Hitachino Nest Beer White Ale (Japan)

www.kodawari.cc
Hitachino Nest Beer White Ale
Kiuchi Brewery
5.5% ABV

Due to the popularity of the Belgium beer Hoegarden in Japan - Hitachino Nest (Kiuchi Brewery) decided to make their own version.  In 1998 the beer was brewed.  Because of Japanese tax laws stating that anything containing less than 50% malt could be taxed at a lot less than beer the brewery worked on a recipe that produced a result they were happy with and managing to brew with less than 50% of malt in the brew.  The brewery used flaked barley and flaked wheat along with pilsner malt to give it is flavour and Perle hops are used for bittering and Styrian Golding are used for aroma.  The addition of orange juice, coriander, nutmeg and orange peel adds to it's flavour profile.

Review

Subtle citrus notes are present on the nose along with the mild sweetness that is found in all wheat beers.  The beer itself is a hazy pale golden yellow beer with a quickly disappearing white head.  On tasting - the typical wheat beer characteristics are present very subtle spices are there along with the sweetness of the wheat and the citrus that is added from the oranges.  The beer has a well weighted medium body.  A pretty good wheat beer although wheat beers are not my thing.

Scores: -

Aroma 5/10
Appearance 3.5/5
Taste 5/10
Palate 4/5
Overall 14/20  

Total 63%

Brew Dog Punk IPA (Scotland)

www.brewdog.com
Punk IPA
Brew Dog Breweries
5.6% ABV

Perhaps it's the first Scottish infact British beer that has been designed to replicate the hugely popular American Pale Ale style.  Throwing the book at the rules of classic British Pale Ales, Brew Dog have tried to capture what is exciting about the American style.  First brewed in 2007 Brew Dog have tried to market themselves as a post modern brewer.

Review

The beer is brewed with Chinock, Crystal and Motoeka hops and the combination gives it a bucketful of aroma - citrus and tropical fruit like passion fruit and guava are present along with the Maris Otter extra pale malt.  Appearance wise the beer is a golden colour with a frothy white head, it is quite cloudy and almost reminds me of a home brew.  On tasting the beer has a very metallic taste and not a lot else.  The beer did get better towards the end of the glass with a very subtle melon flavour.  This is along with the expected bitterness.  The beer has a medium body with a drying finish.

Overall this beer has an amazing aroma from the mix of hops but a very disappointing taste.  I wonder why it is so popular or well known?

Scores: -

Aroma 8.5/10
Appearance 3.5/5
Taste 4/10
Palate 3.5/5
Overall 10/20

Total 59%

Coconut Porter (USA)

www.mauibrewingco.com
Coconut Porter
Maui Brewing Co.
5.7% ABV

Another in North America's long line of craft breweries doing some great forward thinking.  This one is from the Maui Brewing Co.

Roasted coconut is added to the dark porter during the brew process.  Initially this would seem like a marketing thing but the subtlety of the coconut does add a welcomed extra element to the final product.

Apart from the kegged variety, they distribute this beer in cans which staying true to their environmentally conscious ethos - allows the cans to be recycled thus doing their bit for the environment.

Review

On the nose you get rich dark malt.  Once poured it has a tan foamy head sitting upon an almost black liquid.  On tasting you get the rich dark coffee with bitterness as well as the coconut accompaniment on the back of the palate that helps balance the beer.  The beer has a medium body and overall is pretty good.  The richness of the coffee does seem to go hand in hand with the dash of coconut.

Try it if you can find it.

Scores: -

Aroma 5/10
Appearance 3.5/5
Taste 6/10
Palate 3/5
Overall 16/20

Total 67%

St Peters Cream Stout (England)

www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk
St Peters Cream Stout
St Peters Brewery
6.5% ABV

The second beer that I have tried by Suffolk, UK based St Peters.

The Cream Stout is smoother and less bitter than a traditional dry stout. Fuggle and Challenger hops are used with a blend of four locally grown floor-malted barleys.

Review

The beer is a dark ebony liquid with an off-white head. The nose has burnt toast with a hint of rich coffee quality. Again the coffee is there in the mouth but quite light in flavour. The beer itself has a light to medium body but with some good bitterness. A very smooth palate combined with a higher percentage in alcohol makes for a "not too bad" winter beer.

Scores: -

Aroma 5/10
Appearance 3/5
Taste 5/10
Palate 4/5
Overall 14/20

Total 62%

Macs Brewery - Hop Rocker (New Zealand)

www.macs.co.nz
Macs Brewery Hop Rocker Pilsner
Macs Brewery
4.8% ABV

Review

A highly hopped Pilsner from New Zealand using Crystal Malt, Nelson Sauvin and New Zealand Cascade hops.

Review

Immediately beautiful summer aromatics are present with a gone off funky smell.  The beer is a pale golden liquid with a very fast disappearing white head.  It has a peculiar flavour - couldn't quite place it, possibly biscuit or off chocolate biscuit.  I wasn't a fan.  The beer has a light body with a grassy aftertaste.  This is a very different tasting pilsner, quite unique - but this one is not for me.

Scores: -

Aroma 6.5/10
Appearance 3/5
Taste 4/10
Palate 4/5
Overall 11/20

Total 58%

Delirium Tremens (Belgium)

www.delirium.be
Delirium Tremens
Delirium Brewing
8.5% ABV

This Belgian brewery was established in 1654.

Delirium Tremens was first brewed on Boxing day 1989.  Three different kinds of yeast are used in the brew to provide a distinct appearance and character.

The beer is brewed using a triple fermentation technique that they have been using for hundreds of years.

Review

On the nose this beer has grassy hop aromas with some good yeast characters.  The beer itself is filled with lots of spent yeast.  It is light golden in colour with a very foamy white head.  The beer has a nice balance of malt with the alcohol lingering on the palate.  The beer has a perfect light to medium body.

This is a very, very good lager.  Really refreshing and with great warmth from the alcohol.  A perfect Saturday night lager but too strong for a session on a tuesday.

Scores: -

Aroma 6/10
Appearance 2.5/5
Taste 5/10
Palate 4/5
Overall 17/20

Total 69%

Murrays Dark Knight (Australia)

www.murraysbrewingbrewingco.com.au
Murrays Dark Knight
Murrays Brewing Co
4.5% ABV

One of the many excellent beers from this Port Stephens boutique brewery.  The brewery is now maintained by a former home brewing enthusiast Shawn Sherlock.  He actually gave up a PhD in Australian History to make his love of beer his career.  The brewery itself was set up by Murray Howe who was inspired during a trip to the U.S in 2004 when he discovered countless craft brewings and decided to come back to Australia and establish a brewery.

Murrays Brewery is definitely worth a visit (if you are ever in the area) and certainly worth the trip up from Sydney to sample some of their many interesting brews.

The Dark Knight is brewed with 6 different malts to create this porter style beer.

Review

A massive roasted coffee malt hit is immediate on the nose.  The beer pours with a dark ruby opaque liquid with a quickly disappearing tan head.  The beer has a bitter black coffee flavour is first noted with dark chocolate and tobacco.  The beer itself is quite flat with a medium body.

The beer is let down slightly by the lack of the life in the bottle although the flavours are great.

Scores: -

Aroma 7.5/10
Appearance 4/5
Taste 8/10
Palate 3/5
Overall 15/20

Total 75%