Michelada, por favor

Because several fellow bloggers ( Scott, Alison and Brad C.) have decided to celebrate Oktoberfest a little late and are dedicating this week to nothing but beer posts, I thought it was only appropriate that I contribute my two cents on a new revolution suposedly sweeping the U.S.:

Spicy beer, aka "michelada"

Haven't heard of the stuff yet? I hadn't either - until last night when I was scrolling through the AP wire at work. Intrigued by the story's description, I popped it open and read all about the glories of adding lime juice, assorted sweet-and-sour spices, chile peppers and ICE to an otherwise perfect beer. Top it off with a salted rim, and you've got what our friends south of the border affectionatly call micheladas.

Now, I like beer - and I like my beer with lime (Dos Equis, please), but I'm not so sure adding chiles and other spices to beer would be very tasty. Have a look at this recipe I nabbed from Gourmet Sleuth:

Coarse salt
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 dash soy sauce
1 dash Tabasco sauce
1 pinch black pepper
1 dash Maggi seasoning, optional
12 ounces beer, preferably a dark Mexican beer like Negra Modelo

d i r e c t i o n s
Squeeze the juice from the lime and reserve. Salt the rim of a highball glass by rubbing it with the lime and dipping it in coarse salt. Fill with ice. Add lime juice, Worcestershire, soy sauce, Tabasco, pepper and Maggi, if desired.
Pour in beer, stir and serve, adding more beer as you sip.

Sound good to you? Has anyone tried this? I'm curious.

To me, it sounds rather bloody-maryish, minus the tomato juice and vodka - which could be either surprisingly good, or flat-out nasty.

Oh, and if you're wondering what "michelada" means, there's been some confusion, but most say it comes from “mi chela helada,” Mexican slang for “My Cold Beer.” Nice to know.