Steamy days and muggy nights naturally lend themselves to thoughts of cold and refreshing libations and perhaps nothing smacks of summer like an ice cold shandy. This tart and refreshing beer based concoction has garnered itself a reputation as a bit of a girlie drink, but I would argue that the flexibility of this seasonal favorite makes it a potential favorite for just about anyone.A shandy, or shandygaff, is quite simply a mixture of beer and soda or juice, typically in half and half proportions. Britain purports to have originated the drink, and there lemonade is the most typical mixer, although ginger ale is also fairly common. In The History of Mr. Polly (1910), H.G. Wells describes a shandygaff as consisting of two pints of beer and two bottles of ginger beer. Some recipes call for carbonated, or French style, lemonade but truly a more tart, robust variety is what makes a shandy so refreshing. Another popular style in Britain is called a lager-top, where the ratio is around 80% lager, topped off with lemonade.
The German version of the drink, the Radler (cyclist) is attributed to Franz Xavar Kugler, owner of a guesthouse in Bavaria. One day in 1922,Herr Kugler, upon realizing that he did not have an ample supply of dark beer to satisfy the cyclists and mountain hikers in his establishment, invented the radler by combining his remaining dark beer with lemon-lime soda. Today, a German radler is more typically made with a pilsner style beer.
Variations have abounded, particularly in Germany. For example, the Colaweisen, which combines beer (usually a hefeweizen, or wheat beer) with cola. For the more daring, there is the somewhat daunting Bananaweizen, which combines banana nectar with hefeweizen (usually in a 1:4 or 1:5 ratio because of the thickness of the nectar). I did (a bit reluctantly) try a bananaweizen in Bavaria and was pleasantly surprised at the interesting blend of flavors, although I found it too sweet to finish (read: yes, this one is definitely a sorority girl drink).
Several bottled varieties of shandies have popped up over the last few years, but I have yet to taste one that I would want to drink again. So play with this one, mix it up, find your perfect combination and while away the summer days while they're still here!
Cheers from the Bar Fly!
