Skip to main content

Beer Digest: Mission St., Hitachino, Weyerbacher

I've had some really great and interesting beers over the last week.  In this new post series, I'm going to highlight my favorite beers from the last week or so.  Hope you enjoy reading!  Suggestions and comments are always welcome!

Mission St 2013 Anniversary Ale (Trader Joe's)
Steinhaus Brewing Co. (brewed at Firestone Walker in Cali)
8.5% ABV

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this beer, but it took me by surprise.  They say it is is blend of three different brews, and when it all comes together the final product is an imperial brown ale.  There was lots of malt, a little roast, and a full, creamy body.  I was surprised how fast I made it through the whole bottle.  There wasn't the slightest hint of the 8.5% ABV.  If more brown ales tasted like this, I would probably drink them more often.

Mission St. 2013 Anniversary Ale from Trader Joe's
Mission St. 2013 Anniversary Ale from Trader Joe's


Hitachino Nest XH
7% ABV

Kiuchi Brewery's Hitachino Nest XH is one of the more unique beers I've tried recently.  I wasn't really sure how aging in sake casks would affect the beer, having never had sake before.  I wonder if this is a big seller in Japan.  The best way I can describe this beer is a strong dark ale that has a subtle, acidic bite in the finish. Quite interesting.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Hitachino Nest XH, Matured in Sake Casks
Hitachino Nest XH, Matured in Sake Casks


Insanity
11.1% ABV

When Weyerbacher let's their Blithering Idiot barleywine sit in oak bourbon barrels, out comes Insanity.  I used to really like the old label, but the new label is pretty neat.  It's similar, just updated.  Even after spending time sitting in the bourbon barrel, Insanity is still a pretty intense beer  Definitely a sipper.  Big vanilla, bourbon and caramel notes, with lots of alcohol behind it.  Even though it's tasting great now, I can't wait to see what a year or two (or more) does to this beer.  I wish I had started cellaring it years ago!

Weyerbacher Insanity

Have you had any of these beers?  Let me know what you thought of them in the comments!

Find Mould’s Beer Blog on these Social Networks!



Labels:

Comments

  1. Oliver Gray June 25, 2013 at 7:41 PM

    I'm definitely going to try that Hitachino Nest XH. I love sake, so sake beer HAS to be a win for me :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownJune 25, 2013 at 8:47 PM

      Awesome, go for it. Let me know what you think of it. Any good sake you can recommend to a sake novice?

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dogfish Head Positive Contact

Frankenstorm is on it's way.  Bread: Check.  Candles: Check.  Ice: Check.  Beer: Check!  The big storm is supposed to strike land here in NJ late Sunday night into early Monday morning, and last until late Tuesday.  Kerry and I live in the western part of NJ, so we should be safe from most of it, except for local river flooding.  Tonight I'll be reviewing Positive Contact from Dogfish Head.  This is their collaboration with Dan the Automator (who I honestly had never heard of before this collaboration). I poured Positive Contact into my Yards Brewing tulip glass.  It poured a pale orange, golden color with a two and a half finger width head.  Apples, bananas and peppers hit my nose right away.  The smell is incredible and strong.  The Positive Contact is full of flavor, and reminds me of a smooth drinking Belgian tripel.  It tastes immediately of fruity esters, mainly banana.  The finish is peppery.  I'm not getting any apple flavor.  This beer is light bodied, with
Post a Comment
Read more

BJCP: Strong Scotch Ale (9E)

This is the first article in a new series of posts, where I will periodically choose a section from the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines , write about the style, and then drink and publish my tasting notes from some of the commercial examples given by the BJCP.  Now, I'm not sure if I will ever actually take the exam to become a beer judge, but I think this will be a fun exercise to learn more about beer! Fair warning, I will not be doing the sections of the BJCP style guidelines in any sort of order.  Whichever kinds of beer I am craving is what I will be writing about! Strong Scotch Ales (also known as Wee Heavy) comprise sub-category 9E in the BJCP style guidelines.  They range between 6.5% and 10.0% ABV, and have a light copper to dark brown appearance.  Obviously, strong scotch ales are all about showcasing the malt.  While studying this style, I found it quite interesting that the brewers ferment out the wort at cooler temperatures than other
15 comments
Read more

The Six-Pack Project: New Jersey

Welcome to the Six-Pack Project!  The idea of the project is to create a six-pack of beer that would best represent the current beer scene in your respective state.  For me, that is obviously New Jersey.  The Six-Pack Project was created by Bryan over at the This Is Why I'm Drunk blog.  Check out his introduction to the project here ! 10 years ago, beer probably wasn't the first thing that came to your mind when you were thinking about New Jersey.  However, times are changing, and it's an exciting time to be a beer drinker in the Garden State.  Every year, more and more bars are starting to serve a greater variety in beer.  Even more importantly, new breweries haven been opening in NJ each year, and lots more are in planning Today, there is a wide variety of beer brewed here in New Jersey.  Choosing six beers to best represent the state was no easy feat, but I was up for it!  Hopefully, the following will clue you in a little bit more to some o
13 comments
Read more