Spiced Pear Shandy
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

Notes from Journal (2015-2016?): short white head, strong aroma cider bubbly, ice tea color pour, nutmeg, cinnamon full bodied beer

Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a hazy copper color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is strong of pears, sweet. Taste is cinnamon, pears, a touch of apples, none of the sweetness in the aroma. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a refreshing and decent beer.

 

 

Canned Del Monte pear halves, strain the juice add a bit of cinnamon and drink. Wah-lah, one of my childhood favorites, but not really a good idea for a beer.

This beer is very unique. Totally tastes of cinnamon and pears as if someone canned pears and made it into beer. No bells and whistles just a straight up pear beer

Poured from the can into a nonic pint glass.

An off like amber body color somewhere between orange and muddy red, with clarity but also a hazy disposition. Head is a solid three fingers, bright white, and with a big styrofoam appearance and top.

Aroma is more akin to a mix of apple cinnamon powdered pancake mix. This smells more like apple than pear to me by far, but at least in a nice way. Minimal malt presence, or sensing wheat body. Has that sort of country store gift shop smell, which on its own is fine. A faint touch of powdered sweet spices just nicely too.

Palate delivers some interesting surprises. Slightly wet body but not terribly, and the flavors do manage to come through. Red apple and pear like flavors in the mid palate with some very nice spicy qualities. Good drying hints of cinnamon and clove like flavors, with a nice mixing sweetness. A good amount of that spicy mix and batter like flavor continue with a nice sharp heat.

A pretty decent spiced mixture, the fruit quality could be a little better though, and the sweetness is not overly large either.

 

 

 

 

Leinie's had an event this past Fall at the Station House Taproom which I happily attended. While there, the East Coast rep (!) imparts to me that a) they have an IPL coming on line in VERY limited release and b) a new mixed pack of CANs was also being made available. I then braced the regional rep for more info and was able to track down this group of joy. Ah, The CANQuest (TM)!

From the CAN: "The Pride of Chippewa Falls, Wis[CAN]sin Since 1867"; "A Refreshing Mix of Weiss Beer with Pear and Spice Flavors for a Balanced Taste[.]"; "A shandy is beer mixed with a little something extra, and our new Leinenkugel's (R) Spiced Pear Shandy is our refreshing winter beer inspired by the season. Made from a mix of our traditional Weiss beer and pear and spice flavors, our Spiced Pear Shandy has a balanced spiced pear taste with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg."

I Crack!ed it open and CANducted an inverted Glug since it was meant to be cloudy and this action would release any lees at the bottom of the CAN. I got two fingers of dense, very light-tan head with good retention from my efforts. Color was a hazy Amber to Deep Amber/Light Copper (SRM = > 9, < 13). Nose was redolent with pear and cinnamon odors. Mmmm. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium with a good bit of fizz from the CO2. The taste was more prevalently pear than cinnamon, although both were eminently perceptible. It is odd that pear would be the forerunner, but so be it. I suppose that the cinnamon could have been overwhelming, in which case, I would be CANplaining about that. Still, if it is "Spiced Pear", then either the spices should be in the forefront or the name needs to be revised. Finish was dry, mostly because of the spices, although pear does not generally add a lot of sugar, either. This was an odd beer/shandy & since it was a part of the Winter MIx pack, I might have put it in a double boiler & mulled it/heated it up. I have a feeling that it might be better warm than cold from the reefer. Interesting.

Pours a hazy, orange color. 2/3 inch head of an off-white color. Good retention and decent lacing. Smells of strong cinnamon, apple, slight pear, and slight pale malt. Fits the style of a Fruit / Vegetable Beer. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp, with a high carbonation level. Tastes of cinnamon, slight pear, apple, and slight pale malt. Overall, for a shandy its' not too bad, low complexity, but strong body and aroma.

 

12 fl oz. can, best by date March 07. 2016. Acquired a single can of this stuff as part of a mixed six pack at the local Binny's.

Poured into clear tulip-ish stemware.

A - Pours a murky golden-orange-brown colored body. A finger or so of thin fizzy frothy off-white head with decent staying power. Gives off a hazy cinnamon stick infused appearance. Interesting.

S - Strong aroma of fruity pear - sweet & syrupy, not an entirely authentic pear aroma. Has a definitely artificial / jolly rancher smell going on. Maybe some vague notes of cinnamon, but there isn't much spice or anything else going on here really. Jolly rancher / pear syrup all the way. Subtle notes of lemon / citrus.

T - Taste is the same: lots of sweetened syrupy jolly rancher / pear, and cinnamon sticks. Very appley & cinnamon-spiced. Tastes like something that might not be entirely too bad if it were warmed up a bit. No real semblance of actual 'beer' or weiss beer at all. Toddy-ish.

M - Overall, smooth, crisp, & drinkable stuff. Medium-bodied. The spice addition doesn't really make it quenching, but it's light and drinkable.

Overall, unique and interesting, I will give it credit for that. Props to Leinenkugel's on exploring uncharted territory. Would love to see more authentic craft-brewed examples of styles like this.

Leinenkugel's Spiced Pear Shandy -----3/5.

 

 

 

 

Pours dark honey colored with beautiful blonde highlights. A creamy crown cap sits atop the body and leaves a nice rocky froth. Thick hilly lace left behind. I wouldn't change much, it's pretty darn nice to look at.

I just sliced a bartlett pear and this is what I get on the nose. Ridiculously fruity and a soft malt backing make this a delight to smell.

The flavors don't quite come together as nicely. The pear has turned to a mushy mash, and there's quite a bit of stale grain and mineral water surrounding it. Overall it comes off as flat and uninspired. Much more of a mess than the two previous categories which were stellar.

Feel is delightfully creamy, as it should be, with an appropriate carbonation propping it up. Finish is slick and smooth.

Overall everything hits on target except for the taste which is the sin here. Unfortunately in a beer that's the most important factor. I've got a few of these left, I suppose I can choke them down in time.