Classic Shandy

Whether you’re sipping it poolside on a hot day or in front of the fire while snow falls outside, a lemon shandy tastes like summertime. Historians link it to a 19th-century British drink called the shandygaff, which combined beer with ginger ale. A few decades later, a Bavarian bartender created a similar concoction from lemonade and beer. He called his version a radler, the German word for cyclist, after the athletic customers who supposedly inspired the drink.

A typical shandy recipe might combine beer with lemonade, ginger ale, or ginger beer. It’s a flexible concept that can be made with any light beer, including pale ales, pilsners, or lagers. Beer drinkers are advised to save their hoppiest IPAs for straight sipping since they can overwhelm the bright citrus flavors of this beer cocktail.

You can customize your summer shandy recipe by swapping the lemonade for grapefruit juice to make a grapefruit shandy, or use equal parts cranberry juice and lemonade for a tart pink shandy. Not a lemonade fan? Make limeade with fresh lime juice and combine with wheat beer for an especially refreshing summer drink.

Serve your lemon shandy in a chilled pint glass and garnish with a lemon slice, if desired.