The Friday following our club tasting at Kickbacks, I was again there for a wedding rehearsal dinner and decided to try something I'd never heard of from the beer menu. This one was interesting. I try to "blind" taste whiskies and beers so that I am not influenced by something I read or hear. Knowing nothing about the beverage is part of the fun.
*Kiuchi Hitachino Nest Commemorative Ale Eisbock 9%
-smelled sweet woody, citrus
-tasted very citrus with orange rind and something floral like dandelion
-finished very quickly with almost no aftertaste
I would definitely buy one of these again. Reading how this beer is made explained what I tasted. Eisbocks are complex beers. This is how it's made:
"Hitachino Nest Commemorative Ale is brewed in the tradition of a true eisbock where the brew is concentrated by allowing the water to freeze (but not the alcohol). After the mashing of five different malts (Pale, Munich, Crystal, Chocolate, and wheat), four differing types of hops (Styrian Goldings, Hallertauer, Tettnang, and Saaz) are added in the brew kettle for bitterness & aroma. Five different spices complete the Commemorative Ale recipe: coriander, orange peel, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla beans. After a freezing period of three days the frozen water & protein are removed. The bottle conditioning has a six month maturation time."
Donna Hull stay away from eisbocks! There's cinnamon in there.
*Kiuchi Hitachino Nest Commemorative Ale Eisbock 9%
-smelled sweet woody, citrus
-tasted very citrus with orange rind and something floral like dandelion
-finished very quickly with almost no aftertaste
I would definitely buy one of these again. Reading how this beer is made explained what I tasted. Eisbocks are complex beers. This is how it's made:
"Hitachino Nest Commemorative Ale is brewed in the tradition of a true eisbock where the brew is concentrated by allowing the water to freeze (but not the alcohol). After the mashing of five different malts (Pale, Munich, Crystal, Chocolate, and wheat), four differing types of hops (Styrian Goldings, Hallertauer, Tettnang, and Saaz) are added in the brew kettle for bitterness & aroma. Five different spices complete the Commemorative Ale recipe: coriander, orange peel, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla beans. After a freezing period of three days the frozen water & protein are removed. The bottle conditioning has a six month maturation time."
Donna Hull stay away from eisbocks! There's cinnamon in there.