Recipe For Beer And Lemonade

Freelance writer and cocktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and passion for preparing drinks.

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2, 000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Most beer mixed drinks are easy, but few are as simple as the shandy. This popular drink requires just two ingredients and it's the perfect way to give your favorite beer a citrus twist. The shandy is simply a 50-50 mix of beer and lemonade, and you can personalize it in many ways.

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First off, there are a lot of beers to choose from. Though everyone defines it a little differently, the best shandy will come from light, refreshing brews. Most people enjoy their shandy with a light lager, and it's a well-rounded choice. Wheat alesare an excellent option as well because many have a natural citrus profile. If you enjoy the hoppyIPAs, give a couple a try to see if any work for your taste. It's generally best to avoid dark beers.

The second ingredient requires just as much thought. Your shandy will only be as good as the lemonade, and it's highly recommended to make lemonade from scratch. It is very easy and you can make enough to fill an entire day with shandies.

With all these options and the fact that the shandy is so easy to mix up, there's really no need to buy a bottled shandy, which many brewers now offer. You'll find that the freshly made version is far more refreshing.

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To keep your shandy cold on a warm day, be sure to use a frosty pint glass or beer mug. Storing these glasses in the freezer is a great way to ensure you always have one on hand.

This basic recipe has a lot of room for experimentation, and there are lots of shandy recipes to keep you refreshed throughout the summer. Try them all and have fun giving it a personal spin!

Essentially, the final alcohol content of your shandy will be half the strength of whatever beer your pour. For example, if you choose Paulaner Hefeweizen (a very popular wheat beer that makes an excellent shandy), your drink will weigh in at just 2.75 percent ABV.

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Whether you’re a beer drinker or not, you need to try a lemonade beer at least once. It has to be tasted to be believed!

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Also called “shandy” or a “radler”, this lemonade beer is true to its name: lemonade and light beer stirred together and served cold!

Use a light beer in this recipe. (Sorry, dark beer lovers, but your stouts and porters will not taste good at all combined with lemonade.) Any light beer you enjoy sipping should taste great here.

And, yes, it does make the finished drink a bit more strong, but no more so than your average bottle of beer–remember you’re diluting the beer and rum with lots of lemonade.

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There’s plenty of opinions in the Radler vs. Shandy debate. So as to remain neutral, I’ll simple call this recipe Lemonade Beer.

These names both describe the exact same drink. From my understanding, the name shandy is used most often in Britain while Germans call their lemonade-beer combos a Radler.

Oh, and I know I have some readers out there who are NOT fans of beer. If you like lemonade, chances are good you’ll love this version anyway!

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And for those of you that cringe at the idea of drinking beer that’s been mixed with lemonade and cherry rum–don’t knock it ’til you try it.

Not a fan of cherry rum? Feel free to mix up the flavor! Use a regular white rum or try one of these fruity rum ideas:

Flavored vodka is also delicious as a rum alternative in lemonade beer. I can’t wait to try all kinds of variations this summer.

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Affiliate Disclosure:**There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting Shugary Sweets! See my disclosure policy for more info**. Munich Helles is a sweeter German lager originally created in response to the growing popularity of Czech Pilsner. Zitronenlimonade is a lemon flavored soda popular in Germany. A Radler is therefore low in alcohol (helles ABV is in the vicinity of 5%) and very refreshing.

For this post I used a German Pils and a sparkling lemonade I got at Trader Joe’s. The lemonade was a bit on the sweet side which is why I decided to go with the pilsner and its confident Noble hops bitterness instead of a helles.

If you don’t want your Radler to taste too sweet, I’d recommend using the San Pellegrino brand lemon soda. It tastes tarter and harder, very close to actual Zitronenlimonade. Or use a bitterer North German style pilsner to offset a sweeter sparkling lemonade.

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If you use a 1:1 ratio of lager to sparkling lemonade the ABV if half of that of the beer used. So a 5.2% ABV beer will translate to a beer lemonade with 2.6% ABV.

The name came about because a lot of recreational cyclists enjoyed the lager and sparkling lemonade combination. Those were riders who took on a picturesque but strenuous day trip

, a small town outside of Munich. Once there, they were all thirsty and an entrepreneurial local inn operator mixed the drink to cater to them.

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Those riders were able to make it back to Munich without incidents after enjoying a few drinks. The Radler became a veritable low alcohol refreshment icon.

Its popularity quickly transcended the boundaries of Bavaria and spread throughout Germany. Today in the North of the country the same cocktail is known as

. It is mixed with a German style Pils lager, which in North Germany happens to be a bit stronger and more bitter than the maltier, balanced Munich Helles.

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Typically (as in 99% of the time) there are no froufrou garnishes associated with a radler. But not always. Once while in Freiburg I was served a fancy version – adorned with a sprig of rosemary. Pretty good – the fragrance of rosemary does add an extra aromatic dimension as you bring the glass towards your nose.

). Today a lemon/lemon-lime flavored British carbonated soft drink known as clear lemonade or even Sprite /7UP are added to bitter, whereas the traditional Bavarian drink is all about the Zitronenlimonade.

If you enjoy a crisp lager with a squeeze of lime or lemon, you will enjoy a Radler. It’s just a little bit sweeter and so easy to drink that even if you down a glassa few faster than you would a beer, you will not instantly feel like the world is spinning.

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In fact, one of the tips Oktoberfest veterans frequently share with first time attendees is to make their first mass a radlermass, then eat something and then attack a proper Festbier mass.

In the North of Germany a radler is known as Alsterwasser. It is typically mixed with a stronger and bitterer lager than the South German Munich Helles. (German Pils lagers get stronger and bitterer as one travels from South to North).