Who Buys Shandies?

Lol, funny stuff. So what makes a shandy in a bar? Lemonade I expect.

 

I played college soccer and we did a 2 week trip during August in Germany and hit a few festivals...all the folks told us soccer players drank them, however it was with 7up and not lemonade.

Can’t say I buy many now, save for some of the fruited UFO’s or a single here and there

 

I think lemon notes would go beautifully in an IPA, but I probably wouldn't add lemonade to get it... to each their own though. If it tastes good, enjoy it!

 

in college we used to buy Leinenkugel lemonade shandy only because the girls we used to hang out with would drink them like water

ahh OSU, buy a case or a bottle and you'd get so much more

 

Heard the same thing in Berlin about Berliner Weisse.

 

Though I don't care much for Shandies, in college on hot summer days we would drink Schlitz Twists; Schlitz Malt Liquor on ice with a twist of lemon. The fresh real lemon made it quite a bit better than a Shandy. Or that could be faulty memory...

 

Same here. It also seems no one wants to buy anything labelled Oktoberfest, once Nov. 1st rolls around.

 

Shandys (shandies?) are awesome. Radlers too; they are pretty much the same thing, right?
But I’m a huge sucker for beer cocktails. Love me a good michelada, and I’ve been known to enjoy a carbomb or two in my time...
Unfortunately, many commercial ones suck. Some of the best shandys I’ve had have been homebrewed. Hefe base with 30% fruit juice can be a beautiful thing on a hot summer day...

 

I've heard of a banana mixede hefe done in germany, but didn't get the chance to try one while there. Sounded good for a try.

 

Had one in Vegas by the pool in 108 degree weather. Don't care what you people say it was great stuff in that setting.

 

Drank my share of Schlitz Malt Liquor in my much younger days but never thought about adding a lemon twist. I would think it would take more than a lemon twist to make the brew “better”. I generally recall faulty memory associated with SML. Hmm...?

 

I was introduced to radlers my first time in Munich. I really enjoyed them and either buy a few during the summer or make them myself with Sprite. Very refreshing after yardwork.

 

Who buys shandies? People who want their beer to taste like juice but aren't cool enough to stand in line for hours to buy cans.

 

people who like really sweet calorie bombs that don't get you buzzed maybe?

 

I buy shandy's. They are a guilty pleasure that was brought upon a good bartender. Typical New England summer day, 90 degrees with almost 100% humidity. Just finished playing a round of golf, we go to a favorite beer bar for lunch. Before we sit down in our seats the bartender has 4 pints of Curious Traveler Lemon Sandy poured. That was one of the best thirst quenching brews that I have ever had. That is a summer staple in my kegerator.

Now why they become shelf turds, maybe they ordered too much, distributor pushed it as a buy this to get this deal. Everything has it season, at the end you gotta move excess inventory. Whether it is Oktoberfest's, pumpkin, winter brews, shit I have seen price reductions of SN Celebration. Enjoy all beer styles, not just the latest and greatest.

 

Man my sister in law brought some of those over and I set them out on the curb a week later, she left them in my fridge. My wife asked why I threw them out and I told her I was scared it would ruin the other beer in the fridge. I think if they are well done then ok that is fine, I even had a radler the other day, as it had the lowest ABV on the taplist and I didn't want anything heavy. But that beer she brought tasted terrible.

 

What I never understood about shandies and radlers is:

If that's what you want to drink, why not make them yourself? Seems like you can then pick your own flavor of pop and beer/pop ratio. Gotta be cheaper, too.

Why do most US-brewed ones have "normal" ABV of 4-5%? If the point of them is to drink a low ABV beverage (a 5% beer cut with adding 50% of a soft drink), seems to me that brewery-made product are counter to that concept and, given the ABV, they are obvious NOT simply a blend of their beer and pop but an extract/flavoring addition.

Bartenders in UK pubs said the same thing about a short list of bottled beers I had which included beers like barley wines Bass No. 1 (10.5%) and Whitbread Gold Label (10.9%), and Courage Imperial Russian Stout (10%). We were drinking cask ale but I figured I'd pick up the bottles (none exported to the US regularly) for bringing back home.

 

I buy them and make them, great for summer, great for picnics, great for breakfast when camping, awesome for BBQ's where maybe you have to drive home and don't want to go over the limit, all around enjoyable.

 

I would think that most people who really like this sort of thing, would prefer to buy good beer, and add a much or as little lemonade themselves, to their own liking. Just as people prefer to add their own preference of sugar and cream to their coffee. If so, then the pre-mixed canned stuff would only appeal for the convenience factor... parties, beach, etc. But I also suspect there are a lot of folks who never even thought of the idea until these shandies started showing up at the grocery store.

Personally, I would think that alternating a beer and then a lemonade would be better, than mixing them together.