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FDA Ruling and MateVeza’s Response

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MateVeza and the FDA Ruling on Caffine

We recently received this email from Jim Woods, founder and president from MateVeza, about their concerns from the recent FDA warning. In case you missed it, on Nov. 17, 2010, FDA announced that it had sent warning letters to four companies that make malt versions of these beverages, advising them that the caffeine included as a separate ingredient is an unsafe food additive.

Alcoholic beverages to which caffeine has been added as a separate ingredient have raised health concerns at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as in other federal, state, and local agencies.

When we first heard of the news, we were worried that this ruling would force some breweries of business. These are the same people who have worked hard to differentiate their product that would lose the right to sell. It’s not enough that you have to battle for shelf space and embrace the 3 tier system – the government is now telling you that you can’t make a product that was once approved.

Here is the letter from Jim:

As you may already be aware, the Food and Drug Administration recently warned several companies that the caffeine added to their malt alcoholic beverages is an “unsafe food additive” (Official FDA Press Release). Since MateVeza is made with yerba mate as an ingredient and not caffeine as an additive, MateVeza is not affected by the FDA ruling.

The craft beer community has been monitoring the current controversy surrounding alcoholic energy drinks to ensure that beers brewed with coffee, chocolate, and tea are not unintentionally affected by alcohol regulators. To that end, the Brewers Association recently petitioned the FDA to clarify their position on brewing with coffee, chocolate, and tea (Official Brewers Association Press Release). We have no reason to believe that these tasty brews are currently in danger and we are doing everything we can to keep it that way.

MateVeza is in complete compliance with the regulations of the TTB, the FDA, and the USDA’s National Organic program to boot, but we will continue to closely monitor the situation and keep you apprised of any new developments. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

So there’s no need to stock up your fridge with MateVeza in preparation for an apocalyptic world without yerba mate beer. On second thought, maybe it would be prudent for you to stock up, you know… just in case 😉

Best,

Jim Woods
Founder & President
MateVeza
www.mateveza.com

We have recently reviewed the MateVeza Black Lager and here’s what we think about it:

The MateVeza pours a deep brown hue with hints of red with a small frothy tan head with short duration and lacing that has minimal ability to form substantial rings. Body is dark as night and is relatively still. Initial aroma is of moderate malts with burnt notes, along with dry roasted malts and chocolate. No detectable hop presence and no alcohol presence with light black tea aromas.

Initial taste is loaded with black malts and tea with leafy astringency, finishing with a delicate sweetness and a well-rounded noble hop profile. Light bodied and watery, there is a soft carbonation with little to no hop bitterness on the back end. Mouth is left slightly dry but in a clean state. Very unique offering, the first of its kind to cross our paths. The addition of tea creates such a distinct finish flavor and mouthfeel and leaves a sweetness on the tongue.

Reviewed on October 17th, 2010.
Scoring a 21 our of 30.
Link to review

It is unclear what will happen next.  Will the distribution of the “warning letter” expand to more breweries? Will the FDA determine that after hundreds of years, HOPS are no longer allowed to be used in beer?  (yeah – obviously this is a joke, but if the FDA is going to rule against caffine in beer, how are they going to stop bars from selling Redbull and Vodka.)

Stay tuned for additional information about this FDA ruling and how it effects Moonshot created by New Century Brewing Co.  Let us know what you think about this ruling.

For additional information about this FDA ruling, please visit: fda and caffine.

About MateVeza:
MateVeza (Mate + Cerveza) markets and sells organic, naturally caffeinated ales brewed with yerba mate, the South American herbal tea. MateVeza was founded in 2006 by homebrewer Jim Woods after he fortuitously followed a sip of freshly brewed yerba mate with a hoppy pale ale in his San Francisco apartment. MateVeza’s award-winning beers, including Yerba Mate Gold, Yerba Mate IPA, and new Black Lager, are brewed and bottled in Ukiah, California. MateVeza is USDA certified organic by CCOF. More information about MateVeza is available at www.mateveza.com.