Mild amber-hazed Munich-styled lager sustains sharp citric-hopped bite, leaving dry lemony grapefruit tartness. At finish, dinky floral-spiced dash adorns bitter berry bluster and modest alcohol pungency.
Monthly Archives: January 2009
HOFBRAU ORIGINAL LAGER
Spastic clay hop fizz and sour rye aromatics nearly overwhelm tangy lemon retreat as honey-toasted grains reinforce dry wheat backbone of glistening golden medium body.
HOFBRAU OKTOBERFEST
Palest straw hue, faintest dank grain aromatics, and dullest sour-fruited malt stridency undermine caramel splurge of festive dry body. Salty bottom and cracked wheat finish stultified.
(HOFBRAU) KINDL HEFE WEIZEN
Banana-dried clove-spicing and wheat wafer sweetness counter lemon-soured tartness by bitter yellow-fruited finish. Tangier, if lighter, choice than comparable Tuchers Helles Hefe Weizen.
HOFBRAU MAIBOCK
Impeding ethanol surge and skunked oxidation denigrate honeyed cereal grain frontage and leafy-hopped apple-pear-peach tang of off-putting spring fling. Musty green apple odor compels misplaced vegetal adjunct, reducing dried fig jut and dry rye flinch to biscuit-y wheat bottom.
HOEGAARDEN ORIGINAL WHITE BEER
White wine presence overrides herbal-spiced banana-clove-coriander passivity and muted vanilla subtlety to buttery wheat base of cloudy pale-toned bottle-conditioned Belgian moderation. After initial carbolic ticklishness subsides, honeyed orange souring softens silken dry-hopped sequence to lean, flat, citric-squelched finish, retaining understated complexity. Refreshing as a soft drink and perfect as a crossover for light-hearted American golden and pale ale drinkers.
HITE PILSNER
Gentle hop bitterness overcomes dissipating barley, wheat, and rice sweetness, forming expected lean Asian beer template. Spring water freshness maintains crispness, but dulls the dry finish.
HITACHINO NEST XH (SAKE CASK)
Splendid multi-dimensional beer matured in sake casks saddles anticipatory rice wine aspect with earthen grape, stewed prune, sun-dried fig, and vinous cider souring. Reminiscent of dry oak-aged plum-wined Chardonnay at a distance, its glutinous wheat influence soon beckons heady whiskey finish, where distilled sake strengthens alcoholic punch.
HITACHINO NEST WHITE ALE
Iconic moderate-bodied white ale with hazy golden viscosity, cumulous pearly head, and daisy-like floral aroma receives earthen wood-toned herbal spicing. Clove, coriander, ginger, nutmeg and allspice bedeck rosebud-dandelion-lavender bouquet to wheat-flaked mandarin orange finish. Mild banana flourish seeps into tertiary lemon zesting.
HITACHINO NEST WEIZEN
Give brewer credit for expanding Japan’s desire to experiment outside the lines of typical rice-wheat-barley-based pilsners and lagers. Spiced-up crystal malt elegance given orange rind-embittered apricot-peach resonance. Increasingly dry grape-wined white ale contrasts candied coriander-powdered sweetness reminiscent of raspy Belgian ale. Inconspicuously wheat-based, though cork-like citric tartness strengthens alcohol acerbity.
HITACHINO NEST NEW YEAR CELEBRATION ALE 2004
Pour slowly creamy-headed, butterscotch-hued, heavily hopped ‘eisbock’ seasonal or risk spillage. Heady 9% alcohol welcomes Scotch malt kick, wintry cinnamon-nutmeg-coriander luster, and marmalade-like mandarin orange-pineapple-mango perfusion. By mild vanilla-maple finish, astringent ester-y grape sourness overwhelms grassy mouthfeel.
HITACHINO NEST SWEET STOUT
Dry Baker’s chocolate souring and stove-burnt coffee drear encumber oily hop-charred oaken cherry, parched fig, sun-dried raisin, purple grape, and candied date fruiting. Resinous earthen peat seeps into withered port-bourbon subsidy. Negligible caramel malting means ‘sweet’ labeling is off the mark.