Ever heard of a Michelada? My husband used to make them and we called them Beery-Marys. Similar to a bloody Mary, this tomato based cocktail usually calls for a Mexican lager, but my husband no longer drinks, so we experimented.
We chose not to use alcohol-free beer because it actually has a small amount of alcohol that develops during the process. But some breweries are starting to make “hop tea”. It is an alcohol free beverage made with carbonated water and flavored with hops. It’s not fermented and doesn’t use yeast to the alcohol never develops. But it tastes a bit like an IPA. So we used that. And we call it – Success!
Here’s how to make an alcohol-free Michelada:
I like to gather up all my ingredients first.
Start with the base. You can make a pitcher of it and mix the cocktail as you go. This base will work with beer or hop tea.
Mix the vegetable juice with the lime, jalapeño brine (the liquid from a can of pickled peppers), salt, lemon pepper and 1 teaspoon tajin.
Blend it together with an immersion blender and refrigerate at least three hours.
When it’s time to enjoy the drink, rub the rim of a 16 oz. glass with a lime wedge, then coat it with tajin powder. Drop the lime into the glass.
Pour the glass half way up with the tomato base
and top it off with some hop tea. Garnish with a lime wedge and jalapeño ring.
Put your feet up and enjoy!
© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

A delicious and refreshing cocktail that forgoes the beer and uses alcohol-free hop tea.
- 24 oz vegetable juice cocktail (like V-8)
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 large)
- 2 Tablespoons jalapeño brine
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 2 Tablespoons tajin powder (or other chili, lime salt powder)
- 24 oz carbonated hop tea
- limes and jalapeño rings to garnish
-
Start with the base. You can make a pitcher of it and mix the cocktail as you go. This base will work with beer or hop tea.
-
Mix the vegetable juice with the lime, jalapeño brine (the liquid from a can of pickled peppers), salt, lemon pepper and 1 teaspoon tajin.
-
Blend it together with an immersion blender and refrigerate at least three hours.
-
When it's time to enjoy the drink, rub the rim of a 16 oz. glass with a lime wedge, then coat it with tajin powder. Drop the lime into the glass.
-
Pour the glass half way up with the tomato base and top it off with some hop tea. Garnish with a lime wedge and jalapeño ring.
Put your feet up and enjoy!
© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome
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Helen you have introduced to me to two items I have never heard of – Hop Tea and a Michelada. I always make my Bloody with gin. I will be on the lookout for Hop Tea.
TraderJoe has a “hop water” made by Longanitas. The one I used by Pelican I got at a large grocery chain- Safeway
My spouse drinks non-alcoholic beer and I made this with his favorite, St. Pauli Girl Dark Lager. He loved it!
The spicy rim on the glass adds a fun touch to this drink! This a great alcohol-free option and I always have these ingredients in my kitchen.
I don’t really drink alcohol so this is a fun option for me, thanks!
I love the hop tea – they are really refreshing!
Wow, this drink sounds interesting! Can’t wait to give it a try!
It is so good and refreshing – and you can drink as much as you want!
My mom would love this. She’s been so into mocktails lately. Can’t wait to share it with her!
Let me know how she likes it! We do a lot of alcohol free and this is my favorite so far.
This is one of my favorite, all time non-alcoholic bevies. I love how tasty it is going down, that’s for sure.
And refreshing!! We’ll be drinking a lot of these this summer! Thanks for stopping by.
what a great cocktail. I love the Tajin in it too. Thanks for another great recipe.
Thanks Megan – the two of us have gone through two batches!! We love it.