Hitachino Sunday Cup Festival (range review)

Having previously enjoyed the XH and the Espresso Stout, it was time for a range review on some of the other beers currently purchasable locally from Hitachino in Japan.

First up the white ale, whose label confirms the traditional approach with additions of coriander, orange peel and nutmeg. It's a nice pour, though the beer itself is quite yellow. It's bright and not out of style, just different to some others. Nose is of candied orange, not as pithy as orange peel, bit sweeter and fresher but less bitey. As such the whole thing calls to mind a chewy orange lolly.

Taste-wise happily it manages to stay quite light with medium-high carbonation to back it up. The taste profile is pretty light and delicate but all the right flavours are there, before a burst of that sweet orange before the end. Strikes me as pretty sessionable stuff here on a hot day, with nothing really objectionable in the slightest. The perfect soft-spoken Japanese gent. 7.0

Wasn't quite sure what to expect from this "Real Ginger Ale" - was it a beer with ginger, or a ginger beer? Turns out to be the former, marked as happoushu because of the additions. This beer is marked at 7.0% on one label, and 7.5% on the other .. just like XH, this is something you wouldn't get away with in Australia.

It's a dark pour with a fair amount of particulate sediment and rye-like hue. The nose is curiously reticent, delivering not much above and beyond a suggestion of malt sweetness, but the taste doesn't hold back. Bang - dat ginger. It's a good soft mouthfeel here and kind of evokes Olde Stoney ginger beer meeting a spiced heavy ale of some description. All of which is nice, but it becomes harder and harder to deal with over time. Maybe better in the snow? 5.5

"Japanese Classic Ale" seemed somewhat of a misnomer first up given the nature of the beer scene in modern times. A closer look at the label however shows it's a replica of Edo period ales, matured in cedar as per old style English IPAs. Nice pour again with a good looking creamy head. I get peppery notes on the nose here along with a bit of warming alcohol.

That spicy character carries through into the ale itself - perhaps it's the barrel? - but it's a nice combination. The hops are evident if not dominant and it all comes together quite nicely at a professed 7.5%. I drank this happily the whole way through and found it interesting, well-made and compelling. 7.0

Continuing the theme with another solid seven percenter is the red rice ale. This one's a bit more reticent with the ingredients list which is a shame, as to me at least it feels a lot like it's had berries, cherries, or something similar added here which dominate everything else. The rice isn't very evident, but it is at least quite red, I guess.

I'm not really sure about this one - it didn't really do what you'd think it would and felt a bit out of place the whole time. I didn't dislike it, but neither would I seek it out again. 5.5

Onward then to the commemorative new year celebration ale, at 8% (at least, knowing these guys). This is the 2011 edition and understandably speaks of forgetting the troubles of the year past. It's spiced with coriander and cinnamon among other things - one could expect it to be a big heavy in line with the Japanese (winter) new year.

This drop is sour up front then quite spicy and complex. Not as malty as expected, but thought provoking nonetheless. I wonder if the sour edge is from age, or if they have again used their access to sake barrels and the like to give it a bit of something special - whichever it is, it lifts this beer a little and makes it quite compelling to drink. Slight nectarine / apricot nectar notes. Interesting if not delicious. 6.5

Finally to the sweet stout. I'd been recommended away from this one by a stout-drinking of some repute, but  after drinking this one I was quite happy with it. It's just 4% and clearly designed along the lines of the typical dry / sweet stout. Good colour in the pour, lovely nose of raw choc malt also. It's sweet in that it has definitely had lactose introduced, but not overly sweet in terms of flavour balance. Instead there's a nice roasty character for the main combined with an edge of coffee.

It's light beer yes but I'd argue not watery (ie, not unintentional). Lasting roasty aftertaste is pleasant. Good beer. 7.0

All in all an interesting selection and enough to confirm my wish to visit when next in Nippon.

Hitachino Espresso Stout

Back to Hitachino, with a bit more optimism here based on their last performance.

Hmm, big nose here, not bad but intimidating. I had thought this to be, well, not quite a gimmick but a beer very strongly based on the 'stout with coffee in it' trope and little else. Instead it's 7.5%, based on a russian imperial stout by the sounds, and definitely not your typical coffee stout. It's a solid RIS body for a start, pure inky black, with a loitering tan head. The nose settles into a coffee sort of mode with depth and complexity once it's had some time.

Tastewise too this is lovely stuff, a fine performance, and the depth of taste belies the abv in a way in that it could be symptomatic of a beer 1-2% higher. This is full on flavour, mostly coffee but with the notes you'd like from an imperial stout also, a beer that really indicates brewers here who know well what they're doing.

Really impressive stuff again. Maybe slightly sour first up, maybe slightly dry aftertaste as well but gee I'm picking faults in what is a very good beer. Recommended. 8.5

Hitachino XH Extra High

Extra Strong 8% the most prominent thing on the label.. yet it's actually 8.5%.. you wouldn't get away with that in Aus. Even on ratebeer it's at 8.0% but .. haha.. read the Japanese bit. Unless they're measuring alcohol on a non-abv scale, this is more likely to put you over than it initially appears. Whoops.

The label suggests this one is brewed using more malts and hops than usual (yep), and matured for six months - well, this bottle's been there a bit longer so maybe even more so. It's maybe not in its prime this one to be honest and that, plus a mixed sort of experience with beers that market themselves only as high alcohol in the past, makes me a bit apprehensive here. Still, it's a tight fluffy head, and a pleasing strong ale dark colour.

After pouring, there's a bit of sourness here on the nose along with alcohol notes and malt, and the sourness makes me wonder about its age once again until I notice that this one has also been matured in both sake and shochu casks. This really does give it a pronounced funky character that I really dig alongside the nutty strong ale vibes. It's deep and complex and while I don't get a lot of the belgian yeast quality, it's all come across nicely as a package. Spicy caramel finish rounds out what is a complex and compelling beer, quite contrary to expectations.

Very, very interesting stuff.. can't wait to try more, and will visit next time in Japan. 8.0

Baird Brewing Shimaguni Stout

And so we came to the final exchange in our increasingly acrimonious relationship with the Baird crew: the Stout.

Now a stout typically refers to quite a heavy dark beer or porter, usually among the strongest brews a brewery puts out. But this clocked in at 4.5%, well below the 6.0% of any of their other beers. Befuddled and by this stage somewhat resigned to our fate we poured out.

(sadly no photo for this one, borrowing one from their official website to illustrate the cool artworks better)

This stout has a quite dark coffee coloured head which was pleasing to see. The nose was also far better than the porter, though still put me in mind of homebrew guinness. This brew proved less fizzy than the porter (though still oddly aerated), a relief. And flavour wise it was not too bad either, though a little watery perhaps due to the light alcoholic content. I didn't come across any of the smoky flavour promised on the label, but nevertheless, a fair effort to finish. I'm giving it 4.0, with Nic giving it 5.0 of 10.

Baird Brewing Kurofune Porter

Baird, Baird, Baird.

As keen craft beer buffs and frequent travelers to Japan, my associates and I are on your side. We would like to see Japan evolve beyond the 'easy drinking' image of throwaway lagers and build a new beer scene above and beyond. But you're losing us, Baird, really you are.

The Kurofune Porter, at 6% in common with the Brown Ale and IPA, and complete with another top label depicting a smirking General MacArthur, put me in mind of a dark beer invasion ready to change the minds of the lager-reliant Japanese populace.

Why then is is so damn fizzy? A porter is typically near flat on pouring, but as we tried this beer through a range of temperatures the key characteristic was the insane amount of aeration. It put me in mind of an even fizzier version of the similarly disappointing Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, almost cola-like in nature. After some time waiting for this to settle Nic had the bright idea of giving it a gentle shake to see if he could eliminate some fizz. One shake later, the room was covered in froth as if a brave meringue soldier had leapt on a live grenade.

And I haven't even got to the pervasive sour smell and initial taste of the beer either. Once you conquer all that, there is a porter in there somewhere. But any desire to drink it was long gone. A disappointing 2.0 / 10 from each taster.

Baird Brewing Teikoku IPA

It was all going so well for Baird after their promising effort with the Brown Ale. Then this happened.

The bottle claims a spicy floral aroma, backed up with the sweet Maris Otter malt. My nose claims a very similar (ie slightly offputting) scent in line with the Brown Ale. Then it was on to the taste buds who did not enjoy this beer at all.

The almost anonymous hops and lack of bitterness left us wondering what about this beer if anything made it an IPA for a start. It's one dimensional and sweet in a poorly prepared home brew sort of way.

Overall, a heavy, torpid struggle. I'm giving this 1.5, with Nic giving 2.0 out of 10.

I'm prepared to accept a little bit of degradation here given the small batch bottle brewed nature + the roundabout route to arrive several thousand kilometres away in Perth (the way Nic insisted it smelled / tasted of mint perhaps backs this up?) but there's little to recommend this.

Baird Brewing Angry Boy Brown Ale

And so we came to the first of our four beers from Baird Brewing Company, all the way from Shizuoka.

The bottle art on these beers is off the hook.. top work indeed. Though my overall expectations weren't that high given pretty mixed past experience with both Japanese beers, and with brown ales.

The Japanese description on the bottle suggested this beer was 'hiding an angry edge' and that it was best for days when you were a little angry yourself. We certainly found the nose on it made us a bit angry.. not the best entry to a beer. Head also dissipated quite quickly though this is perhaps permissable given the distance travelled to get to us.

The beer itself however was convivial if anything. I didn't feel enraged in the slightest by anything other than the misleading packaging. In fact, the conversation I had with this drop encouraged me to relax, think a moment, breath, count to 10, and not sweat the small stuff. I felt calmed. Quite a mellow characteristic throughout, tailing to a buttered toast like finish. No caramel / toffee here: pleasing.

It's a one-note sort of beer but pleasant enough to deserve a 7.0 and my interest to try it again as the best brown ale I've had to date (this is a limited field). Nic called a 6.0 and a reasonably auspicious start to Baird.