Chelas

My first experience with them was just so-so.  My roommate Carl told me about them and offered to make me one, too.  Sure, why not?  It was supposed to be something like a beer based Bloody Mary, but with some substitutions (beer for vodka was obvious, soy sauce for Worcestshire (sp?) sauce was a surprise).  I took a sip.  Mmm.  It was OK, but not necessarily something I would want to drink often.  About six months later my friend Adam hands me a Chelas mix cup, a V8 and a beer.  He says he saw it at the store and thought I might like it.  What a sweetheart ;)

I open the cup and find a little packet of chili powder, a salted and dried thing (apricot, it turns out) and a stirrer.  I pour in the beer and some V8, give it a swirl and take a swig.  Whoa!  Now this was good!  I end up getting a few more over the next month or so, but find it a hassle to go looking for the cups whenever I want one.  Plus they're two bucks for a little chili powder and a salted piece of fruit.  Can't I just buy the stuff myself and mix it together?  Yes, yes I can.

My personal recipe: 6 shakes of Cholula, 2 shakes of chili powder (these are all technical measurements, of course), 1 saladito (I use the plum, as I haven't found apricot ones), about 4 ounces spicy Camaronazo (like Clamato, but shrimp instead of clam) and a 12 oz beer.  I prefer Modelo Especial, but found that original Budweiser tastes almost exactly the same and is significantly cheaper.  It's spicy, saucy, and flat (the juice quashes the carbonation).  It doesn't work with all beers (Belgians especially) but definitely try it with a lager.  An IPA sounds like a possibility too.  Maybe next time?