A few years ago, I was sitting in Cigar City Brewing on a Sunday morning and heard someone order a “beermosa.”

Curious, I ordered one and was quickly informed that “beermosas” were only for brunch guests.  Brunch?  What brunch?   As it turns out, Loko Cuisine, the “Eggs & Kegs” caterer, had been serving unique “beermosas” since the event began.  Every month, a “beermosa” featuring a special orange juice concoction was blended with your choice of Cigar City Florida Cracker Belgian-style White Ale or Cigar City Jai-Alai IPA. While my husband likes his beermosa with IPA, I love it with an ale, and ever since that first Eggs & Kegs event that we attended, beermosas have been on our weekend and camping menus.

Sadly, when I say “beermosa,” most people look at me with an odd, eyebrow-raised stare, as if to say, “huh?”.  They are so accustomed to thinking of mimosas as a ladies drink that the combination of beer and oj is unfathomable and just weird. But as soon as they try one, they love it.

The trick to making a perfect beermosa is to start with great juice (or juice blend) and great beer.  Low quality, watery swill will not work.  You want to taste the beer and the juice.  Next, you have to get the proportions right.  Depending on the glass size, you want 3/4 of the glass filled with beer and finish the last 1/4 with juice.

There are plenty of craft beer varieties to try, but I suggest something lighter in color and mouth-feel, like an ale or an ipa.  I don’t think a stout, porter, or even a saison would work. Personally, I like CC Florida Cracker, Sam Adams Lager, Summer Ale & Oktoberfest, Miami Brewing Big Rod, New Belgium Fat Tire, and several others.

For the juice, try regular oj first. Then, venture into blends. Mango-orange, blood orange, pineapple -orange, strawberry-orange…they’re all amazing.