shōchū
Hitachino Nest XH
by Paul Arthur on Nov.01, 2009, under ale, barrel aged beer, beer, sake, shōchū
Background: I’m a bit confused about this beer. The front label claims it was matured in sake casks, but the back label says the oak casks were used for “shocyu”, then goes on to say “shocyu is distilled sake”. On balance, I’m going with the assumption that the casks were from komejōchū (rice shōchū), which is a distilled drink with an initial fermentation very similar to sake. Careful on opening the bottle; I was incautious and ended up having to clean some carpet and my photography setup when it immediately foamed up.
Nose: Floral oranges, accompanied by plums, almonds, and water chestnut, with some very Belgian spicy phenols.
Taste: Silky fermented rice and woody oak flavours from the cask aging, sweet caramel malt, some funky leather notes (maybe a hint of Brettanomyces). Dry, slightly tannic finish.
Overall: Very unique, very tasty. Lots of complex flavours in a very drinkable package.
