Fentimans Full Bodied Shandy
Fentimans Ltd.

 

Wow--what's crazy about this is Hoppin Frog does a Shandy that tastes very similar than this, but is like 10x the strength! Nice sugary lemonade flavor with a sort of lemon meringue pie essence, very drinkable and light, not tart at all.

Sampling right now on 12/22/15. Picked up a 4-pack of this that was on-sale for $4.00 at the local Hy-Vee. Comes in a 275ml (9.2 ounce) nice looking old-fashioned beer bottle. Bottle chilled down to 36 degrees F in my beer cooler and poured in to a vintage 10-ounce "COOR'S" glass.

Pours a pale golden-yellow in color with a good 1-finger foamy white head. A decent amount of sticky lacing is seen when sipped that stuck to the sides of the glass. Aroma is close to like a 'Ginger Beer' with a hint of lemon-lime also. Taste is pretty close and is like a 'soda light' with the perfect amount of sweetness. Really tasty and goes down easy. Lighter-bodied with good carbonation as would be expected.

275mL bottle, no date, served in a shaker pint glass.

Appearance: Clear light golden yellow. Thin white ring of foam with an occasional strand and island of persistent lacing.

Smell: A whiff of grain and a bit of lemon and lime.

Taste: A tasty lemon-lime soda flavor up front that blends into a grainy underlying simple ale. I can briefly detect some tea-like bitterness, but then it's gone.

Mouthfeel: Fizzy, but not overly so. Not too thin - definitely a bit soda-like.

Overall / Drinkability: Nothing special - it is exactly what it claims to be - a full bodied traditional Shandy. Easily drinkable and would be great on a hot day. Went well with a meal (spaghetti and meatballs) and I suspect would pair with lots of things. Definitely worth picking up again for a low-alcohol beer.

 

 

 

 

 

A: Pours a hazy dark golden yellow in color with light amounts of active visible carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass, moderate to significant amounts of large dark particles of sediment in suspension throughout the glass, and some faint golden honey highlights. The beer has a quarter finger tall fizzy foamy beige head that quickly reduces to a medium sized patch of very thin film and a very thin ring at the edges of the glass. Minimal amounts of lacing are observed.

S: There is a light to moderate aroma of lemon lime soda and just the faintest hint of grainy malts underneath it.

T: Upfront there is a very light flavor of slightly sweet grainy malts with a touch of tea and ginger. That is followed by slightly strong flavors of lemon lime soda with a light amount of artificial sweetness. There is no detectable hops or bitterness to this beer.

M: Slightly heavier than light bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation.

O: Tastes just like I remember shandy tasting when I first sampled it in the UK in the early 2000s and it is not really distinguishable from the versions that contain alcohol. Refreshing on a hot afternoon and easy to drink but not something I would rush out to grab again. The amount of sediment in suspension is really unattractive in this brew - makes me wonder how long this was sitting on the shelf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

JAN 10, 2009
Saw this at a local organic bakery, and "Shandy with traditionally brewed beer" jumped out at me from the label. At only 0.5% ABV this qualifies as a low alcohol beer. Review from written notes.

Served in a Liefmans flute, it poured a yellow gold, slightly orange at the top, and a paler shade of yellow at the meniscus of the glass. Carbonation trails raced through it, with some CO2 clinging to the sides, with spotty lacing. Head retention was actually decent, and not fizzy like soda.

Lemon tonic water aroma, slight sweetness of lemonade. Authentic lemon juice citrus flavor, mildly sweet, with a pale malt aftertaste, and lingering lemon peel bitterness. Somewhat prickly carbonation without feeling gassy or fizzy. Overall very traditional without any artificial impression. Probably would work well as a mixer...

The brew is clear yellow straw colored, has a white sparse head that dissipates quickly, but leaves some lacing. No curtains.

Smells of lemonade, nearly like Danish Citronvann.

Starts a bit sweet, lemon juice, lemonade, then a metallic bitter finish.

Little carbonation, slightly sticky, a small body, a dry almost coarse finish.

As an alternative to lemon soda it's quite ok. Not as a beer, or a shandy.

275ml twist off brown bottle.

It pours very nicely actually. It is a clear gold with a foamy bright white head that sticks for a bit and recedes to some thick lacing.

I'm not sure about the smell. IT smells like if you juiced a lemon and let that little cup of juice sit out in the sun on a summer day and then smell it at the end.

The flavor is super sweet and cloying. The malt is lifeless and buttery. The sweetness is the main flavor, maybe a hint of lemon.

This is pretty bad even for soda standards.

Thanks to my brother for sharing this beer with me last December. This was my first non-alcoholic beer but I have tried others since then. This is sold with the other sodas, but the label says it contains malt and hops so it is technically a low-alcohol beer, not a soda like some of the other Fentimans drinks.

The beer pours an orangish-amber color with a white head that quickly dissipates. The aroma is ginger and lemons, smelling about like Lipton Lemon tea smells. The flavor is heavy on the lemon with some ginger notes. As expected, there is no alcohol or hop presence. Thin mouthfeel and high carbonation. This is not real similar to a beer, but it is easy drinking and would be nice on a hot day. For a thirst quencher, this would be a good choice.