In the midst of this summer heat wave, staying cool and staying hydrated is paramount. Cold beer definitely works for me when the mercury is in the 80F – 90F range; but when it hits 100F, I need something colder and more refreshing. Borrowing from our neighbors to the south, my choice beverage on a day like this, is the spicy, tart and totally refreshing Michelada.
In its simplest form, a Michelada is a light lager, like Corona or Bud Light, poured over ice and then spiced up with the addition of lime juice, a few dashes of Worcestshire sauce, hot sauce and maybe a little salt. Get the concept down and the combinations are limitless. Use any beer; my favorite is Negra Modelo for its slight sweetness that plays well off of the spice. Cholula is probably the most traditional hot sauce, but experiment with your favorite brand and use as much or little as you want, same goes with the Worcestshire sauce.
Want to take it further into the realm of being a cocktail? Throw a shot of tequila, or even better, some smoky mezcal into the mix. Trying to impress your guests? Rim the pint glass with a salt and cayenne mixture and garnish with sliced lime.
I’d say the only thing that’s standard about this drink is the use of ice – lots of it.
Beer purists may scoff at the notion of adulterating a perfectly good beer. I’m not telling you to use the Westvleteren 12 that you smuggled back from Belgium though. We’re talking about the mass produced beers that your buddy brought to your last BBQ and no one drank, so they’re still sitting in your fridge taking up space.
So embrace the heat wave and make a Michelada, for it won’t be long before the days turn short, the weather turns cold and you’re sitting by a fire with a barleywine trying to warm up.
Do you have a favorite summer drink?
If you have a favorite summer drink mix involving beer that you’d like to share, we’d love to know about it! Comment below and share the recipe!
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Tagged as:
Bud Light,
Corona,
Michelada,
Negra Modelo,
Summer Drinks,
Westvleteren 12
Want to take it further into the realm of being a cocktail? Throw a shot of tequila, or even better, some smoky mezcal into the mix. Trying to impress your guests? Rim the pint glass with a salt and cayenne mixture and garnish with sliced lime.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Good stuff, Jesse! I’ve never had a Michelada. It looks really refreshing. Definitely a good way to “spice up” your average American lager. I will be trying one before the summer is over. That’s for sure!
there’s something to be said about a literally ice cold beer. chunks of ice are added to glasses of beer directly throughout vietnam, and removed and replaced by servers continuously to keep your beer as cold as possible and prevent it from getting too watered down. like jesse, i wouldn’t recommend this for a great pilsner or ale, but it makes bia saigon a hell of a lot more refreshing, and i’m sure it would do the same to a coors light too, irregardless of those damn blue mountains.
Replacing the ice continuously is a pretty interesting idea – do they put anything else in the beer, hot sauce, fish sauce?
fish sauce would be ridiculous. though maybe it could be work. honestly, i don’t know how i’d live, or at least cook, without it!
Worcestshire sauce has anchovies in it, so it wouldn’t be too crazy to swap that out for fish sauce. You might have to add a little palm sugar or other sweetener to balance it out and then go nuts with the hot sauce. We could be on to something here.
yeah, i guess you could add nuoc cham sauce and just sub regular hot sauce for the chilies and garlic. though garlic could add another dimension as well.
Dude, pretty sure a real michelada has either clamato or tomato juice.
They actually sell it in a can out here, Bud or Budweiser Michelada. It’s ok, but best to make your own.
The original Michelada was just beer, lime, salt and ice. Now there are many variations, some which include tomato and/or clamato juice. Check it out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelada
All are delicious. I haven’t tried the prepared ones from Budweiser though.
case of it as your wedding gift