I was only recently turned on to the delight that is the Shandy, having been offered some Farson’s Shandy at a local liquor store’s wine/beer/liquor tasting. I was so blown away by how good that Shandy was that I bought two six-packs, and I don’t like beer.
Can anyone recommend some other good Shandies? I prefer stuff that I can buy at the retail level, but if I have to mix my own at home that is fine too, just let me know what kind of beer/ale/lager/whatever to buy for best results.
BTW, is the “lemonade” in Farson’s Shandy the UK meaning of “lemonade” (a lemon-based, carbonated soda like Sprite or 7-Up) or the US meaning of “lemonade” (a sweet, flat drink made from boiling sugar and lemons)?
Lemonade in the UK is of the 7-up / sprite variety. Hence my mum having a 10 minute conversation at a bar in Philadephia trying to ask for a martini and lemonade.
Tough to recommend a good shandy, tbh. It’s a bit like asking what’s a good scotch and coke. You would ask for either a lager of a bitter shandy in a British pub - a lager shandy can hit the spot occasionally. You know when you’ve tanned the bevvy on a Friday night, and are a little unsure on the Saturday afternoon whether to go round 2? A quick lager shandy is a good barometer of one’s condition.
A bitter shandy carries the stronger taste of the beer through the lemonade, but the sweetness of the soft drink is so overwhelming that I wouldn’t start overthinking what combinations of ale to mix with the lemonade.
One “How’s Your Drink?” column in the weekend Wall Street Journal was dedicated to the beer and lemonade (shandy) mix.
It was definately invented in England. First, the column defined lemonade as Ginger Ale. England not being famous for it’s citrus.
Next, the article pointed out what was going on…your cutting a dark, heavy English beer with a high alcohol content (for beer) and turning it into a “light” beer…kinda sorta.
In the U.S. you don’t need to do this because our standard mass produced beer is Pilsner between 3.5 and 5% already. Remember what Paul McCartney said about American beer…it’s like sex in a canoe.
Anyhoo, the gist of the article said if you want authentic, find a dark strong English brew and cut it 50/50 with a good ginger ale. You may have to settle for Guiness Stout which isn’t quite authentic (being Irish).
If you want to stick with the beer + Lemonade concept of a shandy it’s just a matter of finding the right beer you like. (and yes the lemonade is definitely the Sprite/7up variety- I can’t imagine a shandy with US style lemonade ).
I’m not much of a shandy drinker myself but my wife likes lagers for a shandy. From my experience with American Beer, I found Sam Adams to be tolerably drinkable compared to a couple of Australian brands I like, so I would recommend making a shandy at home based on Sam Adams. (if you can get it? I understand it is a bit of a regional brand in the US?)
Two other options for you for the the mixer though, both of which are reasonable popular variations on the shandy here in Australia are:
Ginger Ale, (which has already been mentioned)
Sarsaparilla, (a pretty close approximation you’ll get to this is Root Beer.)
Give them a crack. My grandfather used to love mixing in some Sarsaparilla cordial into his beer.
Does the Wall Street Journal often just make stuff up? Because that’s rubbish.
England not famous for its citrus? What – us Limeys? Ginger isn’t native to the British Isles, either, you know.
Lemonade is made with lemons – hence the name. The most common American substitute (as previously mentioned) would be 7Up/Sprite.
And ginger ale? Good god no. How would that be authentic? If you used ginger beer (which is a very different drink) you’d have a shandygaff, which is certainly an authentic British drink, though not so common these days. If you want a shandy, though, it has to be lemonade.
The beer doesn’t have to be dark, either, or particularly strong. You certainly wouldn’t use Guinness.
In short, the writer in the Wall Street Journal doesn’t know what he’s on about.
WotNot covered most of this, but I’d also like to point out that a Guinness is also not a “strong” brew. At 4.1% ABV, it’s weaker than Bud (5%), MGD (4.7%) and even Bud Light and Miller Lite (both 4.2%).
In defense of Eric Felten (the writer of “How’s Your Drink”), I suggested Guinness because it’s a full flavor brew that might allow itself to be cut. I’ll take the blame for that.
As to the use of ginger ale or ginger beer…it’s here in the required Wiki link.
Unfortunately, so is lemonade. Ugh.
And while I cannot speak for Mr. Felten, I believe he was going for the traditional Shandy. This would be a drink before 7-up (1920) or Sprite (1961) would have been on the scene. Ginger Ale first appeared in the U. S. in 1866, and I now note that it was an imitation of British ginger beer.
I make mine the way a friend of mine’s British dad made them, with 3/4 a glass of beer (usually a pilsner, or lager), 1/4 Canada Dry Ginger Ale, and a small wedge of lemon squeezed in (or a couple squirts of RealLemon). I find sprite/7up doesn’t have the tanginess, nor the right flavor - but Ginger Ale & lemon does.
Well, and to see if Linda was listed explicitly.