Bloody Marys for the beer lover.

While I'm not normally much of a vodka fan, I do love a good Bloody Mary. And by "good," I mean spicy, salty and preferably garnished with a wedge of lime and at least one pickle. I also love all things bubbly - soda, seltzer, champagne and beer. And so the idea of a Michelada - essentially a Bloody Mary made with beer instead of vodka - appealed to me immediately.

While I'm sure that Micheladas have a healthy, rewarding life outside of the city of Austin, I'd never seen one on a menu before my visits there. I can't help but hope that they'll somehow magically catch on here in New York before the summer sets in (Twitter campaign, anyone?). I can't think of a better summer brunch drink, especially if you factor in local August tomatoes.

The ones we drank at South by San Jose (a free mini-festival sponsored by the amazing women behind the Hotel San Jose and the folks at Jo's Coffee) were delicious: salt-rimmed plastic cups filled with peppery tomato juice and topped with cans of Modelo. A squeeze of lime and they were good to go.

Like Bloody Marys, Micheladas are really all about personal taste. (Here's Rick Bayless' recipe, for inspiration.) How spicy, salty or peppery you make yours is entirely your business. Will you make yours with Tabasco? Sriracha? Cholula? Worcestershire sauce? Do tell!