Exhibit 1
                                  PRESS RELEASE

                            MENDOCINO BREWING COMPANY


      Ukiah, CA October 3, 2002--Mendocino Brewing Company, Inc. (MENB -- Nasdaq
Bulletin Board). Mendocino Brewing Company, Inc. (the "Company") reported today
that the shareholders of United Breweries Holdings, Ltd. (formerly Kingfisher
Properties & Holdings, Ltd.), a publicly-held corporation based and incorporated
in India ("UBHL"), have adopted resolutions, at their Annual Meeting of
Shareholders held in Bangalore, India on September 30, 2002, to the effect that
UBHL's Board of Directors is authorized to consider a transaction by which UBHL
would purchase some or all of the Company's outstanding shares.

      Approximately 78% of the Company's currently outstanding shares are held
by two corporations, Inversiones Mirabel, S.A., a Panamanian corporation
("Inversiones"), and United Breweries of America, Inc., a Delaware corporation
("UBA"), in which Dr. Vijay Mallya, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer is interested. Dr. Mallya is also a Director, and the Chairman of the
Board, of UBHL.

      A transaction by UBHL could take the form of a privately negotiated
purchase of some or all of the shares held by Inversiones and/or UBA, a general
or limited tender offer for some or all the Company's publicly-held shares, or a
combination of two or more of those transactions; it could involve cash payments
or the use of securities of UBHL or another corporation as consideration for the
shares purchased. To date, UBHL has not proposed any specific transaction, nor
has it indicated when (if ever) it may make a specific proposal or commence
negotiations with the Company for an actual acquisition of shares, although
representatives of UBHL have indicated that its Board will be considering these
issues in the near future. In the event that such a proposal is actually made,
it will be considered for the Company, as appropriate, by a Special Committee
consisting of independent Directors.

      Mendocino Brewing Company, Inc., a California corporation, was founded in
1983. It was one of the first of the modern brewers, having opened the first
ever brewpub in California and the second in the United States since the repeal
of Prohibition. The Company has been recognized for its product innovations, and
its role in industry associations. The Company operates in two market areas,
domestic (the United States) and European (including Austria,



Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Finland, Germany,
Greece, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, as well as in Canada.

      The Company's domestic operations consist primarily of brewing and
marketing popular beer brands including Red Tail Ale, Blue Heron Pale Ale, Black
Hawk Stout, Eye of the Hawk Select Ale, Peregrine Golden Ale, and Carmel Wheat,
apart from the internationally known specialty beer, Kingfisher Lager, under
license.

      The Company brews its brands for domestic distribution in its own
facilities located in Ukiah, California and Saratoga Springs, New York, from
where these beers are distributed in 36 states and the District of Columbia.