiscent of unripe (green) hot pepper with deep roast, almost burnt malt undertones and slight dark chocolate character. Kinda reminds me of Folgers instant coffee. The beer tastes much better than the aroma to me. There’s a rich, dark chocolate flavor, black coffee notes, deep roasted malt flavor with a slight, green pepper undertone. The hop bitterness is medium-low/medium and is enough for balance. The beer is medium bodied with a medium level of carbonation.
Not my favorite beer. Coffee based beers tend to be hit or miss with me and this is more on the miss side of the spectrum. I know it’s an attribute of coffee but the unripe, hot pepper note is not my favorite characteristic. I like my coffee black, and this Espresso Stout is reminiscent of black coffee, but bad, black coffee.
Eikoku-Koshu 2002, Yo-Ho Brewing Company, 8.5% ABV
This beer is a reddish-brown in color, clear with almost no head. The beer has a rich, savory, roasty malt aroma with a slightly sweet, molasses-like character. There is a slight, cherry-like oxidative quality. The flavor is reminiscent of the aroma: rich and savory malt sweetness, slight cherry-like flavors, with a medium-high, lasting hop bitterness that doesn’t taste nearly as bitter as it is because it’s in balance. Eikoku-Koshu is a full bodied beer, low carbonated with a hint of alcohol warming and character.
For a 5 year old beer, this is pretty tasty. The flavor profile is that of a classic, English barleywine with just enough oxidative character to show its age. I actually enjoy when barleywine developes cherry-like oxidative qualities and would appreciate if this bottle was aged a few more years. I am kicking myself in the ass for not purchasing additional bottles of this.
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Surprised to read about the luke warm review of Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout, which I haven’t tried. They make a solid White Ale, and their Red Rice Ale is a really interesting, complex change of pace brew, that to me, is a little like a Belgium sour ale.