This brew is produced under license by Brouwerij Van Steenberge for a small marketing company with ties to Africa. The bottle claims that the beer is brewed in strict accordance to a centuries old African recipe based on the African palm nut. Truth be told, I have no idea what an African palm nut looks or tastes like, or what, if anything, it contributes to the beer's profile. In fact, I can not fathom how it serves as much of a selling point (its oil, however, apparently has some benefits as a cleansing agent in soap).

Putting aside the fact that this beer is promoted as "African style" (American regulators refused to allow the importer to call it an "African beer"), Mongozo means "to your health" in Chokwe. Through the collaboration with Van Steenberge, the beer has picked up significant Belgian influences, inevitably pushing it a bit further from the traditional recipe.

To begin, Mongozo is a beer with a bit of a carbonation problem (perhaps the palm nut, considered a great sudsing agent, contributed to this issue). When the beer hits the bottom of the glass, it immediately overtakes the vessel and an over-abundant head races to leave you with a rather sticky clean-up situation. Caught in time, a few slow, steady pours provides the drinker with a huge, frothy head that stands a good inch above the rim of the glass. The bottle has residual yeast poured that mix into the glass.

The beer pours with a luminous, slightly hazy orange color and a cream colored head. The aroma is clean, spicy, and citrusy, with some pale malt notes. Distinct sour notes mix with some spicy yeast hints. The first sip is part spicy, very citrusy, and finishes with some sour notes. The sourness plays well against the beer's fruitier influences, with a sizable malt presence and some yeast sharpness in the finish. The alcohol is generally muted and never really makes itself present. The beer remains quite drinkable, even quenching at times, moving it beyond a mere marketing gimmick.