Micheladas gone wild: East Dallas frutería gets creative with the classic beer cocktail

Hot summer days always invite you to have a refreshing drink, and one option with a low alcohol level is the michelada.

Micheladas are cocktails that start with beer, lemon and salt, but they can have multiple accompaniments added to the based like Worcestershire sauce, Maggi seasoning sauce, Valentina sauce, chamoy, chili powder, and Clamato.

From that base, the creative possibilities are endless, which is what makes micheladas so special.

“A good michelada is the one that makes the drinker happy, and you can make as many combinations as you can imagine,” said Anilú Piña, owner of The Piña Loca Fruteria, an establishment that sells tacos, snacks, and micheladas in East Dallas. Piña is a native of Huauchinango, Puebla, Mexico.

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At her business, Piña offers the $15 Michelada en Jarrito, dressed with shrimp and cucumbers in a clay bowl brought from Mexico. She also offers the family option of a tray with six beers, shrimp and cucumber bathed in lime, salt, and sauces and accompanied by tamarind candies for $55.

This season, the star at The Piña Loca is the Pelon Pelo-Chela, which for $38 is served with flavored gummies dipped in made-from-scratch chamoy and accompanied by a snack with nachos and fruit, all in a big cup that represents a piece of Pelon Pelo-Rico, a tamarind candy very popular in Mexico.

“The micheladas are one of our star products, we sell more than 100 in a week, they are super popular,” Piña said. “In some places micheladas are bitter because they already have the preparation ready, but here we make it from scratch every time a customer asks us for one.”

During the pandemic, this cocktail was one of the products that helped her business stay afloat, Piña said, as people would pick up snacks and drinks to enjoy at home.

The michelada is consumed as a recreational drink, especially at the beach or on very hot days, and is considered a hangover remedy.

Popular history places the origin of the michelada in the 1970s in the city of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, where Michel Esper, a tennis player from the city, always ordered a cocktail of beer, lemon and salt. Micheladas gradually incorporated other ingredients until it reached the combinations offered today, according to The Beer Times.

The drink has become so popular in the United States that you can even buy cups with a combination of powders that include salt, lemon, chili, and other condiments, to which you only need to add beer to complete the cocktail.

You can consume micheladas in taquerias, bars, or establishments such as fruterías, markets, or pop-ups around the city.

The Piña Loca is located at 2331 Lakeland Dr. in Dallas. Visit them on Instagram.