Beer Meets Sparks

By Hot Knives from January 12, 2007

mate beer.jpg
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"

<< | Posted on January 12, 2007 at 12:24 PM | >>

Comments (2):

URL: http://www.mateveza.com
Hey Guys,

Sorry Mateveza wasn't to your liking. I'd be happy to send you a fresh bottle from our next batch. Just let me know where to ship - info@mateveza.com.

I dig the blog, especially the "Dairy Pairy" concept. I'll have to give the soy string cheese pairing a shot ; )

Jim Woods
www.mateveza.com

Posted by Mateveza @ February 23, 2007 3:14 PM

URL: http://N/A
Heya hiyas. Last time I spoke with Evan, I was running Gordon Biersch in Burbank. I left there in October to try opening my own brewery restaurant in Downtown LA. If you want more info, send over a line. Of course, the place is being MADE for you, so don't be curious or anything. *grin*

I'm writing to let you know Skyscraper Brewing will be So Cal's newest brewery. The Grand Opening is in El Monte on Sat, Jan 20. Check out skyscraperbrewing.com for more info.

Cheers,
--Jake Tringali
The Brewer's Gallery

Posted by Jake Tringali @ February 23, 2007 3:14 PM

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