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     On the first day of August, many people around the world will be celebrating celebrating the India Pale Ale (IPA), a hoppy style beer with an interesting history. According to CraftBeer.com, IPA Day was founded in 2011, as a universal movement created to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers and brewers worldwide, using social media as the common arena for connecting the conversation. International Beer Day is in the first part of August and we featured a beer margarita, so you might see where this is going.

We have made many beer margaritas before but typically used lighter style beers (think Corona or Bud Light) . After hearing that the bitterness of an IPA paired perfectly with the woodiness of a reposado tequila, we decided to try a variation of a popular IPA margarita recipe. The combination worked perfectly as the flavors really complimented each other.

What beers have you tried in a margarita? Let us know in the comments below.

IPA Margarita

INGREDIENTS

• 2 oz reposado tequila
• 1 oz Margarita Texas Mix
• 6 oz IPA (we used Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA)

DIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients in shaker and pour into glass.

Based off of recipe: http://drinkwiththewench.com/2011/07/craft-beer-mixiology-the-ipa-a-rita/

     On the first Friday of every August, we celebrate International Beer Day. Why would a margarita focused site celebrate a day dedicated to beer? Beer, in combination with tequila and your lime base can be a great addition to a margarita. Many restaurants and bars around the United States have added a beer based margarita to their menu. Often times, you will see an upside down Corona or Dos Equis sitting in a margarita glass.

The origins of the day are said to come from two craft beer enthusiasts from internationalbeerday.com who dreamed up the idea back in 2007. Their website says the purpose of International Beer Day is “to gather with friends and enjoy the deliciousness that is beer, celebrate the dedicated men and women who brew and serve our beer and to bring the world together under the united banner of beer, by celebrating the beers of all nations and cultures together on this one remarkable day.” We think these are really great reasons to enjoy a tasty beer today.

Beer Margarita

INGREDIENTS

• 6 oz blanco tequila
• 12 oz beer (any will do – lighter style beers work best – For a Texas twist, we recommend: Saint Arnold Summer Pils or Shiner Light Blonde)
• 6 oz Margarita Texas Mix)
• Ice cubes to suit
• Lime flavored salt

 DIRECTIONS

Cover the rim of the glass with the salt. Pour all ingredients into blender and blend well.

Neilson released the results for it’s first on-premise consumer survey and it was a big win for tequila and margaritas. Each took the top spot as the favorite in their respective categories. This makes a lot of sense as the margarita continually reaches the top 10 most searched cocktails on Google yearly even reaching number one on occasion.

While we did not take the survey, the two would unsurprisingly be our on-premise drinks of choice as well. It would be interesting to see a state by state break-down of the survey. In Texas, bartenders are constantly creating new variations of the margarita, including seasonal offerings which help keep the drink interesting and relevant. The original can stand on it’s own too.

Here are of their findings as it relates to margaritas and tequila:

• 23% of the U.S. population have drunk a cocktail out of home in the last three months
• Tequila (44%) is the favorite liquor base for cocktails in the U.S., followed by: light rum (39%), flavored Vodka (39%), non-flavored Vodka (39%) and whiskey (27%)
• Margarita (60%) is the most popular cocktail in the U.S., followed by: Daiquiri (44%), Piña Colada (36%), Long Island (33%) and Mojito (29%)
• 48% of consumers feel that cocktail menus with named liquor brands are very important or important when choosing a cocktail
• Chilli’s® consumers are 7% more likely to try a margarita (67%) than the U.S. average (60%)
• Consumers are willing to pay 25% more for a cocktail made with premium spirits;
  the average willingness to spend: $10.98

What are your preferred on-premise drinks? Leave us a comment below and let us know if tequila & margaritas would have received your votes as well.