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Gorgeously dark caramel pour with an illuminescent dark orange cast surrounding it. Eventually it thickens up to a wonderful tone of teek wood orange with browning center. Very murky, perhaps a bit muddy with chunks of yeast suspended within. Capped mightily with a huge crown of tawny tanned rocky foam that never moves from its seat. Lacing coats the glass with a heavy frosting.

Aroma is all yeasty and peppered with dryish wood and herbal-esque leafyness with a souring stand thats musty with large pinches of orange and lime peel tanging it up.

Nice taste that's well handled in a overall tamed down tone of sourness and tang. Dark Saison meets sour ale. Peppy, yet dull, peppery, yet light enough in its spices and tang to flow into one easy going brew. Indecipherable woody characteristics from the sake casks which grabs lime and orange peel with tiny bits of leafyness. Brett-like yeasty sourness and more orangey things peek and retreat as it stays firm with a moderately tame and calm soured tangy tone. Not much in the finish, lightly drying, with small but evident bittering citrus and medicinal notes remain behind.

Body is under a medium boldness and tone for the style. Carbonation level is fairly high but mellows out as it sits. There really isn't an established stability as it sweeps in with its souring tang and kind of just sits there without much action beyond what the flavors and spices pull thru.

Totally Hitachino. A nice twist of sour and tang thrown together well enough for a fun experience.

Price: $4.89 Served In: Goblet

33cl Stubby
$4.29
Whole Foods

This has been in the cellar for about a year and in the fridge for 3-4 months. This bottle was a slow gusher; I had plenty of time to grab a glass before it overflowed. This strange concoction sports a ruby body and a good amount of haziness. I was a little careless on the pour and small yeasties ended up in the bottom of my glass. The dirty white head thickens to one finger in height but falls back to a thick collar. Drink lines get left behind after each drink.

The nose is very fruity and Belgian-esque. The yeast used sends off a musty note along the lines of damp cellar; cobwebs and all. Plum and plump raisins lay down a dark, fruity base and a touch of barley jumps up as well. There's some caramel sweetness here and there but the fruitiness takes the lead. There is a definite barnyard presence that I didn't expect at all. Interesting.

The flavor takes on a different role. The funkiness isn't near as noticeable on the tongue but the fruit explodes in a musty sort of way. Raisins and plum this time in that order. Caramel sweetness jumps in mid palate and lingers long into the finish. The sake is noticeable toward the finish and undefined spiciness weaves through the body. This is a unique brew and one to sip to catch the complexities.

The body has a medium feel with a slight slickness up front that quickly vanishes when the tongue sapping dryness comes along. The carbonation feels a bit spritzy mid-palate but again, that disappears quickly with the astringent dryness.

Drinkability suffers slightly from the dryness and robust, unique flavors. The 33cl offering is just enough for one sitting and it's taking me awhile to finish the glass but it's enjoyable as I sip. This one starts to drag on as I get to the bottom of the glass.

XH is one crazy unique brew from Hitachino. This is obviously my first sake aged beer and it made a good impression. I'd recommend this to friends. Pick it up if you see it around people, it's worth a try.

Reviewed: 5/23/09

Price: $4.29 Served In: Tulip

Sampled March 2009
This foams up slowly as soon as I pop the cap. A careful pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a dense, two-finger thick, amber tinged, light tan colored head. As the head slowly subsides it leaves some nice lacing patterns on the sides of the glass. The beer is a murky, plum color that shows an almost opaque, golden cherry-red color when held up to the light. The aroma is quite interesting, not at all what I expected, even given that I didn’t know what to expect. The nose has a light tartness to it, a ripe fruitiness that reminds me a bit of a desert wine and some definite plum; there is an earthy maltiness that is something like raisins, perhaps a touch of musty damp cellar like notes and, as I dig deeper, a bright cinnamon note that mixes with the rich fruity aromatics. There seems a back note to the spiciness that reminds me a bit of cedar somehow, though this is quite subtle and difficult to grasp at times.

The taste has a certain sweetness to it, but really is more rich and complex than simply sweet. The body is fairly full, and is viscous enough to weigh down what would otherwise be a very effervescent level of carbonation. The finish has a touch of astringency to it as well as a distinct, though soft, note that definitely reminds me of the after-taste of sake. This has flavors from the sake that remind me of a flint-like, white wine, and when combined with some of the other sweet fruity notes from the beer can remind me of raisins at times. The finish has a note of brown sugar, as well as a touch of rum that lingers. Cedar like flavors add a spiciness to this beer that is a mix of pepper, ginger, allspice and cinnamon, though not really any of these things exactly.

When I come back to the nose I get a much stronger presence of cedar, though it is still fairly soft; I really wonder where this is coming from, is a traditional Sake cask made of cedar? A quick google search shows that this is indeed the wood that is traditionally used for Sake and could explain its flavor presence in this beer. Some further research though suggests that this was aged in oak barrels. Either way there is an interesting wood-influenced character to this beer that is a bit different from anything I have experienced before in beer.

This is a very interesting beer, the sake cask aging definitely adds a distinct, interesting signature to this beer. The base beer easily stands up to this though, and the two combine to form a pretty well integrated, interesting whole that is likely greater than the just the sum of the two spirits.

Served In: Tulip

A - Pours a dark caramel colored body with a thick haze to it. Starts with a beige head that is about half an inch thick, made up of tight uniform sized bubbles and is a bit fizzy. Reduces within a minute to a ring of foam around the glass and a clump in the middle.

S - There is a strange sweetness to the smell here that I am not used to. Given, I haven't had sake in years, so that is probably where this is coming from. I get some floral hops poking out from underneath that. Not really citrusy, but actually flowery. Sweet maltiness going on here too. My interest has been piqued.

T - Lots of sweet maltiness that reminds me of light fruits. Pears and apples. Strawberries. Slight hop bit comes in for just a minute. Alcohol comes in with a stronger than expected component considering the 7%, but this is aged in sake casks. Some lingering alcohol aftertaste.

M - Medium bodied. Goes down very smooth. Carbonation is pleasant.

D - Very interesting. I might have more to say about it if I had any real experience with sake, but I can say that I am enjoying it. The one drawback for me is the slight alcohol aftertaste.

Served In: Other