Hailing from Mateveza Brewing (Mate + Cerveza) in Ukiah, CA, this beer is marked as an organic (USDA) IPA brewed with yerbe mate. Yerba mate is apparently used as a tea and has some nice health properties as an antioxidant and lowering cholesterol. Yerba mate also apparently makes this brew caffeinated. Though it sounds a bit gimmicky, I had never seen this particular twist so I had to pick it up. I wasn't sure how it would mix with the IPA component (which damn well better be good since this is California). It was disappointingly disappointing.
- Appearance: Hazy, light brown, almost an orange tan color. Standard head which dissipates.
- Smell: Slight herbal, maybe some sweet spice, tones in the nose, but I get some apple without the sweetness. No real hop presence to speak of. Slightly medicinal.
- Taste: No real hop flavor, a minor bitterness on the back end but more of an afterthought. More malty than anything but even then not particularly malty. If anything, it is dominated by black tea that has been steeped for too long but without the blown out tannins.
- Mouthfeel: Slightly creamy, heavier in the mouth than I would expect. Steady stream of bubbles leave too much volume in stomach.
- Drinkability and Overall: It's fairly drinkable in that it's light enough and the taste isn't going to overload your buds. But other than that, the novelty wears off quickly. As an IPA, I can't give it very high marks. As an amber, it fares slightly better but the body and carbonation is off for the style. Interesting beer but that's about as far as it goes.
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