535518 Fri Jul 04 13:04:02 -0700 2008 10 35 Beer 0 3839465 If you have never heard of a chelada you are probably going to hate this as some of these beersite reveiws indicate. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29/37389 http://www.ratebeer.com/Brewers/Beer/Beer-Reviews-74833.htm Here's a thread about cheladas. http://www.chowhound.com/topics/305888 Bud's version (regular or light) has clamato, lime and salt. It isn't as good as a chelada from a Mexican restaurant or one you make yourself, but it is ok. Doctored up with lime and hot sauce, it is passable. Bud is too agressive in taste for a Chelada which is better with the lighter Mexican beers. Maybe the light version is better. Seems like everyone wants to cut into the Latino market as Miller is coming out with its own version http://beerinfood.wordpress.com/2007/03/10/theres-cheladaand-then-theres-chelada-a-b-vs-miller/ The Bud version has a shocking pink-ish tint to it. There is no taste of lime and it is on the salty side. Not good enough that I'd buy a can for my Latino S/O. Also it is a bit pricy. I spent almost $3 for a 24 ounce can at Safeway. I have seen it for slightly less elsewhere. Fri Jul 04 13:04:04 -0700 2008 10264 rworange 1 3896641 This is my story. It is a true story. Many years ago I was in a Mexican restaurant. One of the waiters had just gotten off his shift and was at the bar next to me. He had a can of Tecate in front of him. He also had a lime, cut in half, and was drizzling salt all over the moist side of the lime half. He then proceeded to squeeze the lime, with the salt all over it, into his can of Tecate beer. He sprinkled more salt onto the lime, and squeezed some more, until all the juice was in the beer. This was around 2003. I asked why he did this. He said it was the only way to enjoy Tecate. I tried it myself. He was right. I fell in love with this concept. It became the only way I drank any Mexican beer, except for darks, or "lagers". I found quite a few Mexican beers to readily accept this conversion. But soon I became weary of paying premium prices for beers from a near third world country, considering what we do for Mexico and immigration; why should I have to pay that price for their cheap beer? So I began to look for an American substitute. After trying, without success, a couple of beers made here I happened upon a good old cheap American classic that I had been drinking with some joy for many years. This cheap American beer was Miller High Life. Miller and lime, with salt are made for each other. I also tested Miller against Tecate and found the taste to be virtually exact. I had found my beer for lime. And since it was half the price of the Mexican beer that is the same recipe, it only made sense; why buy that beer for that price when I had the same beer at my reach for half the price? As the years went by, up until about 2006 I had told many people about my discovery, including many of my guests at the restaurant I waited tables in. Well, I am convinced, now, that one of these patrons may have been an add exec somewhere because within just a few months of my sharing this idea with so many people Miller Chill came into being. Well, I was just at awe with this. I mean, how coincidental could it have been that Miller, the beer I had been using with lime and salt, out of the blue markets a beer based on a Mexican recipe using lime and salt? Maybe it was just a fluke. But maybe, just maybe I was the very man that gave Miller the inspiration. I guess I will never know. Thu Jul 24 03:07:13 -0700 2008 3839465 212668 EX500rider 2 3896645 I read that the original reason they put lime in Mexican beer was to take away some of the "can" flavor. Back when they were first making beer in a can (without a pull tab, you had to use a hole-poking can opener like what you'd use on a can of tomato juice), some of the can solder leached into the beer, giving it an off taste. The lime killed some of that taste. Once they moved to no-soldered cans and bottles, they kept using the lime. Anway, I like Miller High Life as well. Thu Jul 24 03:15:08 -0700 2008 3896641 12359 monkeyrotica 3 3896652 I was not trying to explore the reason why they put a wedge of lime in their beers, for that opens up a book of fables and folklore ranging from the riddance of flies to the bacteria in the water. I was making a point about these recently popular chelada style beers that have hit the American market. The idea is based on not just placing a lime wedge on the beer but also a large amount of lime, with salt. This is called Cheleda style beer. It is popular in some areas of Mexico. Thu Jul 24 03:25:17 -0700 2008 3896645 212668 EX500rider 4 3896908 I think Miller was just trying to copy Bud and their chelada. The large immigration influx over the past decade would dictate that beer marketers would want a product targeted to that demographic. Anyway, product development and regional test marketing take years, so maybe a 2003 to 2006 timeframe isn't that unlikely. Anyway, I like my chavela 50/50 Sol brand beer and V8, with lemon juice, Tabasco, pepper, and salt. It's my go-to beverage after mowing the lawn. I'll have to try it with Miller and lime and salt. Thu Jul 24 06:33:54 -0700 2008 3896652 12359 monkeyrotica 5 3898102 Beer and tomato juice go hand in hand also. Another favorite of mine. Thu Jul 24 12:17:47 -0700 2008 3896908 212668 EX500rider 2 3896669 I still keep around small cans of Clamato to make my own- 'bout once every six months is enough. The remaining cans in the sixpack of Clamato tend to expire and wind up in the compost pile... Thu Jul 24 03:45:25 -0700 2008 3896641 11059 JessKidden 2 3933896 "It became the only way I drank any Mexican beer, except for darks, or "lagers"." Tecate is a lager. So is Miller High Life. Not sure what you're talking about here. "Dark" has nothing to do with lagers. It's a color, not a style. Wed Aug 06 04:30:23 -0700 2008 3896641 96697 toddlintown 1 3933957 I live back and forth in Mexico, and my unwavering beverage of choice in summer is a chelada con Sol (a light lager). The chelada set-up, usually 2 pesos plus the beer charge, is juice from one lime in a glass with ice, and a salted rim. The flavors meld well, and enables the 2nd half of the beer to be cold without rushing in a scorching Mexican summer. A michelada additionally includes Worchestershire and dried powdered oregano and a splash of hot sauce. A fresh chelada is so simple to prepare that I can't imagine paying a premium for synthetic flavoring. Wed Aug 06 05:18:32 -0700 2008 3839465 57170 Veggo 2 3937275 Here here. A cooler full of beers, a bowl full of limes, music and a bit of shade made for many a relaxing, cheap afternoon in a hot, East Oakland summer. I found this bit from the post a bit confusing: << It isn't as good as a chelada from a Mexican restaurant or one you make yourself, but it is ok. Doctored up with lime and hot sauce, it is passable. >> If you're doctoring it up with lime, aren't you doing all the work anyhow? Thu Aug 07 06:32:54 -0700 2008 3933957 177724 tmso 1 3992850 If the flavor is favorable for you (which I do find appealing) I won't buy Anheuser-Busch's. I suggest buy your own "ingredients" and DIY. Bud's second listed ingredient is HFCS, and personally does have a syrupy taste to it. Home made is always better! Wed Aug 27 19:42:18 -0700 2008 3839465 222162 XCKC