ABV: 4.3%
IBU: 11
Availability: Seasonal, winter
@untappd says: 3.36/5
Shandy makes the windowsill dandy!
Here on the East Coast, we’re currently suffering through some fairly brutal winter weather. A week ago, it was nice enough that we could have gone to the beach. Just because winter is back for one last scare, doesn’t mean we can’t start getting in the spring and summer feel with a nice shandy. What’s a shandy, you ask? Legend has it that it was invented by a German man named Franz Kugler after a bicycle race in Munich in 1922. Kugler’s tavern was overrun with thirsty cyclists threatening to drink him out of house and home. To make his beer last, he began cutting it with lemonade and soda. The shandy was born.
The style is one of Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company‘s specialties, and they brew several flavors of it throughout the year. The Wisconsin-based brewery really knows what it’s doing, and they should; they’ve been in operation for 150 years. As for the Cranberry Ginger Shandy, Leinenkugel’s winter seasonal brew, it left me wanting more. Sure, it was sweet and refreshing, and good for a lazy afternoon, but there wasn’t enough flavor for me. It’s nice, but I wouldn’t rush out to buy one every winter.
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