Three days grace

Usually the story behind any given beer is fairly mundane, but the creation of this one couldn’t be more dramatic: The Hitachino Nest Brewery was in the process of brewing its regular witbier when the deadly earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in March 2011. The brewery lost power for three days during the mashing process, and the lactobacillus present in the air infected this batch. This is a technical way to say that this beer possesses the spicy characteristic of a witbier and the slight tartness of a beer brewed with lactic fermentation. Only 8,000 bottles were made, and now Sacramento’s scored a few of them. Hitachino Nest 3 Days beer is available at Pangaea Two Brews Cafe (2743 Franklin Boulevard), priced at $12.99 for a 18.6-ounce bottle. Find more information on Hitachino Nest beers at its kawaii (meaning oh-so-cute) website. www.hitachinonest.com.