We’ve had one hot summer, and I’ve been drinking a good bit of freshly squeezed lemonade to keep cool, which led me to thinking about creating a homemade summer shandy.
The term “shandy” generally refers to a pour of half wheat beer and half lemonade, though there are many variations. I first heard of the shandy when cycling with the West Chester Cycling Club a few years ago. After a long ride, members often returned to Iron Hill WC to enjoy the refreshing lemon-flavored concoction. Most people know of Leinenkugel’s Shandy, which has become popular in the past few years.
Shandys are a good alternative for those who may not be beer drinkers. The lemonade cuts down the alcohol content and adds a sweetness that works well when sitting on a covered porch. Some beer purists scoff at this hybrid drink, but it has its place on a sultry summer afternoon.
For our Great Summer Shandy Experiment, we chose three types of lemon drinks: freshly squeezed, Turkey Hill Lemonade and Sprite soda.
For the beer, we picked up a mixed six pack at Wegmans: UFO Hefeweizen, Widmer Hefeweizen, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Breckenridge Summerbright Ale. My college-age son insisted we also try Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Oh, we also had a bottle of Leinenkugel’s Shandy as our control beer. If a homemade shandy isn’t as good as a store-bought shandy, why bother?
We sat on our porch one night and tried small pours of each of the three lemon choices with each of the five beers. We won’t run through tasting notes on all fifteen pours, but here’s an overview of what we learned.
The freshly squeezed lemonade proved to be our favorite addition. It provided the touch of citrusy lemon we liked without being too sweet. The Turkey Hill Lemonade was our second favorite, and we agreed on a hot day, after some exercise, the added sugar would be enjoyable. Sprite was the least of our favorite additions to the beer choices. The carbonation was a bit much when added to the beer, and the lime was more prevalent than the lemon.
While doing our research, we came across a video of some guy showing how to make a shandy by mixing frozen lemonade mix directly with PBRs. He made the point that the type of beer doesn’t really matter since the lemon flavor will dominate the drink. Our experiment proved him right in that the PBR held up well and was a cheaper alternative to the craft beers.
In our experiment, our top beers were the two hefeweizens. On the second tier, we found the Breckenridge Summerbright Ale and the Pabst Blue Ribbon to be similar.
On the third tier, when time is tight, go with the Leinenkugel’s Shandy. This poured a full foamy head, there was the slight taste of lemon, but we would have liked more.
We cannot recommend using the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. When mixed with either of the lemonades, we found this gave off a rather unsatisfactory aftertaste.
Our top recommendation: Hefeweizen and freshly squeezed lemonade.
For a high quality summer shandy, we recommend taking the time to squeeze some lemons, to provide the fresh taste that really satisfies, and you can control how much sugar you add. We used two lemons, added water to taste and a teaspoon of sugar. UFO Hefeweizen and Widmer Hefeweizen were both fine beers for this, and we believe other similar hefes would be fine also.
Find my review of The Whip Tavern’s Summer Shandy here.
Photo credits: Jay Breslin.
