8 Great Beer Cocktails to Try

Here's a classic Mexican beer cocktail: the Chelada! This refreshing cocktail that’s as irresistible as it is easy to mix up. The Chelada is 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. Here’s a little more about this special drink and why to try it.

Ingredients: Mexican lager beer, lime juice, salt

Next up in our beer cocktails: the beer margarita! Also known as a beergarita or a 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. Here’s the thing: most beer margarita recipes call for frozen limeade concentrate. But that’s not what a great cocktail is made of, is it? Here’s an all natural beer margarita with no limeade: just 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 best part is the glass rim: a mix of Old Bay, chili powder and celery salt brings a salty, savory flair to the front end of this refreshing drink. 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!

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. Here’s the thing: this concept was not invented by Leinenkugel. This drink has a history of hundreds of years! It’s so easy to make at home with your favorite beer and ginger ale or ginger beer. Here’s more about the history of this refreshing drink and how to mix it up at home.

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 most refreshing beer cocktail? Try the Summer Shandy! This British cocktail made with beer and lemon soda is one of the greatest European inventions. 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