Mateveza Organic Golden Ale

MateVeza Brewing Company
Brewed at Mendocino Brewing Company (United Breweries Group)
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
San Francisco, California USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

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Cloudy banana bronze with mildewy head. Appealing aroma composed of a complexity of earthy herbalness and light PNW hopping. Some yeasty zest, perhaps a bit of lemon. Interesting mate flavor that is quite enjoyable with some zing and mildly tannic. I thoroughly enjoyed this brew and hope to imbibe again.

650mL bottle poured a hazy golden color with fizzy white head that settled quickly and left little lacing behind. Aroma of tea and earthy hops. Taste is light malty sweetness with some tea and earthy hop bitterness in the finish. An interesting and unique beer that is worth a try once or twice, but not an everyday drinker.

05-Jul-09 (22-oz bottle: Purchased 28-Jun-09 for $3.99 at BevMo in Solana Beach, CA) Purchased to compare side-by-side with the MateVeza IPA, the grainy, corny and slightly husky nature of this beer stands out initially, and only over several sips do the tea-like and citrusy flavors begin to emerge and sink their teeth into the palate, balancing the beer in the entry, but then dominating the finish. The grainy and corny nose also offers crisp, slightly citrusy aroma too. The beer is light-medium in body and fairly crisp, so this beer was a great pairing to the chili I’m eating tonight. Hazy, pale-golden in color with a short-lived, whitish head that fully dissipates, leaving no trace of lacing. Drinkable, especially with a spicy dish, but not much for drinking on its own.

11-Apr-07 (22-oz bottle: Purchased 09-Apr-07 for $4.50 at Liquid Solutions in Tigard, OR) The grainy malt aroma hints of corn, but the herbal fragrance is the most apparent here, with lightly citrusy hops and a dash of tea in the background. Tasting the beer, again, the malt is fairly grainy in nature, but is content in its unglamorous role of providing a simple base that is ideal for showcasing the yerba maté. Hops are also quite light, so what stands out is the herbal, tea-like character of this beer. Medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, the beer also leaves a slightly oily residue on the palate. Pale golden in color and perfectly clear in appearance. Small, off-white head dissipates almost as rapidly as soda, leaving but a thin ring and a few "powdered sugar" sprinklings. No lacing, obviously. An okay beer, but buying this once for the novelty is sufficient because the beer isn’t interesting enough to buy again. (5, 2, 5, 3, 11 = 2.6)

22oz bottle. Green Tea flavor with a touch of dried autumn leaves and musty honey. Finishes with a honey flavor and toasted oats. Thin bodied. Smells of tea. Cloudy orange color. Thin white head.

Bottle found in my cellar. Not sure where it came from. Light hazy orange pour with lots of carbonation. Crazy herbal, licorice aroma that I assume is the yerba mate. Taste is basic smooth malt with licorice and hop bitterness notes. Rather nice brew.

SJ BevMo

Aroma - grainy/lemony aroma with a light dried fruit/musty aroma

Appearance - dark golden body, slight haze to it, light carbonation present, bright white 1/2" head

Taste - light sweetness, iced tea-like character...kinda green tasting, like gnawing on a tree branch

Palate - light bodied, medium carbonation

Overall - a bit better than their IPA, but that’s not really saying much. Easy to pass on.

Mateveza Brewing Company, Ukiah, California--Mate Veza Yerba Mate Gold--Organic Golden Ale Brewed with Yerba Mate--naturally caffeinated from organic yerba mate--USDA Organic--2009-10 Release--22 oz. Bottle--5.00% ABV--25 IBU’s. (4.0 / 5.0) Golden Ale--Very thin no lace white head. Clear pretty bright gold color. No sediment. Nice delicate floral Yerba Mate hop front. Slightly creamy mellow sweet light caramel herbal Yerba Mate fruit ester hint body. Smooth mild hop spice citrus hint clean refreshing end. Sampled 1/24/2010. $4.99 Each.

UPDATED: JUN 3, 2012 11th June 2008
Slightly cloudy gold ale. Tart lemony bitter tea flavour dominates. An astringent very dry finish. Might sound unpalatable but is actually very drinkable.

14th November 2009
Slightly hazy gold beer. Light softish palate. Bitter tea with citrus and creamy malt. Finishes soft with a sprinkle of minerals. Decent.

This spice ale pours a deep orange gold color from a 22oz bottle. Medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is spicy, tea, caramel, floral and earthy. A medium bodied ale. Malts are caramel and not very sweet. Hops are earthy and bitter. Lot of black tea and earthy flavors. Kind of bitter and astringent, citrusy and earthy. Mostly an interplay between the tea and the malts, This is interesting enough to try a couple of time, but I don’t think I would want to drink it regularly. Its sort of growing on me and NOT in a good way. It gets more metallic and bitter as it warms. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is bitter

Bottle thanks to ericandersnavy. Pours a hazy gold with white fizzy head. Aroma is nice, some lemony citrus, a little floral, some faint nut. Flavor is a little odd, some malt, a strange spiciness, some dirt, nasty bitter. Mouth feel is light body with high carbonation. Overall, aroma was great, but flavor crashed and burned......

bottle thanks to bhensonb, but swiped from the fridge and opened by my brother. poured a cloudy yellow with a white head. aroma of citrus, grain, floral and lemon. flavor was citrus, grain, and wet cardboard that a bum has slept on and probably urinated on.