Five ways to enjoy an ice-cold michelada

Gobs of ceviche, mountains of Chamoy-topped sour gummies, half a chicken?! When it comes to micheladas, restaurants around the country are going crazy over garnishes and toppings, causing some drinks to also double as a slight hors d'oeuvres. At La Chuperia in Los Angeles, commonly known as “The Miche Spot,” you can find micheladas topped with deep-fried bacon-wrapped shrimp or a lush mountain of ceviche. Rangers fans in Fort Worth know they can always stop into Patiño’s Micheladas at Globe Life Field for a shrimp-rimmed michelada, and if owner Hector Patino is behind the counter, your order is matched with a show. At Gabriela’s in downtown Austin, they don’t bother pouring you a michelada—they just give you the full blender. Flavored with “Gucci guava” or spicy mango, their lichuelas are a hit on TikTok and Instagram, and come with a tray of sour gummy strips, worms and other chewy Mexican treats.

As creative as chefs are getting with toppings, they’re going global with ingredients, too, giving this Mexican drink an international flare. At Oseyo, a Korean restaurant in Austin, their michelada carafe is meant to be shared amongst friends, swapping beer for soju as well as kimchi juice. JŪN in Houston offers two versions: a green michelada fuses a lime cucumber gose beer with aguachile, while a “regular” version uses hoisin and fish sauce.

Love micheladas? There’s a festival for you! All around the country, you can find michelada festivals serving the best Mexican street food and micheladas in a number of cities. What’s better? Most of them double as music festivals, too, letting you hear some of the best Tejano and regional Mexican artists of today. The biggest one is Miche Fest in Chicago, which takes place on July 13 and 14. While it has evolved into a full-fledged music festival since its start five years ago as Chicago Michelada Fest (this year, Kali Uchis is headlining), there are still plenty of local restaurants and vendors serving some of the city’s best beer-based concoctions.

Other great festivals to check out in the U.S.? Michelada Rumble takes place over Cinco de Mayo weekend at Santa Anita Park just outside of L.A., with live music, a car show, and luchador fights. Michelada Festival Fort Worth (in June), where michelada lovers take over downtown to sample some of the city's best drinks.

One of the unofficial pillars of Mexican cuisine and cocktails? Simplicity. Complexity is reserved for flavor, not preparation, and so while a michelada might taste like an effervescent wave of savory spices, making one is as simple as opening an ice-cold beer and adding a few dashes of this and that. At Chela’s Coctelería in Miami, their daily-made michelada dials up the savory umami with house-smoked tomatoes, chipotle peppers and a few dashes of Jugo Maggi, a soy sauce-like staple in Mexican kitchens.

“I like using the Jugo Maggi because it gives the Michelada a nice, flavorful beef touch,” says owner Daniel Gonzalez. “The smoked tomatoes, beef touch and the chipotle peppers combined give you the perfect amount of umami to enjoy your Michelada.”

Wondering how to make it? Here’s the recipe.

Mi-Chelada
Makes 6 Servings

Ingredients:
1 lb house-smoked tomatoes*
4 oz Chipotle peppers
3 oz jugo Maggie
3 oz Worchestire Sauce
5 oz lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
½ tbsp salt and pepper

Directions:
In a blender, add all ingredients and blend until the tomatoes and juices form a liquid. Fill the prepared glass about 3/4 full with ice cubes and add the tomato juice mixture. Top with beer and garnish with a lime wedge.

House-smoked tomatoes
1 lb plum tomatoes
5 peeled garlic cloves
¼ small white onion

Preheat a smoker or pellet grill to 350 degrees. Throw tomatoes, garlic and onion in a grill basket and smoke for 30-45 minutes.

Whether you’re curious about this Mexican beer cocktail or are as obsessed with it as the rest of America, it’s important to know your “ladas” so that you can order or make them at home with confidence. A basic breakdown of a michelada is as follows: Mexican lager, lime juice, some version of tomato juice, Worcestershire (called Salsa Inglesa in Mexico), hot sauce and a spicy rim (usually Tajín or Chamoy). A chelada, on the other hand, forgoes the spice and is simply lime juice added to a glass of Mexican lager with a salted glass rim. A gomichela is basically a michelada, but with a gooey Chamoy sauce rim and tons of gummy worms or a similar candy on top, while a michelada botanera is topped with seafood. Finally, there’s the lesser-known michelagua, which is a very refreshing michelada sans any alcohol.