Extra High Life

Until we drank this beer, the words “extra high” had no special meaning really. At least as far as beer and beyond our extended gravity bong phase in college. But “extra high” is, in fact, what the gold foil letters “XH” on the label of this Hitachino Nest beer signifies. Oh yes.
That “extra” refers to both the 8 % alcohol packed into this sweet baby bottle and the big, woodsy grain-alcohol polish that has been imparted to it by aging the beer in the same old oak casks used to mature a distilled sake called Shocyu.
(Cue illuminating gong crash please…)
Having tried a couple of the Kuichi Brewery’s other offerings — those medium-strength Japanese beers decorated with fat red owls and tossed with fusion twists like ginger and red rice — this brew stands out as a Belgian-style strong ale. We sipped XH on the porch one recent Sunday in the middle of stir-frying our dinner and immediately developed strong feelings for it. Golden like its reflective foil labeling, but with a slight hint of iodine-red, the beer itself is beautiful. Lifting a shorty glass, we caught hints of 5-spice rub…coriander and nutmeg for sure. What else… hops, malt, sake?
For all the “high” talk, the booze notes in this beer are fairly subtle — not like a sake bomb — save that for your Sapporo bombers. Instead, the sake-oak makes this beer taste almost like a sour Flemish red or a Geuze-esque wild ale. But more like the soft throat pucker that fresh lime gives a rice noodle soup, a background flavor that saves a broth form being tooooo oily. Or, in this case, too high.

Dairy Pairy: Rondin Des Brebis, a semi firm super funky sheep’s milk cheese.
Soundtrack: T-Rex’s “Get It On”