Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer (you sticklers will know that the actual start of summer is June 21). That means it’s time to start grilling and having a few cold ones while you do. But while you could have a regular old beer, you should feel free to gussy yours up a bit this Memorial Day. Beer cocktails are super easy to make and hugely underrated as a day drinking option. Here are some of the simplest and most refreshing beer cocktails to enjoy during your Memorial Day cookout or any time drinking on a sunny afternoon is called for.
Bulldog
What can make a frozen Margarita even better? A bottle of beer. That’s what.
Ingredients:
2 oz. tequila
1 oz. lime juice
.75 oz. Cointreau
Ice
1 Bottle of Mexican beer
Instructions:
Add tequila, lime juice, Cointreau and ice to a blender and blend.
Pour frozen margarita into a glass.
Tip the entire beer bottle into the glass and enjoy.
Michelada
A tangy, spicy mix of beer, citrus and tomato. Think of it like a bloody Mary, but so much more refreshing.
Ingredients:
1 bottle of lager beer
.5 oz lime juice
.5 oz tomato juice
Hot sauce to taste
Maggi seasoning to taste (optional)
Instructions:
Stir all ingredients besides beer into a pint glass with ice.
Pour the beer on top, drink and go “ahhh.”
Shandy
Essentially just a beer lemonade, shandys are probably the simplest and most classic beer cocktails. Some breweries even premake them for you in case mixing beer and lemonade in a glass is too much work on a holiday weekend.
Ingredients:
Light lager
Lemonade
Instructions:
Fill a pint glass halfway with the lager
Fill it the rest of the way with lemonade.
That’s it!
Radler
The shandy’s tarter cousin, a radler uses grapefruit soda in place of lemonade.
Ingredients:
Light lager
Grapefruit soda (Grab a Jarritos if you can, but Fresca will work in a pinch)
Instructions:
Fill a pint glass halfway with the lager.
Fill it the rest of the way with grapefruit soda.