Chelada Vs Michelada: What's The Difference?

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If your knee jerk explanation of the difference between cheladas and micheladas is "two letters," then congratulations! Your mastery of dad jokes has been achieved. But for those more curious about the taste and texture variance between the terrific Mexican tipples beyond how they're spelled, the divergence comes down to some key ingredients.

Both a chelada and a michelada are beer-based beverages, although one is technically a mixed drink, while the other is closer to a cocktail. The former chelada requires just the suds and some lime juice, typically served in a glass with a salted rim. The latter michelada also builds on beer and citrus, but then adds Worcestershire, soy, and Tabasco sauce, plus a pinch of black pepper to the mix. As always, individual household or bar recipes will vary a bit, but, in general, a chelada is a simple, perky refresher, and a michelada is a more dynamic libation with a savory finish.

Most micheladas and cheladas are made with lighter lagers like Corona or Pacifico to keep things crisp. The salt, sometimes zhuzhed up with a bit of spice like Tajín, is a pleasant seasoning for the pair in either case. For a chelada, you can simply salt the rim of a pint glass the same way you would for a margarita, pack it with ice, pour the beer of your choice most of the way to the top, add about an ounce of lime, and gently stir to combine.

A michelada, of course, requires more cocktailing skills. You'll also salt and ice-pack the glass. Then, we like to combine the michelada's ingredients — the dashes of Worcestershire, soy, hot sauce, the bit of black pepper, the beer, the lime, and whatever other modifications we're in the mood for — in a separate vessel like a shaker to give it a mild swirl to fully combine before removing to serve. Like bloody Marys, micheladas are also super conducive to customization, so you can play around with different hot sauces and fun garnishes like green olives, cheese cubes, or even shrimp skewers for a drink that sips like a snack.