Two dai for

What I like in particular about Japanese beer, and I've not had a whole lot of it, is the tendency to come at things at an oblique angle, creating recipes that even the try-too-hard craft brewers of the west don't make. Last month's delicious sweet potato ale was one example, and today it's a new one for me from Kiuchi's Hitachino Nest range, about the only brand of Japanese-brewed beer you can buy in this country.

It's called DAiDAi Ale, daidai (橙) being Japanese for a type of native orange, and is an IPA made with Fukure Mikan mandarins and a selection of French hops. Is anybody around here doing that? Thought not. It's a lovely sunset amber colour in the glass, mostly clear, with only a fine misting of suspended sediment. There's no mistaking the oranges in the aroma, one which is at once zesty and oily. The hops don't get much of a say beyond that.

While it may smell a little like a soft drink, the mouthfeel is very grown-up and heavy, channelling a strong bock or even barley wine. The 6% ABV may have something to do with that: plenty of texture but not so much heat. Still no prominent hops in the flavour, and where I feared there would be syrupy orange concentrate there's only quite a subtle fruit presence up front, fresh and zesty, though understated. The surprise, however it's done, is a peppercorn spice, adding a warming piquancy which balances the weighty malt well. More orange arrives late, this time bringing a peel bitterness.

For a beer badged as an IPA, the lack of hop character is a bit of a fail, but it definitely delivered the pleasing kooky oddness I was hoping for. It's lovely to find a beer which, in a good way, tastes like nothing I've encountered previously.