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A Michelada is a Mexican cocktail made with beer, lime juice, a bunch of different sauces and, in this case, a not-so-secret ingredient: Clamato juice. Learn how to make an easy and ultra-refreshing Clamato Michelada (aka clamato beer) to keep you going on those hot summer days!

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RECIPE
What Is A Michelada?
Michelada Ingredients & Substitutions
Step by Step Method

Clamato michelada with flamingo stir sticks and lime wedges as garnish. — Michelada with flamingo stirrers.

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What is a Michelada?

The name ‘Michelada’ usually refers to a Mexican beer cocktail recipe that combines any light beer with lime juice, tomato juice and hot sauce. It also contains a good dash of umami flavor in the form of additions like Worcestershire sauce, Maggi seasoning and/or soy sauce.

If you’ve never had a Michelada before, the idea of adding tomato to your beer can sound more than a little bit disturbing. But trust me: despite its somewhat funky ingredients, this popular drink tastes great.

Its combination of refreshing beer and tangy lime make it refreshing, while the sauces replenish those much-needed salts you lose while sweating through a hot summer’s day. Additionally, because a Michelada is basically diluted beer, it won’t get you too tipsy!

In this Michelada, rather than using regular old tomato juice, let’s upgrade things a little. If you haven’t heard of it yet, I’m pleased to introduce you to Clamato: a Mexican tomato juice brand that has a few added ingredients (including, yes, clam powder), which give it a deeper flavor.

Brunch, anyone?! I’ll have mine with some mini chow chow sliders.

Did You Know? Throughout the years, many different types of Micheladas have popped up. There are simpler versions that omit the tomato juice, for example, and also fancier recipes that contain mango, tamarind, pineapple or other additions. You can even make a virgin Michelada!

Clamato Michelada Ingredients & Substitutions

Beer

The essential ingredient in a Michelada is, of course, beer. Luckily, you don’t need any specific type: any lager should work. I particularly like relatively light beers and tequila-infused brands.

A few beer brands you can try for your Micheladas include, but are certainly not limited to:

Modelo
Corona
Sol
Tecate

For a twist on the standard beer michelada, try a virgin spicy Michelada (non-alcoholic)

Clamato Juice

As mentioned, Clamato juice is a great choice for a Michelada. Depending on where you’re located, you may be able to find it in your local supermarket. If not, head over to your local Mexican store and you’ll be sure to find it there!

In cases where you can’t find the Clamato or just don’t like it, it’s fine to sub it with normal tomato juice.

Lime Juice

The acidity of fresh lime juice helps to even out all of the salty ingredients in a Michelada, keeping it tangy and refreshing. You can probably also use bottled juice, but you may need a little more of it to get the same effect. I definitely prefer using fresh limes!

If you don’t have limes on hand, it’s no disaster to use lemons instead. Some Chilean Michelada recipes actually exclusively use lemon!

Worcestershire Sauce

If you like to cook, there’s a good chance you’ve already got a bottle of Worcestershire sauce sitting in your fridge. Its mix of saltiness, acidity and sweetness works well in a variety of dishes! This cocktail is no exception.

Maggi Seasoning

There appears to be a bit of a divide between Michelada lovers who use Maggi seasoning and those who use soy sauce. Both have the same effect: adding saltiness and rich umami.

I personally prefer Maggi, but if you’ve got both on hand, why not try for yourself which one you think suits a Michelada best?

Tabasco

A Michelada without a little spice is just beer with tomato juice! Use a dash of Tabasco or your own favorite hot sauce to give this cocktail a nice kick.

For The Rim

Many Michelada recipes call for a mixture of salt and chili powder to rim the beer glasses, but why not take it up a notch? In this recipe, we’re using Tajín, everyone’s favorite spice blend from Mexico.

Tajín has the salt and the chili powder, but also a touch of dried lime powder for a more complex flavor.

Garnish

As with a Bloody Mary, decorating your Micheladas is an activity limited only by your own creativity. I went for humble lime and cucumber slices here, but you can go as crazy as you want!

Michelada de camarón (Michelada with shrimp) is one very popular option. Or maybe go wild with celery sticks, olive skewers, pickles or even spicy gummy candies? Be sure to let me know in the comments what garnish combination you went for.

Ingredients for clamato Michelada (a beer cocktail). — Ingredients for a Mexican Michelada cocktail

Step by Step for a Clamato Michelada

Putting a Clamato Michelada together is stupid simple. Gathering the ingredients is more work than making the cocktails!

Here are the steps:

You start out by rimming the glass, which you do by placing a teaspoon of the Tajín powder in a shallow dish. Then, you wet the glass rim with some lime and dip to coat.
Once the glass has a nice spice rim, toss in some ice, as well as all the sauces.
On top of that, pour half a beer and an equal amount of Clamato juice (unless you prefer different ratios – there are as many ways to make a Michelada as there are cocktails to try!).
Once you’ve added all the ingredients, you can opt to stir the drink, which most folks do. Some don’t stir, but this means that the sauces stay at the bottom and the last few sips can be quite salty.

Prep, showing salted rim or beer mug, for a Mexian beer cocktail (Michelada). — Preparing a Michelada cocktail.

Clamato Michelada Recipe

Clamato Michelada

Finished Michelada with flamingo stirrers and lime wedge garnish.

A refreshing beer cocktail from Mexico, perfect for warm summer days.

4.50 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Servings Micheladas

Calories 121

Author Marijke Puts

Equipment

2 pint glasses
1 cocktail stirrer

Ingredients

For the rim

1 tsp Tajín seasoning
2 lime wedges optional
2 cucumber slices optional

For the clamato Michelada

1 12 oz beer Corona, Sol or any lager
12 oz Clamato juice
2 tbsp lime juice freshly squeezed is best
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp Maggi seasoning
2 tsp Tabasco
ice

Instructions

Begin by rimming the glasses: place the Tajín seasoning on a shallow dish. Wet the rim of the glass all around using a lime slice. Dip in the seasoning and it will stick.
1 tsp Tajín seasoning, 2 lime wedges, 2 cucumber slices
Fill the glasses with ice.
ice
Pour half of the following in each glass: lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, Maggi, Tabasco.
2 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp Maggi seasoning, 2 tsp Tabasco
Pour half of the beer and Clamato juice in each glass.
1 12 oz beer, 12 oz Clamato juice
Give everything a stir. Garnish with lime wedges and enjoy!

Notes

1. You can make the following substitutions if needed:

Clamato juice = tomato juice
Maggi seasoning = soy sauce
Tabasco = hot sauce of your desired spice level
Tajín seasoning = equal parts salt and cayenne powder

Nutrition

Calories: 121kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 2gFat: 0.3gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.04gSodium: 242mgPotassium: 550mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1204IUVitamin C: 41mgCalcium: 42mgIron: 1mg

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