Picked this up a while back at the P St. Whole Foods, mostly because Hitachino Nest makes interesting beers and I'd never seen it before. Had to buy two of them, since they couldn't sell single bottles, and I'd been hanging on to the second one for a while now so I could write a proper review.
I've found in the past that Hitachino Nest can be a little hit or miss. Their Red Rice Ale is, I think, really very interesting, and when it's available I'm always tempted by it. Others from them (such as their "Lacto" Sweet Stout) have been much less impressive.
Similarly, I've found that ginger beers (as in beers with ginger, of course, not the spicy sodas) can be hit or miss. Most of the ones I've had have tried to play the spiciness of the ginger against spicy hops, and the effect doesn't quite jive for me. They tend to be built on a pale ale base, and the sweetness of the ginger is usually nowhere to be found, leaving a bitter, semi-spicy drink. This is a bit different from that.
The nose is basically all ginger, with a little floral smell. The taste is also almost all ginger, with sweetness up front and a spicy, slightly dry finish (with a slight medicinal/herbal note). I've no idea what the base beer underneath all the ginger is (though I suspect it's probably a pale ale), as it's fairly covered up. The balance is much more to my liking than in other ginger beers.
Do I recommend it? Tough to say. Do you like ginger? - that's the first question. If so, than yes, try this if you can; it's probably my favorite of the ginger beers I've had. I'm not totally sure I'd get it again: you really need to be in the mood for it, I think.
It would probably pair quite nicely with Thai or Indian food - anything where there's big Asian flavors, this should be able to stand up to them and not be overpowered. Of course, if your food's spicy, this won't do a thing to cool you down.
Real Ginger Ale on BeerAdvocate.
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