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Want to mix your beer into something special? Try these great beer cocktails with something for everyone, from the chelada to the shandy.
Beer isn’t just for drinking straight up: you can also mix it into drinks of all kinds! Sure, you might first think of wine cocktails when it comes to mixed drinks, like sangria or spritzer. But there are lots of classic beer mixed drinks that are just as tasty and refreshing.
Here are our top beer cocktails to try! There are classic Mexican cocktails like the Chelada and Michelada, known as a cervesa preparada in Spanish. Then there’s the traditional British shandy, ideal for summer sipping—and a few American-style variations. Ready to get mixing?
Our top beer cocktails
Here's a classic Mexican beer cocktail: the Chelada! It's tangy and refreshing, infusing Mexican beer with irresistible zing of fresh lime juice. Top it off with a salty rim and it’s ideal for anytime: a laid back brunch, cocktails on the patio, or a dinner of shrimp tacos.
Ingredients: Mexican lager beer, lime juice, salt
Next up in our beer cocktails: the beer margarita, also known as a beergarita or beerita! This is not a classic Mexican drink, just a fun way to spice up your marg. Hops pair perfectly with the tart lime and orange perfume of a margarita. Many beer margarita recipes call for frozen limeade concentrate, but this one is all natural: pure lime juice against the citrus and bitter notes of a beer.
Ingredients: Tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, beer
The michelada is a spicy beer cocktail made with Mexican beer, tomato juice, lime juice and hot sauce. Consider it a sort of combination between a Bloody Mary and a beer margarita. The glass rim is a salty, savory mix of Old Bay, chili powder and celery salt. The flavor is just right for lots of occasions, from summer afternoon drinks or a Mexican-themed brunch.
Ingredients: Mexican lager beer, lime juice, salsa juice or tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce
Here’s a beer cocktail that features the uncanny pairing of beer and wine in one drink! Or stout and champagne, that is. It’s the Black Velvet! This ages old cocktail pairs the hoppy bitterness and dark notes of coffee and chocolate with the light fruity bubbles of champagne. It might sound odd, but it really works!
Ingredients: Stout beer, champagne
When it comes to beer cocktails, there’s nothing better than a shandy! This tasty low alcohol drink originated in Europe and has swept the nation. This drink has a history of hundreds of years, and it's easy to make at home with your favorite beer and ginger ale or ginger beer.
Ingredients: Beer, ginger ale or ginger beer
Here’s a fun beer cocktail: the Spaghett! This fun drink is hardly a recipe at all, and it’s built right in a beer bottle. It’s a play on an Aperol spritz, with bubbles come from beer instead of Prosecco. It’s lightly sweet, zingy, and refreshing: here to revolutionize your summer cocktail repertoire.
Ingredients: Aperol, lemon juice, light beer (traditionally Miller High Life)
The Summer Shandy is a refreshing British beer cocktail made with beer and lemon soda. It’s the beer version of a spritz, watered down wine made for cooling off on a hot day. This spin on the shandy featuring homemade sparkling lemonade is 100% delicious and refreshing!
Ingredients: Wheat beer, simple syrup, lemon juice, soda water
Sure, you can buy grapefruit shandy at the store, but have you ever had one homemade? The shandy is a beer cocktail with hundreds of years of history. The grapefruit shandy is a spin on a shandy using fresh squeezed juice or soda, and it comes out beautifully refreshing: perfect for summer sipping! Here’s how to make it at home.
Ingredients: Wheat beer, simple syrup, grapefruit juice, soda water
More cocktail recipes
There are so many more cocktails to try! Outside of these beer cocktails, we’ve got 200+ cocktails for every occasion:
- Classics: Try Classic Cocktails or Great Cocktail Recipes.
- Easy: These 10 Easy Mixed Drinks and Cheap Drinks have just 2 to 3 ingredients.
- Fancy: Opt for the best in Craft Cocktails.
- The Big 5: Try all our cocktails with Gin, Vodka, Whiskey, Tequila or Rum.
- Related drinks: Go for our Wine Cocktails, Champagne Cocktails, or Ginger Beer Cocktails.
- Location-centric drinks: Try Italian Cocktails, Cuban Cocktails, New Orleans Cocktails or Mexican Cocktails.
Chelada (& More Beer Cocktails!)
Try these great beer cocktails with something for everyone! Start with the Chelada, a Mexican beer cocktail that pairs lager beer with lime juice and a salt rim.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Stirred
- Cuisine: Cocktails
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 12 ounce Mexican lager beer
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) lime juice
- 1 pinch salt
- Ice, for serving (try clear ice)
- For the rim: 1 tablespoon each fine sea salt and Old Bay (or tajin)
Instructions
- On a plate, mix the Old Bay and salt and spread it into an even layer. Cut a notch in a lime wedge, then run the lime around the rim of a glass. Dip the edge of the rim into a plate of salt.
- Add the lime juice and pinch of salt to the beer glass. Fill the glass with ice and pour in the beer. Stir gently and serve.
Excellent.
Good afternoon
Thank for the above detail on Shandy’s.
However, I am looking for something closer to home.
I am 63 years old man living in Zambia Africa. I like my Heineken, but I have off late been mixing it with plain water and it does not taste great.
What other common soft drink or juice can use instead.
Kind regards
I would do it with Sprite or other lemon lime drink if you’re looking for a mixer.
I want to learn
Nice refreshing everyday cocktail
Shandy is a staple in this household every summer, nothing beats its refreshing taste and light flavor
I want more good beer cocktail recipe.