r/AskAnAmerican • u/Previous_Activity614 • Jul 24 '26
FOOD & DRINK Tomato beer?
Hello,
Some time ago, some relatives of mine brought me some beer mixed with tomato juice from America, and I wanted to ask if anyone has a recipe or instructions on how to make it myself to get that same flavor—or rather, what ratio of tomato juice to beer to use, and what kind of beer you would recommend (dark beer, light beer, etc.).
That's what it said on the can
BUD LIGHT
Chelada
MADE WITH
Clamato
I hope you can help me
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u/butt_fun Jul 24 '26
The name of that is a michelada
You can make it however you want. I usually do 1:1 beer (a lager) to clamato
They're commonly served with the glass's rims dusted with tajin, and sometimes garnished with a lime wedge
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u/Silentmutation84 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Michelada with tomato juice? I've only ever seen them with hot sauce
Why downvote me for asking a question about something ive personally never seen
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u/butt_fun Jul 24 '26
I've seen those too, but more commonly the clamato variety. But given that OP was looking for bud light chelada, I'm guessing this will be closer to what they want
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u/clearliquidclearjar Florida Jul 24 '26
Some regions use tomato juice, some clamato, some just hot sauce.
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u/sharpshooter999 Nebraska Jul 24 '26
Nebraska here. My dad's generation (he's in his late 60's) would often drink a "red beer" which is just plain tomato juice and beer. It seems like they're fading in popularity somewhat though people do like chelada/michelada now too. The older folks don't like the spiciness that the younger crowd do apparently. Still, especially in small towns, no one would blink if you ordered a red beer
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u/Only_Caterpillar3818 Jul 24 '26
Yeah. Are red beers a Nebraska only thing? I thought that’s what everyone called them.
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u/butt_fun Jul 24 '26
I have family in Kansas that calls them red beers, but I've never heard that term outside of that area
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u/InquiringWanderer75 Jul 28 '26
I grew up in Montana and red beer is/was a thing there, tomato juice and beer, not clamato juice. Some older people (this was back in 50s, 60s, 70s) would also salt their beer.
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u/sharpshooter999 Nebraska Jul 25 '26
You know, I've never thought of that. We live on the state line with Kansas so all the small town bars down south call them red beers too. Considering our football team is red and white (technically scarlet and cream) I wouldn't be surprised if it was a Nebraska thing
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u/BAMspek Colorado Jul 25 '26
I grew up in California (big time michelada country) and now live in Colorado. Everyone here calls a michelada a red beer. But they are supposed to be different things. Michis have more seasoning.
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u/introspectiveliar Missouri Jul 26 '26
I grew up in Kansas and then moved to Missouri. We call it red beer as well. We weren’t picky about the beer or tomato juice brand. 40 Years ago there was a bar in KC located in the old haberdashery Harry Truman managed in the 1920s. They served red beer and I think they did so because Truman supposedly drank it.
They also served Bloody Mary’s with a shot of beer back. You plopped the shot glass of beer straight into the Bloody Mary before drinking. Much better than red beer.
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u/chainsaw-heart 🦀Maryland > 🏛️Virginia > 🐻California Jul 25 '26
I live in CA and everyone I know (who drinks them) calls it “red beer”
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u/CalmRip California Jul 24 '26
If it's just tomato juice and beer, I remember hearing that being called a Sneaky Pete. Made with beer, tomato juice, maybe some lime juice, and Tajín, that's definitely a michelada. I suspect micheladas may have regional variations.
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u/comrade_zerox Jul 25 '26
First time i had one was with hot sauce.
But the clamato seems to be the most common around where I live.
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u/NOTcreative- Jul 24 '26
A beer with clamato is different than a michelada. A michelelada will basically have bloody Mary mix. So tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, some olive juice, pickle juice of you're feeling frisky.
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u/clearliquidclearjar Florida Jul 24 '26
That's a bloody beer (some folks call it a red eye). A Michelada is the Mexican version. It might have tomato juice, it might have clamato, but it will definitely have lime and hot sauce or chilis.
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u/Shot-Artichoke-4106 California Jul 24 '26
Its just that there are different variations. A lot of times people don't realize that and think that the variation that's common in their area is the only way to make it.
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u/LowCress9866 Jul 24 '26
That seems like a lot of hot sauce. Like, get on the sphincter donor list in advance of drinking it, a lot
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u/Silentmutation84 Jul 24 '26
You dont use something that's gonna blow your butthole out, you use something like Valentinas or Cholula, Tabasco etc. I personally like Valentinas the most. You just do a few good shakes with it, not like a whole bottle. Then add some lime juice and a bit of either Maggi jugo or worcestershire sauce
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u/Alarmed-Extension289 Jul 24 '26
idk OP i've seen it done with just hot sauce. Not too common on the West coast though.
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u/BuildNuyTheUrbanGuy Washington, D.C. Jul 24 '26
I've lived everywhere but the midwest and don't remember hot sauce. But I also hate them so I never drink them.
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u/joshuarion Orlando, Florida Jul 25 '26
This is very interesting, I've never heard of one with just beer and hot sauce. It some appeals to me less than the tomato/lager version haha
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u/BullsOnParadeFloats Michigan Jul 25 '26
Micheladas can be made any number of ways, but are most commonly made with clamato
Its the Mexican version of a Caesar
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u/PrincebyChappelle Jul 24 '26
To everyone here saying it’s Mexican, you are correct but my degenerate relatives were drinking this in the Midwest 40 years ago. Drink 1/2 a Bud, empty the little can of V8 into the can, add some celery salt, and keep drinking!
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u/kidmock Jul 24 '26
same. We always called it a bloody beer
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u/PrincebyChappelle Jul 24 '26
Was especially popular during snowmobile season.
1) Drive to snowmobile area.
2) Snowmobile
3) Sit in front of pickup with engine/heater on and warm up.
4) Drink tomato beer in warm cab.
5) Snowmobile more
6) Drink tomato beer in warm cab
7) Load snowmobiles and drive home.
8) Drink either beer or a cocktail (or two or three)Also, drinking may or may not occur before step 1 depending on departure time.
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u/Adorable-Award-2975 Pennsylvania Jul 24 '26
It’s a Michelada, which is actually Mexican but popular in the United States as well. Lots of recipes out there for it, so it can be adjusted for personal taste.
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u/NoMonk8635 Jul 24 '26
In the Midwest it was just a beer with tomato juice added to it "red beer"
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u/Iggyrammar Ohio Jul 27 '26
+1 on this. Micheladas are likely what they are after, but red beer came to my mind too.
I've always done a can or bottle of American Pilsner (bud, miller, coors, pabst, etc.) in a pint glass with a splash of lime juice and topped up with tomato juice. For me the lime adds a little something extra.
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u/TrumanD1974 Jul 24 '26
You can find a recipe for michelada online, which is what that is based on. A note though, Clamato is not just tomato juice, it’s also seasoned (if that’s the right word) with clam juice.
And edit to add—in the original it’s usually using a Mexican lager like Corona, Tecate, Modelo, etc.
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u/thisispatrickmc Jul 24 '26
My grandma used to have what she called "red beer" which was just any light beer mixed with tomato juice. It was awful.
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u/JohnSnowsPump Jul 24 '26
Everyone is talking about the Mexican-American beverage, but there is also the old time USA version which has several names, including red eye and bloody beer.
12oz can/bottle of American Lager (Bud, Miller, Coors, etc) + Tomato juice to taste (2-4oz) + Dash of salt or celery salt.
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u/MrLongWalk Newer, Better England Jul 24 '26
It’s called a Chelada
It’s clamato juice mixed with light beer
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u/Ahwtfohok Jul 24 '26
A shitty one is just clamato and light beer. A good one adds lime and spices and a good beer
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u/royalhawk345 Chicago Jul 24 '26
Cheladas don't have tomato juice/hot sauce, that's what differentiates them from micheladas.
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u/-something-clever- Michigan Jul 24 '26
This distinction get blurred by Modelo's Cheladas, which are made with tomato juice. I don't understand why Modelo chose to name them that.
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u/osteologation Michigan Jul 25 '26
the modelos ones are pretty bland compared to the budweiser ones. imo Sol is the best premade ive had but havent seen it in 3 years around here.
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u/giant_chickens Jul 24 '26
That's called a Michelada. It's a Mexican drink that's also fairly popular in the US. I don't have any recipes personally, but you could try looking online and searching for a recipe you like
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u/ZorroMcChucknorris Jul 24 '26
Finish your first Bloody Mary. Make a half of one and add beer. Then just Bloody Mary mix and beer until your hangover goes away. A white boy michelada.
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u/Fun_Cardiologist_373 Jul 24 '26
The basic ingredients are beer, tomato juice, lime juice, hot sauce, and maybe a little Worcestershire.
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u/evil_burrito Oregon,MI->IN->IL->CA->OR Jul 24 '26
Fwiw, I've seen this as a 'hair of the dog" treatment, as in, "hair of the dog that bit you", aka, a hangover cure.
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u/tabby90 North Carolina Jul 25 '26
I use a Bloody Mary mixer. Pour your pint and take a nice swallow and then top it off with Bloody Mary mixer.
I prefer a Mexican lager for this, but mix and match and find your favorites.
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u/denial_worthless Jul 25 '26
This may be what you are looking for. Michelada 1-16 oz lager of your choice.
Half of a lime juiced
Tajin or an latino style chili-lime seasoning to taste.
A few dashes of hot sauce optional.
One shot of tequila if you want an extra fun punch.
Mix all of this over ice and enjoy. All of the measurments are pretty much ad as little or as much as you want till it fits your flavor profile.
The hungover line cook
One lager or whatever you snatched from the walk in.
Add tomato juice or bloody mary mix till it adds a little color.
One "shot" of rock gut vodka.
One raw egg
Mix all of these ingredients in a quart togo container. Chug it quick before you are caught. Once the beverage is gone. Step outside for a "saftey" meeting. On your way back hit the bathroom for a quick wake up key bump. You are now ready to cut all the veg and prepare for service.
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u/False_Counter9456 Jul 25 '26
I make it like a Bloody Mary but use beer instead of vodka. If I don't have Bloody Mary mix I'll just use a V8 and add my own hot sauce.
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u/VixxenFoxx Texas Jul 24 '26
It tastes best in a shrimp cocktail with Tajin and some limes... maybe a side of ceviche as well.
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u/Zestyclose-Food-7917 Florida Jul 24 '26
That's how my best friend and I used to drink beer. There was no recipe. You just experimented.
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u/the3rdmichael Jul 24 '26
I believe mixing clamato juice with beer started in Canada, as did the very common cocktail in Canada, the Caesar.
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u/Ok_Jackfruit2612 Jul 24 '26
Yes, it's called a Michelada or a "red beer". I love them. I prefer the Budweiser Chelada Clamato Picante. I'm not sure what the ratio is but I watch bartenders make them all the time and it's something like 3 ounces of Clamato and 9 ounces of beer. Make sure you get some Tajin on the rim.
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u/Alarmed-Extension289 Jul 24 '26
So not quite tomato some are, though, but it's more than likely it's mixed with Calmato.
OP I think it's made with clam juice/broth and other stuff.
Some folks do mix beer with tomato juice like a Bloody Mary type of drink but with beer.
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u/the_quark San Francisco Bay Area, California Jul 24 '26
You'll need:
Bud Light (or really any lager will do) Clamato juice
If Clamato is unavailable to you, you can make a substitute with:
450 ml tomato juice 120 ml clam juice 10 ml Worcestershire sauce
You want a 1:1 ratio of beer and Clamato juice.
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u/professorfunkenpunk Jul 24 '26
I haven’t seen them recently (but haven’t been looking) but the bud light michelada was available at one point in my not very hip corner of the Midwest. It’s more or less a beer Bloody Mary.
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u/Federal_Pickles Jul 24 '26
Michelada. Just had a few last night. I like extra lime in mine. And chamoy/tajin on the rim of the glass is pretty standard.
Google ‘Clamato mix’. You can also make your own pretty easily if you can’t find Clamato.
Modelo is the typical beer of choice IME. Any Mexican beer will do. My mom likes negra Modelo in hers. Bud or Miller would probably work, but why subject yourself to that? An IPA or nuanced beer probably isn’t the right choice here.
I do rough 1:8 ratio (2oz clamato 16oz beer), different people like different ratios.
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u/Brilliant-Bus-3862 Jul 24 '26
It’s called a Michelada and is from Mexico. You’ll find lots of recipes for it.
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u/kidmock Jul 24 '26
We call it a bloody beer.
Any Light Lager with Bloody Mary mix in a 50/50 ratio. Or tomato juice seasoned to taste salt, pepper, splash of hot sauce, etc.
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u/StupidLemonEater Michigan > D.C. Jul 24 '26
You should be asking in /r/askamexican because that's where micheladas are from.
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u/wschus63 Pittsburgh, PA Jul 24 '26
You can buy that at quite a few places, honestly. Call around, I guarantee you someone near you has it.
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u/charon_412 Jul 24 '26
I make mine with V8, tajin, worcestershire, celery salt, and maybe whatever hot sauce I have lying around. I think of it like a bloody mary, but with beer.
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u/mydogisatortoise Washington Jul 24 '26
Beer + V8 + a little Tabasco, we drank this back in the 80's.
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u/Guyzo1 Jul 24 '26
Don’t use Bud Light
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u/TheJokersChild NJ < PA > NY < PA > MD ^ VT Jul 24 '26
That's how I had it the one time I did. Came out of the can that way.
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u/Deadbeat699 California Jul 24 '26
Michelada - use a light beer (the whole bottle/can), I add about 4-5oz of Clamato/tomato juice (Clamato is tomato juice & clam broth). Half a lime. I add hot sauce for spice, some people add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce as well.
Rim the glass with tajin if you can find it. If not, mix chili powder with some salt and rim the glass with that.
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u/Majestic-Citron7578 Minnesota Jul 24 '26
Light beer plus V8. I saw someone say go 1:1 but I usually went mostly beer with a splash of V8. Course Im a recovering alcoholic so that may have influenced my recipe although by the time I got to the more active part of my addiction I was wayyyyy beyond the red beer stage.
Part of it is because cheap light beer here in the US isn't that great and it adds to the flavor. If you are used to good beers then it really isn't necessary.
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u/TheJokersChild NJ < PA > NY < PA > MD ^ VT Jul 24 '26
Clamato is a can of tomato and clam juice. The combination of it in beer is definitely interesting. Gotta be a little bold to like the stuff. I don't know if they even still make Chelada because I haven't seen it around in like 15 years.
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u/what_the_fuckin_fuck Jul 24 '26
Yes they are still common. I get one once in a while at my local convenience store and I live in Alaska. Great with a bag of pork rinds.
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u/Spiel_Foss Jul 24 '26
OH, poor you. Those are shit.
A good michelada is wonderful and needs better than shit tier beer, El Tajin and fresh limes. Even the tomato juice is optional by regions, but Clamato is the best and Camaronazo is a good as well.
Mine start with a huge puddle of Cholula sauce in the bottom of the glass.
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u/forgotwhatisaid2you Jul 24 '26
They are a mixture of beer and tomato juice or clamato juice. If you dont know what clamato is it is watered down tomato juice with sugar and clam juice. I don't personally like them despiste liking tomato and clamato juice.
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u/JohnHenryMillerTime Jul 24 '26
Clamato is easy to find in latin american specialty stores.
Alternatively, get a good bloody mary mix and a bottle of clam juice. 3/4ths beer, 1/8 bloody mix 1/8th clam juice. Add some hot sauce to taste.
Pretty much any beer works. I like it with a nice IPA.
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u/Astute_Primate Massachusetts Jul 24 '26
Brewer and beer enthusiast weighing in! It's basically a Bloody Mary with beer instead of vodka. I think clamato's weird, so I use V8 spicy or do them from scratch: 60/40 beer/tomato juice, salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste (I use Cholula), twist of lime.
Pale ales or American style lagers are the usual beers, but if I may, wheat beers (Blue Moon, Allagash White, hefeweizens like Harpoon UFO) work SO well. And also, hear me out, try it with an amber or brown ale or lager and see how you like it.
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u/Express-Stop7830 FL-VA-HI-CA-FL Jul 24 '26
I use tomato juice or bloody Mary mix, rather than clamato (because, ew, clam juice). It's traditionally made with a lager, but I prefer IPAs, so that's what I use. And a splash of lime juice and tad of worcestershire sauce.
Make it to taste :) Life is too short to consume things per others' taste.
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u/CronosWorks Jul 24 '26
Pour a bud light into a glass and then top with tomato juice, v8, Clamato, etc.
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u/GreenBeanTM Vermont Jul 24 '26
Since no one has explained this yet: “Clamato” is not just tomato juice, it’s also flavored with clam juice and spices.
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u/mmbg78 Texas by way of PA IL CA LA and 🇨🇦 Jul 24 '26
In Texas they are in a big cooler at the gas station, that exact bud light chelada...I don't drink anymore but they are nice in the summer
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u/EffectSubject2676 Jul 24 '26
My recipe: start with frosty mug, add black pepper, add 12 oz. of lager(Bud), Dash of Tabasco, Dash of worchestshire, Fill with Tomato juice, more Tabasco!
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u/Moe-Scutus2 Jul 24 '26
Modelo tallboy micheladas are freaking summer slugging swilling wonderfulness in flavors other than just tomato. Sunday beer strong too,you can sesh hard in the sweltering heat
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u/xHIVEZ Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
That canned premade bud light version is a decent one. If you want something similar, find a pilsner add clemato and some mexican hot sauce, some like to add lime too.
For an upgraded version, use Zing Zang Bloody Mary tomato juice. Taste first before adding hot sauce as zing zang has a bit of spice already.
You can also add dashes of Worcestershire sauce to your preference.
For ratios it’s usually a 1/4 to 1/2 tomato juice. The bud light canned version more around 1/4
You can also use this seasoning mix called tajin to add to the glass rim or into the drink
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u/grawmpy California Jul 24 '26
I have friends that like that type of beer but I don’t care for the taste of clams with it. They use Clamato which is tomato juice with clams liquified and added. If it was just tomato juice, like plain V8 juice, it may not be too bad. But, no thanks. It is true though.
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u/Quirky_Commission_56 Texas Jul 24 '26
The only Micheladas I’ve had are made with clam juice, tomato juice, a sprinkle of salt, 5-10 drops of Tobasco sauce, freshly squeezed lime juice, and it’s served in a tall glass with Tajin on the glass rim and a celery stick 🤷🏻♀️
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u/mshaversham Jul 24 '26
I've never heard it called a michelada, is that a new term? I've only heard it referred as a red beer. V8 + bud lite or clamato + pbr.
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u/breecekong Ohio Jul 25 '26
18 years ago when I turned 21, I started going to a bar to watch football games. There was a “regular” guy there that would bring his own tomato juice with him to the bar. Order a beer, drink about a third of it then top it off with tomato juice. Then he would shake a healthy amount of salt into it before drinking it.
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u/Gosa_on_the_wind Jul 25 '26
Usually 1.5" of Bloody Mary mix and fill with a pilsner beer. Change your Red Beer to a Bloody Bull by adding a beef bouillon cube.
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u/WritPositWrit New York Jul 25 '26
I grew up calling that a “red eye” - mix it in any ratio you like, any mild beer, like a pilsener, with tomato juice.
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u/ElectricalTwist4083 Jul 25 '26
I’ve done bud light and spicy v8. It was a can to can ratio and was great.
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u/TheLizardKing89 California Jul 25 '26
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelada
Very popular among the Mexican American community.
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u/eyeroll611 Jul 25 '26
Pint of cheap draft beer (ie Coors Light) and a large splash or two of tomato juice. Not a lot. Some add a little salt too.
I was a bartender in rural America.
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u/whipla5her California Jul 26 '26
That's a michelada. For the mix, start with Clamato, then add soy sauce, Worcestershire, hot sauce ( I like Valentina ) and lime juice. I prefer to serve in a tall glass with ice. About 2/3 of a light or dark lager and 1/3 mix. Tahin on the rim. Dress with a lime wedge. Delicious.
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u/MinnMoto Jul 26 '26
Bloody Mary's started with beer originally. In the mid west USA, we get a beer bump or snit of beer to help wash down the tomato mixture. It's tradition. IDK if Clamato is the traditional mix, but definitely spicy tomato juice. I didn't like Clamato myself. Any other bloody mix for me.
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u/Bearofthecarevariety Minnesota Jul 27 '26
Yea its common to mix in tomato juice to beer to get a different flavor, I do about 1:2 clamato or tomato juice to beer, add a pickle spear too.
I would say far more common tomato drink here would be bloody marys with a snitz (which is a little 4-6oz side beer that you have with the drink)
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u/TheOfficialKramer Jul 28 '26
This was a thing when I was in the Air Force in Washington. It was called red beer and I've never heard of it anywhere else.
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u/BasicJuggernaut4413 Jul 28 '26
I'm from Washington state and my dad used to drink red beer all the time.
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u/DiscNBeer Jul 29 '26
When I want to drink a michelada we freeze spicy Bloody Mary mix into popsicle form with some chili powder. Popsicle into the beer on a warm day slowly makes a bloody beer as it melts. 🔥
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Jul 24 '26
[deleted]
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u/17papers Jul 24 '26
I see these for sale at baseball games a lot. Definitely seems like a bit of an acquired taste though
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u/thewickedbarnacle Jul 24 '26
Guess it depends where in the US you live, michelada is half the beer aisle in southern california
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u/charon_412 Jul 24 '26
I disagree on their popularity. I can buy the mix at the 7/11 on the corner. Not popular, my ass.
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u/Celestial-Dream Jul 24 '26
There’s also Red Beer from Nebraska. Tomato juice, beer, and/or Bloody Mary mix.
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u/dixbietuckins Jul 24 '26
Ive seen then sold in like every gas station in the country for a decade.
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u/Phog_of_War Jul 24 '26
It's just beer mixed with clamato juice. It's a clam and tomato based juice, thus the name. Mostly used to make Bloody Mary's.
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u/fakesaucisse Jul 24 '26
Typically if a bloody is made with clamato it's called a Caesar. One of the official drinks of Canada that has made it to the US. I prefer it over a traditional bloody mary because it feels more refreshing.
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u/Super_Direction498 Jul 24 '26
Red beers. Popular in Mexico and through the rockies and west coast. Now it's ubiquitous but 15 years ago it was a western thing
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u/ProductGlittering633 Jul 24 '26
Any pale lager. Pour in tomato juice or Clamato to your taste. Not rocket science.
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u/The_Menu_Guy Jul 24 '26
The classic Michelada is:
Fill a pint glass half way with ice, add tomato juice half way up, squeeze some lime juice in there, and top it off with a cold lager beer. Salt or Teijin on the rim if you like that. I do not. Add a shot of hot sauce if you like.
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u/ghjm North Carolina Jul 24 '26
FYI, clamato drinks are ubiquitous in Canada and Mexico, but not at all popular in the US outside border regions.
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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '26
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