Sometimes when I go on goofy road-trips with friends, I enjoy getting giant beers with paper bags at truck-stops to consume when we get to our destination. It's the classier side of iron stef. On a recent trip to the Ozarks with a huge group of my family, all ladies, I spotted cans of Budweiser Chelada. This is a a beer-Clamato mixture released last year, and I've been wanting to try it. Although it got less-than-stellar reviews from beer rating websites, and the mixture of beer, tomato and clam juice sounds odd to many, such combos have been a favorite in Mexico for generations.
And honestly, I kind of liked the Chelada! I think I liked the idea of it more than the actual product, as the Budweiser version seemed too salty, and I don't like the taste of Budweiser. You can hardly taste the beer, of course, but I knew I could improve on the beverage. So last night, that's what I set out to do. I got a better beer, opting for a Mexican beer, to, you know, represent. I got some Clamato (on sale! It's fate!), and some limes. My first attempt, about 60% beer, 40% clamato and two wedges of lime, was tasty, however no quite there. For the next one I added ice and a few drops of habanero Tabasco sauce. That made it pretty darn awesome! Like a bloody mary, but more refreshing and less thick. Also, fizzy! In my chelada, I could taste the beer, and the clamato had just the right amount of salty and veggie-ness.
This was fun!
My sis-in-law and me with my 2 by 4 of Chelada in a paper bag. Awesome to the max!
ETA: Speaking of awesome to the max, check out Benchilada's Chelada adventure on his adventuresome and hilarious video series "So You Don't Have To." Yeah...they don't seem to be as impressed with the combo of beer and Clamato as I was....
7 comments:
I know nobody is going to read this post because, you know, it's like 7 months after the original post BUT...
I was in the great state of NH this past weekend and stumbled across this, this angel from somwehere (North Conway?)...so I bought 3 24 Oz-ers. I like the idea.
Are you the least bit suprised the Beer reviewers didn't like it? Snobs! Snobs! They are not in touch with the common man!
I will, however, start making my own, soon...
Too add to your recipe-I like it best with a few dashes of worcestershire sauce, salt, and then of course a few squirts of fresh limes. You're right on the 60/40 mixture.. I drink these almost every day and Wal-mart sells Clamato the cheapest!
Yeah, I've certainly tasted better things.
Then again, tomatoes are the only thing on my list of Things That Taste Like The Devil's Balls.
You keep drinking it, though.
You know...so I don't have to.
benjamin sTone
Ditto what Mike said (2009, fool!); i too saw the Bud chelada and tried ii. Kinda liked it, until i realized i don't like clam juice. My personal recipe involves Tecate and Mr & Mrs. T's Bold and Spicy Bloody Mary mix. Heaven in a pint glass. . .
I've been drinking beer and Clamato Juice in Canada since the 1970's.
Nice to know the US is finally finding out about this super drink. Up here it is just known as "beer and clam". Although I like the name "Chelada" it makes it sound exotic.
Use Spicy Clamato juice and you can do away with adding other ingrediants. I tried some Chelada's on our recent Vegas trip and I was hooked.
I love those things.
I can't justify spending $3 on only a 23 ounce...
I'm not sure if anyone has realized this or not.......but Canadians LOVE this stuff! We have been drinking beer and clamato up here since as long as I can remember, and when I first saw this product in Vegas I thought to myself "Why would they be selling this stuff in the states and not Canada?" I had no idea it was a common drink in Mexico. Makes sense now that i think about it though.
Anyway.....the point of this story is that before I had my first sip of this beverage, I was going into it with pretty low expectations. I felt I was pretty fusy about how I like my beer and clam, and Budweiser would probably fail miserably at reproducing this wonder drink.
How wrong I was. That stuff is like crack cocaine....I couldn't get enough of it. Fantastic beer! Forget what the beer snobs say...hands down my favourite beverage.
Start selling this stuff in Canada!
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