Hitachino Nest

Hitachino Nest

       Don't ever say that I've never risked my life for you...ever!  This, boys and girls, is the first Asian brew that is going to be reviewed and what better place to start than Japan,  the masters of detail and tedium.   I might be saving you some time by saying this was a great, great beer, but maybe it was the radioactivity.  I feel stronger, faster, lighter, and there are growths in my wrists that are leaking a silky spider-web like substance.   Oh, never mind, the brewers, Kiuchi Brewery, are declaring that they're safe and no radioactivity has been found in any of their products.  On to the review then!

Appearance

    I loved the label.  I literally had a photo shoot with this bottle.

      Okay, so I'm not great with a camera, nor is my camera a DSLR or anything fancy.  But still, I like the label.  Nice colors, inviting, and the owl seems to say "hey, I know I'm surrounded by all these Europeans, but try me, taste good."  So I did.  Now after the pour, (which I did into my new sampling glass which I attained at a local L.A Beer Week I attended)  the brew came out a cloudy light orange color.  It reminded me of a Pineapple flavored fruit drink.  There was little to no head with hardly any consistency to hold the head together.  Aesthetically lacked, but doesn't bother me much.  Also the head didn't last a minute.  Through the white haze amidst the orange libation was a little stream of carbonation, but nothing worth going into too much detail.  Yeah, basically it looked like juice.

Smell

     The smell hits you pretty hard and is a great indicator of taste.  The smell was robust with coriander and light hints of sea salt  and other spices, pepper maybe?  Also present was the wheat smell that is present in most light ales, 'light' in terms of light and dark that is.  Based on smell alone, I would bet that this would be great with fish.  I mean, it's from Japan right?

Taste

     Yum, yum, yum, A+ on taste.  At first I was skeptical and I was a little over critical.  But midway through  I relaxed and just drank and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Part of the reason I chose this beer was because it was the last one on the shelf, and now I see why.  Again, the smell really corresponds to the taste--coriander, a light touch of other spices and herbs, a bit of salt, and a tang of sweet, maybe a fruit like orange, to finish it off.  The tastes, though, are not heavy at all and are actually 'dainty' on the tongue.  Thus making this beer a really tasty session (I forget the exact ABV but it's low, couldn't have be higher than five).    The balance is near perfect.

Mouthfeel

     The mouth feel is light and frothy.  Maybe that's why there's not much head.  Anyway the rest is similar to drinking a real fruit juice.  Strong taste in the beginning and drys a little at the end, making you want to take another sip.

Overall

     I like this beer and would suggest it to everyone.  Great taste but not the kind of taste where it punches you in the face and proclaims your tongue a province of whatever taste it is.  It comes  and goes and satisfies.  Just like the Japanese to have good balance and cute packaging.  Tell your friends about this one, it really is good and, I think, over looked.  So many beers out there dare you to taste them, but this one really just waits patiently for someone to take a chance and, no, it doesn't disappoint.

Great White Beer

Great White Beer

     Shivers and anxious paranoia is what that label elicits.  Why? Because the shark ate a surfer, accidentally bit the surf board, walked out of the water and onto the beach to stand the surf board in the sand, and have a beer without fear of repercussion.  Yeah, pretty scary right?  Not really, and neither is the beer.  I went to the store and needed a beer to review and thought "why not help out a brewery from California."  The turn out was not as good.  But that's for the overall.  Sorry for the late entry but I'm back and here we go.

Appearance

     So there you are--a light orange color that's more cloudy looking than what the picture relays.  A lot of carbonation bubbles made the drink look light and the consistency looked thinner than most of the other beers I've reviewed.  It was as cloudy as some Hefeweizens but more orange than yellow.  There was about an inch of head, again not represented here but that's my fault.  But in my defense, the retention was weak and it's receding looked messy and a little ugly.  By ugly, I mean one side went away faster than the other and the side that retained longer looked like spider webs.  That's all I got for appearances.

Smell

     The smell was sweet and full of citrus.  It was a good smell and prepared me for a taste that'd be equally strong.  Not overpowering, but clearly present with clear distinction as to what the smells were consistent of.

Taste


     So the smell was good, known, basically saying, this drink was aromatic.  On a scale of one to ten, this was a six or seven.  Thus, you'd think the taste would be comparable.  Nope, I was wrong in anticipating a strong citrus taste.  Maybe it was my fault.  Maybe I expected too much from this beer.  I bought the beer because it was made in California, had the shark on the label (not because it was a shark but because with such a corny label, maybe it'll make up for it through taste) and I didn't feel like trying something else.  The citrus was there but very very subtle.  There was a little bit of spice or herb and a little of citrus.  That was it though.  It was extremely light tasting and I have to say flavored water is stronger.

Mouthfeel

     This is where the beer had some complexity.  With such lack of taste, I couldn't help but review as if the mouthfeel made up for it.  The texture was not frothy and had a medium light bite from the carbonation.  The liquid was like drinking an ice tea made of syrup instead of brewed (ie. Black Mint or Mango iced tea).  It wasn't fulfilling and, again, very light.  I guess that's it.  I think I hyped this section up only to disappoint myself.

Overall

     What else can I say?  This beer was weak.  It wasn't bad nor would I absolutely refuse if offered and there was nothing else, but it was weak.  The profile of a Witbier is subtlety, but this was almost nonexistent.  The herbal taste was a peak for me and the citrus was plain.  This beer is comparable to Blue Moon if Blue Moon made a light beer.  I was thrown sideways because of the smell.  There is a disclaimer:  I've been really getting into strong beers.  I've been wanting stronger and stronger beers since I've been reviewing beer.  My palate (the point of this blog) is developing and becoming more and more jaded to light beers and beers that lean closer to BMC.  So I hope you fel the same, and if you enjoy this beer, then there's no problem.  Opinion people, this is opinion.


Afterthought

     So what's a "Witbier?"  You can go here: Witbier.  Or you can read on.  After reading the description of the what a witbier is, I've realized that this drink fits the bill.  Apparently, always spiced and usually with coriander.  Often brewed with orange peels and other herbs.  The name 'witbier' means white beer due to the cloudiness of the brew.    Also, witbier is a wheat beer; one type out of two common wheat beers, the other being Weissbier.  Witbier, though, is Belgian wheat beer.  Remember when I referenced Blue Moon.  Yeah, it falls under this same thing, Belgian White at least.  And sometimes, you go to a bar and ask for Blue Moon and they put an orange or lemon, that is an American favorite usually used for these beers, as well as hefeweizen.  So there you have it.  I have a beer waiting for me and I'm pretty sure it's going to be a flat review as well, be we'll see.