Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jackfrost nippin’ at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos

Today is Roast Chestnuts Day, a fun idea to celebrate for the season, so for the Advent beer pick I wanted to go with a chestnut-themed ale. As it turns out, the Hideji Brewery in Japan brews just such a beer in its Kuri Kuro Dark Chestnut Ale.

Kuri Kuro is an imperial stout that’s brewed and sold only in Hideji’s North American market, and is based on its winter seasonal Hideji Stout. The brewery says:

It uses Miyazaki-grown chestnuts, and features a flavor rich in nuts, herbs and sweet chestnuts along with an aroma of espresso and brown sugar from roasted barley.

The chestnut is the most ancient fruit in Japan. Charred chestnuts have been found in and around archaeological sites of the Jomon Period (10,000 – 200 B.C.) settlements. Japanese chestnuts are widely used in preparing Japanese cuisine, and a special dish made of chestnut is served as a New Years tradition.

With 9% alcohol by volume this will be a pleasantly warming sipper, and I expect you’ll find the flavor of roasted chestnuts in abundance—the next best thing to chestnuts themselves!

Find Hideji Kuri Kuro on:

• Untapped
• BeerAdvocate
• RateBeer
• Facebook

Top and label photo credits: Hideji’s Facebook page