Sunday, November 06, 2011

hitachino nest beers

I've been seeing posts on Hitachino Nest beers for some time now.

And found out from Rowena that it was International Stout Day on the 3rd (woo!).

Hitachino Nest beers are a craft beer made in Ibaraki prefecture by Kiuchi Brewery.

While we have a lot of International beers, I don't see many Japan craft beers in Osaka.

Craft beers are called "ji-biru" (gee-bee-roo), literally meaning local brews, so most only circulate in their areas.

I had hoped to find some of these nest beers in Osaka (because I didn't want to pay the postage), but came up empty, so I finally ordered four different beers from them.

Espresso Stout, 7.5% alcohol, very smoky and had a punch to it, my favorite.

White Ale, 5.5% alcohol, we had this with pupu-style (appetizer style) leftovers. This beer was citrusy.

Sweet Stout, 4.5% alcohol, not as much punch as the espresso stout, but smoky, a little chocolatey...delicious.

Japanese classic ale, this one is made like they made beer in the Edo Period and is aged in cedar barrels. 7.5% alcohol, fruity with a slight bitter aftertaste.

We had this one with our mille feuille...yum!

Actually, when the delivery dude brought them he had his truck temperature a little too low and they were pretty much "slushy". He was afraid that the temperature change would affect the taste.

The bottles didn't crack, so I didn't feel there would be any problem with them and didn't file a claim or return them.

A little tidbit...Did you know that in Japan the owl is usually a symbol meaning "no stress"? A play on words "fukuro" (foo-coo-row) in Japanese means no-stress and also owl. So you often see owls, as amulets/good luck charms, to ward off "stress", "hard times".

Overall, these beers were delicious, I'd definitely buy from them again.

The summery weather continues here, though they are forecasting the temps to FINALLY be going down next week...we'll see.

13 comments:

Lindsay-Jean said...

Oh fun! We liked Hitachino Nest beers quite a bit - we can actually find them here, but they are (not surprisingly) quite expensive. Our favorite Japanese micro-brews were from Baird Beer, which I would highly recommend if you haven't already tried!

K and S said...

Thanks LJ! I'll look into Baird Beer :)

Take care.
Kat

tofugirl said...

Ooh, love the owl logo! Cute!

Japan Australia said...

They look really good and craft beers are all the rage at the moment in Australia. I haven't tried that many Japanese ones, but would love to :)

Japan Australia

Abigail (aka Mamatouille) said...

I LOVE the owl labels--how cute.

Was it fukuro no aji? Ha ha. :)

K and S said...

it is cute isn't it, Tofugirl?!

hope you get to try it J-A!

lol a different fukuro but yes, Abigail :)

Take care everyone.
Kat

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Thanks for your review! My hubby loves his beer, and I don't think he's ever tried a Japanese variety...I'll keep a lookout for that cute owl label~

K and S said...

I hope you can find these for your hubby Lizzy :)

Take care.
kat

Rowena said...

Ooooh...you got the sweet stout, white ale and classic ale! I agree (actually all 5 of us that got to taste) agreed that the espresso stout was yummers. Cool tidbit about the owls...no wonder we love them!

K and S said...

hope you get to try more Rowena :)

Take care.
Kat

KirkK said...

Hi Kat - I really enjoy Hitachino,when I can get it. Though I'm sure it's probably much fresher where you're at.

K said...

I love the labels, so cute!

K and S said...

at least now food items can ride a plane to america Kirk, I think before it was a ship :)

the owl is a cutie, K :)

Take care you two.
Kat