Roger is always good at predicting the latest trends in beer and beer-adjacent drinks, having previously predicted Ranch Water and Long Drink. Now, declaring this will be the Summer of Chelada. Micheladas have already been popular for a while, but now cheladas are all the rage.  

We’re going to try a Brophy-sized quantity of ready-to-drink versions, then we’re going to make one from a mix and finally make one from scratch. Get ready for a lotta chelada, all summer long.

Cheladas

Essentially, cheladas are beers with fruits, salt and spices added. For convenience, breweries are adding these elements for you. But if you have the ingredients-lime, chamoy, tajin, sea salt-Roger recommends dressing your own beer at home.

• Modelo Chelada Limón y Sal – This one started the Chelada trend. It tastes pretty salty, and it’s not very carbonated. It tastes more like margarita mix.
• Dos Equis Lime & Salt – This one looks more like a beer but it’s got a very subtle lime flavor. It’s barely there.
• Shiner Sea Salt & Lime – This one has been around for a while. It’s made with real lime peals and sea salt. It’s subtle on the salt.
• Cruz Blanca Lime & Sea Salt Chelada – With this beer, and any of them, you can add a little tequila to them. There’s a lot of lime aroma on this one.
• Half Acre Green Torch – This is a lower-alcohol option from Half Acre. There’s lime here, but it’s not very tart.
• Stone Buenaveza – This is Roger’s favorite of the bunch, and because it’s Stone it’s much hoppier. It also uses real limes so it tastes like real limes.
• Modelo Chelada Variety Pack – These come in variety packs, as well as individual commuter cans. The Sandía Picante (spicy watermelon) flavor is only in commuter cans and it’s by far the most popular seller.

Micheladas

So what’s the difference between cheladas and micheladas? If it has tomatoes it’s a michelada, although Roger had a tough time nailing down any consistency in recipes. There’s often other ingredients including Worcestershire sauce, clamato or other seafood ingredients as well as spices and fruit.

• Modelo Chelada Original – These have been around for a very long time. This one looks like tomato juice and tastes like Bloody Mary mix, but there’s not much body. There’s also not much beer flavor or spice.
• Bud Light Chelada – This one has Clamato, which brings a deeper umami flavor. Pat could use more citric tomato character.
• Budweiser Chelada Picante – This is also made with Clamato and is supposed to be a little spicier. It’s coming across more like a green chile taste.
• Victoria Vicky’s Chamoy – In Roger’s opinion, Victoria is one of the better Mexican lagers. It’s Vienna Lager inspired but has a relatively low-ABV and close to light beer on calories.
• Michelada Love! Michelada Mix – If you want to customize your Micheladas a little bit, without having all the ingredients, a mix is a great option. This one has no shellfish, no MSG and no gluten. It also has no citrus, so they want you to squeeze your own limes. Roger is mixing it with Modelo Especial

Finally today, Roger is making Micheladas from scratch

Roger's Michelada

• 4 ½ oz Clamato
• Healthy dash Worcestershire
• Healthy dash Valentina hot sauce
• Lime half
• Lemon half
• Tajin
• Modelo Especial

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