Cooking and Drinking – Summer Shandy

Here’s another recipe from the beer cookbook/pairing guide that my mom and I worked on a couple years ago.  This beer mixer was intended to open up a very nice “Backyard BBQ” menu that we put together.  A Shandy is a brilliant way to quench your thirst on a hot day.  If you’ve never had one, I would highly recommend it… and not the Leinenkugel version.  Take the time to press the lemons and mix it yourself.  Even people who generally don’t like beer will thank you for this Shandy recipe.

Summer Shandy

4 oz. Fresh Lemonade (recipe below)

12 oz. Recommended Beer

Fresh Lemonade

1 cup Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed)

0.75 cups Baker’s Sugar
3 cups Water

Squeeze lemons until one cup of juice is collected.  Run juice through a strainer to remove the pulp and seeds.  Add water and sugar.  Stir until sugar is dissolved and refrigerate. 

Mix the lager and lemonade and gently stir until combined. 

Beer Recommendation: 

August Schell Brewing Co. (New Ulm, MN) – Lakemaid

American Lager (seasonal availability; May)

Charcoal briquettes; check.  Matches; check.  Sprinkler for the kids to run through; check.  Holy crap… it’s hot outside.  There may be no better beverage to welcome your friends into this sizzling summer paradise than an ice cold Shandy. 

Though there are dozens of versions of this refreshing beer cocktail, the classic concept is a simple mixture of beer and lemonade.  The Shandy has been floating around Europe for few hundred years and the name is said to come from the German word “schande”, which, ironically, means “shame” or “disgrace”.  This embarrassing namesake likely stems from the German Beer Purity Law of 1516 where adjuncts and “impure” additions (like lemonade) were banned from brewing.  But despite this undesirable baggage, it has lived on as a revitalizing, low alcohol, sweet and citrusy infusion that people can enjoy on a hot day and remain somewhat sober.  For that reason, Shandies are a favorite of cyclists and barbeque enthusiasts.

The key to a good Shandy is fresh lemons.  You’ve got to squeeze those guys yourself and then get that juice down to just above freezing before you mix your drink.  The colder the better.  August Schell’s (they of fishing lure fame) Lakemaid makes a perfect conduit for this concoction.  Only available in limited quantities in the Upper Midwest at the beginning of fishing season, this lager is crisp, clean, and literally designed for refreshment.

Glassware – Imperial Pint Glass

ABV – 4.8%
Serving Temperature – 35°F

Possible Substitutions:  

Wasatch Brew Pub & Brewery (Park City, UT) – 1^st Amendment Lager

American Lager (available year round)

This all-malt lager celebrates our freedom of religion, press, and expression by being crazy clean and crisp.  Its Utah regulated alcohol restriction makes this Shandy even more “sessionable”, so go ahead and have a couple.

Great Northern Brewing Co. (Whitefish, MT) – Black Star Double Hopped Golden Lager

American Pilsner (available year round)

Black Star also makes a nice Shandy.  The delicate noble hops add a little bit of floral spice to the bouquet (from the later addition of the titular “double hopped”) and the pilsner body is a perfect platform for sweet lemonade.

Last Resort: 

Your local American lager or pilsner.

-Matt