1999. Portland, Oregon. Homesick, Craig and I see in the local newspaper rag that Honky, the band, is playing some club. We head out and run into another Texan we had lost contact with after our move from Texas: Aaron Berlin. Aaron played guitar in this Dallas band Rubberbullet. We hadn’t seen him since he left Dallas. He had moved to the Pacific NW to study winemaking. And while Aaron did, in fact, know his wine, and work for a mighty fine winemaker, he was our introduction to BEERITAS.

We were all homesick and hanging out in the backyard one Saturday. “BEERITAS,” Aaron declared. “That is the cure all.” I had no clue what a beerita even was. Aaron remedied that. And for several summers in Portland, beeritas were the summer drink of choice.

So this is an ode to Aaron Berlin, beeritas and the good stuff that comes from Texas. Beeritas done three ways: Aaron’s way (which still makes me laugh today thinking of him describing how to mix it in a cooler), the first evolution of the beerita, and the lighter less sweet current incarnation. Somehow after moving from Portland, we lost Aaron again. I keep waiting to see him at some Honky show but Honky shows are few and far between in New Mexico. So if you see Aaron out there, tell him to put the wine-making down and come on over. We are mixing beeritas.

BEERITAS by AARON BERLIN

This recipe makes a batch for a party.

You’ll need:

a large cooler with handles

one bottle (750 ml ) tequila

12 light or wheat beers (ie Corona or similar)

1 bottle (750 ml) margarita mixer

bag ice

1. Dump all ingredients into the cooler

2. Close the lid

3. Have one person grab handles on one side of the cooler. Another person grab the handles on the other side.

4. Shake cooler back and forth.

5. Open and enjoy.

SWEETER BEERITAS EVOLUTION STEP ONE

This recipe makes a pitcher of beeritas at a time.

You’ll need:

a pitcher

1 can frozen limeade

12 oz tequila (same amount as can of frozen limeade)

2 bottles of light beer (Corona tends to work well)

1. Let limeade slightly thaw.

2. Put frozen limeade in pitcher. Use can that limeade came in to measure out equal amount of tequila. Add that to pitcher.

3. Add 2 bottles of beer.

4. Stir well to mix. Enjoy.

BEERITAS THE CURRENT INCARNATION

 (slightly less sweeter than above recipe)

This recipe also makes a pitcher.

You’ll need:

a pitcher

can frozen limeade

12 oz tequila (equal amount to the can of frozen limeade)

24 oz sprite

1 bottle Corona

1. Put all ingredients in pitcher.

2. Mix well and enjoy.