Beer Meets Sparks

We thought we’d never see the American craft beer scene enter into the arena of caffeinated malt liquor (i.e. Sparks, Red Bull & vodka, Cocaine etc.). But the other day we stumbled upon perhaps the next closest thing: Mateveza, an ale brewed with yerba maté, the strong South American herbal tea. Usually you find it at health food stores, you know, being sipped as Che Guevara lattes. Think of this as a hippy’s Rockstar beverage, the perfect pick-me-up before an all-night Phish show.
Aesthetics aside, this herb was not made for beer. What feels like a typical IPA on first taste then sours on the tongue, into a bitter medicine flavor. If you’ve ever smelt fresh beans that have sat too long in the fridge, you’ll recognize this finishing flavor. It’s subtle but unpleasant to the point where we almost couldn’t drain a pint. The aftertaste is similar to yerba mate in its bitterness, but in a blind taste test would be hard to pinpoint. In the end, we felt buzzed and jittery but can’t reccomend this faddish attempt. And forget about cooking with this one. It might work paired alongside magic mushrooms though.

Dairy Pairy: Soy string-cheese
Soundtrack: String Cheese Incident’s “Purple Octopus”