This two-ingredient Summer Shandy is just the thing for a hot day with a pool party! You’re going to love this delicious drink that is tart and refreshing.
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About this Summer Shandy Recipe
If you love to enjoy a nice cold beer on a summer day, then you’re going to love this summer shandy cocktail recipe! Add in the zesty lemon flavors of your favorite lemonade and you’ve got a perfect beverage for those sun-splashed summer months.
This fun cocktail is essentially a beer version of an Arnold Palmer. Instead of sweet tea, use a traditional wheat beer — or just your favorite beer! Then you’ve got a fun, bright cocktail with a wonderfully crisp taste.
I have fond memories of this summery beverage too. I remember my grandparents enjoying an ice cold shandy on their patio on hot summer evenings. Isn’t that just a picturesque dream? Sitting in a comfy chair, watching the sunset and sipping on a cold cocktail.
Serve this fruity beer at picnics, cookouts, parties or simply as a nice evening beverage. If you’ve tried a Leinenkugel summer shandy craft beer, then you’re going to love this recipe! It’s just as tasty and is so easy to make!
More lemonade recipes: Limoncello Lemonade • Lynchburg Lemonade • Watermelon Lemonade
Why you’ll love this recipe
Next time you pickup your favorite beer, throw this recipe together for something extra refreshing and flavorful:
- This a super affordable cocktail since it’s just beer and lemonade! Two ingredients that you can buy at a great price.
- It’s really easy to make this beverage for parties. Serve a large crowd with this yummy lemony beer.
- A summer shandy pairs with so many different foods so it’s great for cookouts. It’s really versatile too, so you can make fun adjustments to the recipe as needed!
What is a shandy?
A shandy is the perfect summer beer cocktail! Traditionally, it’s a 50/50 mix of wheat beer and fresh lemonade. However, you can create tons of fun different combinations.
Some recipes, especially British ones, call for lemon-lime soda or sparkling lemonade to be used instead of lemonade. This is totally fine to use, but I prefer lemonade! Beer is fizzy enough to me and the lemonade tastes fresher.
You can use any kind of lemonade too! Flavored lemonade like strawberry lemonade or blueberry lemonade — or even limeade — will work for your own unique take on this cocktail.
If you want to make this with juice, you’re probably looking for a radler, which is more of a German thing. (A lot like the beermosa, to be honest.) But if lemonade is your thing, then you’re going to love this!
History of the Summer Shandy
The summer shandy was made popular by the brand Leinenkugel in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. When it hit shelves in 2007, it was an immediate hit. It quickly became a national favorite and even won a Silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in the Fruit Wheat Beer category in 2012.
Leinenkugel’s iconic summer shandy beer is made from their traditional weiss beer natural lemonade flavor. With this recipe, you can remake a Leinenkugel summer shandy beer — perfect for summertime.
Tools & glassware
To make this drink, you’ll need a jigger to measure out the two ingredients. And the only other thing that you need are glasses to serve the drink!
Since the recipe is essentially 50/50 lemonade and beer, you can use whatever kind of glass you want, but a pint glass is most common.
Best beer for a Summer Shandy
Wheat beers and light lager beers are the best to use for a summer shandy. Dark beer and stouts are not commonly used in this cocktail. Pilsner would also be a good choice for this recipe! And you can even use Christmas ale at the holidays!
If you’re not sure what brand to choose and what is best, then check out my beer 101 post.
Instructions
There’s only three steps to making a shandy! Follow these super easy instructions and you’ll be sipping on your beverage in no time:
Fill a glass halfway with chilled lemonade.
Top with a light beer. To avoid a heavy head of foam, hold the glass at a 45° angle and pour the beer against the side of the glass, slowly righting the glass as it fills up.
Then garnish with a lemon wedge, sprig of lemon — or nothing at all — and serve immediately!
Tips & tricks
Zesty lemons and crisp beer, what’s not to love? Follow these few tips and tricks for the best results:
- If you’re serving this on an especially hot day, feel free to add ice. It’s not traditional, but it’s a great way to keep it cold! A chilled glass is also a great way to enjoy it.
- For the best flavor, use homemade lemonade. Store-bought lemonade will work too but won’t have as bright and fresh of a flavor.
- Want a bubbly version? Add some ginger ale, soda or sparkling water. You can also make this drink sweeter with some simple syrup or honey.
Food pairings
Need some tasty fresh food pairing ideas to serve with this drink? I love to choose brighter foods, like cilantro pineapple salsa and homemade pita chips. It’d be great with chips and guacamole too.
Big batch meals like hamburgers or Ohio shredded chicken sandwiches would be a tasty pairing too. Hearty appetizers like chicken wings and popcorn shrimp are also great.
Easy BBQ chicken sandwiches and shrimp quesadillas would be a wonderful meal with a summer shanty.
FAQ
These two cocktails are similar, but not the same. Both use a light lager as a base and are mixed with something fruity. But a shandy is mixed with lemonade, while a radler can be mixed with any type of fruit juice!
Some people say it reminds them of fruity pebbles! It has a light, tart flavor and with a slightly bready flavor from the wheat beer.
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Summer Shandy
ingredients
- 4 ounces lemonade cold
- 4 ounces light beer such as a lager, wheat beer or pilsner, cold
instructions
- Fill a glass halfway with chilled lemonade.
- Hold the glass at a 45° angle, and pour in the beer. Aim for the side of the glass, slowly righting the glass as you pour.
- Garnish with a lemon wedge, sprig of mint or nothing at all and serve cold.
notes
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