The Curious Case of the Shandy

27 Aug The Curious Case of the Shandy

By Andrew Dickey for Indiana On Tap 

Craft beer has many offshoots.

The success of Curious Traveler and others brings me to the subject of Shandies, specifically.  A lot of craft beer drinkers, brewers, and enthusiasts might not consider Shandies to be beer, and I understand.  As a fan of sours, I believe you can’t appreciate sour beers and like Shandies in the same way.  This is not just my opinion.  I have had this conversation with a LOT of beer drinkers who feel the same way.  But, the popularity of them is hard to ignore.  With so many beer cocktails being encouraged and totally acceptable, perhaps the Shandy has a place in our craft beer hearts.

The style is quite old, believe it or not. It actually originated in Europe.  The aristocracy used to blend champagne with ale, and the poor man would mix a soft drink such as lemonade or ginger ale with his beer to make it more refreshing in the summer.  As a former bartender, I can appreciate the art of making a fresh Shandy.  I remember being asked years ago by a guest to put a splash of lemonade in his Pilsner.  And in England, I have visited many pubs where they blend a local lager with cider.  There is history in the Shandy, and many people who don’t like beer enjoy them.  And beer makes its way into cocktails as well.

So, there was always tinkering with beer in bars, especially in Europe.  The Berliner Weise is sour, and I am sure it was one smart purveyor of drinks who created the syrups to sweeten them.  This was the original beer cocktail, albeit a simple one.  If you’ve never had a Berliner Weise with the syrup, it is an interesting experience to say the least.  And in England, the masses enjoy adding lemonade or soda to their beer, and this was traditionally what came to be called a Shandy.

Now, like all other styles of beer, the Shandy was visited by brewers looking for another light style.   Curious Traveler devotes their entire catalog to creative Shandies.  Leinenkugal has even abandoned their amazing Sunset Wheat to promote their very popular Summer Shandy.  They make a lot of very good fruit beer, so I do feel they can be trusted to pull off a respectable Shandy.  And while it’s very popular and people ask for it by name, serious ale drinkers scoff at the popularity of such drinks.

Again, this is understandable. Everyone’s taste buds are different, and women have more sensitive taste buds that are in tune with bitterness.  They comprise a larger percentage of Shandy drinkers than men.  They know what they like, and while I don’t find the style enjoyable or refreshing, I expect its legitimacy all the same.  My preference is for the freshly made Shandy in a bar where lemonade is added to the beer in front of the drinker, but I am pretty sure that most the people who like the ready-made Shandy’s aren’t even familiar with the origin of this unique beer style.

So, the Shandy is a very interesting topic.  It is a beer cocktail on every level, whether it is bottled that way, or created in a bar.  Beer has been mixed with other things throughout the ages, and I think that’s just fine.  Hey, beer drinkers are diverse, and Shandy drinkers are but one  of many segments of our craft beer population.  So while I don’t personally prefer the style,  it is a style all the same, and I can drink to that–(it just won’t be a Shandy). Cheers!