Mateveza Organic Golden Ale

Brewed by Mendocino Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Hopland, California USA

Slightly cloudy gold ale. Tart lemony bitter tea flavour dominates. An astringent very dry finish. Might sound unpalatable but is actually very drinkable.

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.

Bottle that was opened by Swalden28 provided by a very reluctant ericandersnavy. Very clouded yellow pour. Large amount of hops, but they are all soft hops. There is some amount of spicy citrus in this as well. Not very tasty. Earthy and bitter. The guys I tried this with kept talking about cardboard and now that’s all I can taste! Dry dry dry.

From the Bottle at the GABF Colorado Convention Center, Denver 10/10/2008 Fruity aroma. Golden coloured fruity and a little hazy in appearance. Crisp and slightly dry refreshing tea flavoured finish.

A wonderful beer. The addition of Mate is not only a nice addition but the orginaltiy is welcome as well. Very bubbly, and a spicy bitter. Its almost like you can taste the caffiene, and it seems to churn a little in you mouth. I can’t wait to try the IPA.

***review from June 2, 2008***
Will I ever sleep again? Poured out weak dark gold / orange brew with a small white crown and weak lacing. The aroma is pretty heavy on the citrus hops with the standard grapefruit and apricot smell to go along with the wackiness that is yerba mate - sharp veggies and herbal hints both are very odd. The taste is wacky. DO NOT TAKE BIG SWIGS! Wow. What a bizarre mouth full of grapefruit and herb... can’t describe flavor. Like eating a tree. I don’t drink tea so I have no idea if this is tea like. There is a bit of caramel I think. Somehow I have not vomited yet and find myself consuming the entire bottle. The odd herb / veggie taste just gets more and more prominent. Finely carbonated, sort of smooth despite the growing, overwhelming flavor. We will see where I’m at in an hour after pretty much chugging 650ml of this stuff. I’ve had more offensive spiced beers that much better tasting but not as easy to slam.