Modern Alchemy: Jim Woods And Mateveza Yerba Maté Ale
We've seen some hideous examples of what can happen when a product attempts to combine several things into one. We've also seen some pretty good examples.
Well, now there's a pretty stellar one: Mateveza Yerba Maté Ale, a pale ale enhanced by maté, a South American tea that is known for its health and energy benefits.
Jim Woods -- the beer's creator, and long-time Bay Area resident (grew up in Lafayette; currently a San Franciscan) -- stressed that while the maté's extra effects may add an interesting twist to his product, that's not the beer's main selling point. Rather, it's all about the taste.
And that, in our opinion, is why it works so well.
Perhaps it helps that Jim's love of maté is a healthy one--he enjoys it in moderation. This undoubtedly helped him in developing the formula for Mateveza, which was the most challenging stage of the process. How much should the yerba maté shine through, in terms of flavor or effect? How much maté should he add to get to that level? At what point in the brewing process should it be incorporated?
Using his network of friends as a focus group was a great help and very much in the spirit of yerba maté. Consuming maté in its traditional form -- it's passed around in a gourd filled with loose leaves, constantly being refilled with hot water -- is a very communal activity. He involved his friends as a focus group, and worked with another friend (Bret Hobbs, a North Beach resident) on the product's graphic design. While a glass of beer isn't usually passed around the table per se, by honoring the taste of the ingredients rather than trying to twist them and incorporating his friends' opinions, Jim Woods has built something of a communal feeling into what is just a gimmick to other companies with similar products (B-to-the-E, "caffeine beer," etc). Additionally, it's the influence of certain communities--Jim's neighborhood store, organic foods purveyors, and organic foods enthusiasts -- that are starting the ball rolling of Mateveza's success.
Jim notes that it was important to make Mateveza an organic product. The maté giving the Mateveza its unique twist, from EcoTeas in Ashland, Oregon, is organic. If Jim had any hope of Mateveza being carried in the same stores that are frequented by fans of yerba maté, he needed to keep it that way.
Jim aligned himself with Butte Creek, which has specialized in organic brews since 1997. That company licenses Mateveza, which allows it to brew and distribute Mateveza along with its own quality beers. While Jim still does a lot of work on behalf of Mateveza, this deal with Butte Creek allows him to keep his day job in commercial real estate. Even so, he's not a man with much spare time.
The very first batch was bottled November 3, 2006.
"Organic beer has seen lots of growth," said Woods. He said that things were "going very well," for Mateveza. "We brewed the third batch just this week," he told us on Feb. 13, "and bumped production up from 40 barrels to 80 barrels."
According to Jim, fans of the beer say that consuming Mateveza can give "a subtle lift." We didn't have enough of it to achieve this sensation, but we found Mateveza to basically be a nice a pale ale with a delicate, nutty sweetness on the edge of it. Very interesting--and quite good.
Three distributors are currently offering the beer, so chances are you'll see it pop up soon around the Bay Area. One local store stocking it is Le Beau Nob Hill Market--which Jim's particularly excited about, as it's his local shop. Similarly, Mateveza's presence at an on-campus bar at UC-San Diego, Jim's alma mater, holds a special meaning to him. Other local places Mateveza's currently available include Real Foods, The Jug Shop, Whole Foods (California St. location in S.F.); City Beer Store, all three local BevMo locations (Geary, Bayshore, Van Ness); Other Avenues Market (on Judah); Modern Tea; and City Beer Store.
For availability beyond what we've mentioned above, check out the store finder on the Web site. Mateveza retails for $3.99 per 22-ounce bottle and look for it soon on draft (along with the nifty tap handle incorporating a traditional yerba maté gourd, pictured above).