Shandy

A shandy, or shandygaff, is beer mixed with citrus-flavored soda, carbonated lemonade, ginger beer, ginger ale, or cider. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste, normally half-and-half. There are also non-alcoholic shandy mixes known as “rock shandies”.

A shandy containing beer and cider is called a snakebite.

In some parts of the United Kingdom, the word "shandy" is also used colloquially as a euphemism for "alcoholic drink". To say that someone "had a few shandies" does not necessarily mean that he drank shandies exclusively, or at all. Rather, it is implied that he drank a large quantity of alcohol.

In some jurisdictions, the low alcohol content of shandy makes it exempt from laws that govern the sale of alcoholic beverages.

Regional variants

• Argentina: Quianti is beer mixed with orange-flavoured soda (Fanta).

• Australia:
  • Portagaff is made with a 1:2 or 1:1 mixture of lemonade and stout. Particularly popular in South Australia. Sometimes called a Black Shandy.
  • Shandy is made with 1:2 or 1:1 mixture of lemonade and either light or heavy beer, most commonly lagers.

• Austria: An Almradler is made with a 60/40 mix of popular Austrian Almdudler soda (a traditional Alpine herb drink that tastes a bit like a ginger ale) and pils or lager beer. A 50/50 blend is marketed by Puntigamer in bottles and cans.

• Belgium
  • Flanders: Kivela (Finnish > “land of stone”) A mixture of German lemonade and lager. Spavola (Italian > "bubbling water") a mixture of sparkling mineral water and lager. Mazout is a mixture of cola and lager.
  • Wallonia: Diabolo (“devil”), a lager mixed with mint or grenadine.
  • Brussels: Tango, dark beer with grenadine.

• Canada: Black Shandy, a mixture of stout beer with lemon soda. Also described as a Guinness Shandy. (See also Australia: Portagaff).

• Chile: Fan-schop, a mixture of draught beer with Fanta orange soda.

• Colombia: Refajo, a mixture of lager beer with red cola-style soda like Kola Román or Colombiana.

• France:
  • In France and Switzerland, a panaché (meaning "mixed") is beer mixed with limonade (French-style lemonade, which is lemon-flavoured soda or soda water).
  • A monaco is a panaché with grenadine added.

• Italy: A "Bici" or "Bicicletta" or "Ciclista" (Italian for Radler) is a mixture of beer with gassosa (or gazzosa), traditional Italian lemon soda.

• Japan: Shandygaff, a mixture of beer and cola or ginger ale.^{[citation needed]}

• Mexico: In Southern Mexico in the states of Tabasco and Chiapas, a mix of half natural lemonade and beer is called "Cerveza con Limonada" (Beer with Lemonade) or "Limonada con Cerveza" (Lemonade with Beer).

• Netherlands: A Snowwhite (sneeuwwitje) is a mixture of beer and 7 Up.

• New Zealand: The names Reldar (Radler spelled backwards) and Cyclist (literal meaning of Radler) are used because a large corporation has trademarked the word Radler.

• Peru: Quara [1], a mixture of barley and fruits, made by SAB Miller Brewery in Lima. Particularly popular with girls.

• Portugal: Called indiscriminately either a Panache or a Shandy, it is a drink popularized by the European tourists who brought the drink here. It is made with draft beer mixed with carbonated lemonade or a lemon-flavoured soft drink (often 7 Up or Sprite).

• Spain:
  • Called a Clara or Clara con limón if it’s made with sweet carbonated lemon soda (Clara Spanish > “Clear Lemonade”).
  • When made with carbonated soda-water, whether it is lemon-flavored or not, it is called Clara limón gaseosa ("Lemon Soda").
  • In some other parts of Spain, a mixture of beer and sweet lemon-lime soda is called a Champú ("shampoo").
  • It is called a Pica / Pika ("Sting" or "Bite") in the Basque Country.
  • It is called a Lejía ("chlorine bleach") in parts of Guipuscoa.
  • In Andalusia, Cruzcampo sells canned Cruzcampo Shandy widely.

• Switzerland: Called either a Panaché [Swiss French] or Panasch [Swiss German]. In the canton of Valais, the Swiss-French call it "Bière-lime".

• United Kingdom:
  • In the United Kingdom, shandy is beer mixed with carbonated lemonade. It may be purchased as a low-alcohol soda or it may be mixed at a bar to create a drink of 2% to 3.5% alcohol by volume.
  • Fentimans, a brewery in Hexham, markets a lemonade-based shandy made of a 70%:30% mixture of beer and carbonated lemonade rated at 0.5% ABV (1 proof). It is available in the United States through Lion Brewery, Inc.
  • In some parts of Britain, a popular variant is the “lager top,” in which a small measure of clear lemonade or lime juice is added to the lager — usually about an inch.
  • In the southern part of the United Kingdom, a "Fantandi" is a 3:7 mix of orange soda and lager.

• United States:
  • A Brass Monkey - for which a Beastie Boys song is named - is composed of equal parts orange juice and beer. Another recipe is composed of 40 US fl oz (1,200 ml) bottle of malt liquor/beer, with the top portion found in the neck - roughly 25% - emptied out and replaced with orange juice, replicating the flavor of a standard shandy.
  • In the midwestern USA, a "Cincinnati" is a 1:2 mixture of lemon-lime soda (i.e., Sprite or 7 Up) and beer.
  • In Texas, a lager mixed with lime juice is called a Gringo Honeymoon.

• West Indies: Shandies include beer mixed with ginger ale, citrus soda, or sorrel flavor.

Variants by name

Shandygaff

In the United Kingdom, a shandygaff is beer mixed with ginger beer or ginger ale.

In H.G. Wells’s comic novel The History of Mr. Polly, Wells refers to shandygaff as “two bottles of beer mixed with ginger beer in a round-bellied jug.”

Biermischgetränke

Biermischgetränke (“beer-based mixed drinks”) are popular in Germany. Sometimes non-alcoholic beer is used, so that the drink has no significant alcohol content. A common ingredient of these drinks is German-style carbonated lemonade. Since a 1993 change in German tax law, Biermischgetränke are also sold pre-mixed in bottles.

In Berlin and eastern Germany the Potsdamer, a 50%/50% mixture of light-coloured beer and flavoured soda, is a popular drink. The soda used in a Potsdamer is flavoured with a shot of raspberry syrup, giving it a red colour. (To follow custom and control the size of the head, one should fill a 0.5 L glass halfway with the soda first, and then pour the beer.)

The Whizz Peach, made by the private Wilhelm Rummel Brewery in Darmstadt, is made with 50% Kristallweizen (filtered wheat beer) and 50% peach-flavored lemonade.

The Berliner Weisse mit Schuss is made from a light Weißbier (white beer) mixed with a Schuss (“shot”) of sweet syrup instead of soda. It comes in three standard varieties: the Grün ("green") with Waldmeistersirup, a Woodruff flavoured syrup; the Gelb ("yellow") with a shot of Zitronensirup ("lemon syrup"); and the Rot ("red"), with a shot of Himbeersirup ("raspberry syrup").

In France, a Demi-peche combines French beer and a shot of peach syrup.

Radler

Comparison of a Radler (left) and a Pilsner (right).

The Radler ("cyclist") is a Biermischgetränk that has a long history in German-speaking regions. It consists of a 50:50 or 60:40 mixture of beer and German-style lemonade (not American-style lemonade but sparkling lemon soda (e.g., Sprite or 7 Up)).

In northern Germany, a half-and-half made of pilsner beer and lemon soda is known as an Alster (short for Alsterwasser).

In southern Germany, a mix of Weißbier and lemon soda is called a Russ'n (“Russian”).^{[citation needed]}

The invention of the Radler has been widely attributed to the Munich gastronomer Franz Xaver Kugler in 1922. However, the recipe for the Radler had been mentioned as early as 1912. Nowadays the Radler is drunk not only in Bavaria but in all of Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.

During the summer months, the Radler is very popular due to its reputation of being a thirst-quencher.

A Mazout is a common drink in Flanders, made from a lager such as Jupiler, Maes pils, or Stella Artois and Coca-Cola.

In Germany, lager beer mixed with cola is called a Diesel, Colabier, Gespritzter. There are several regional differences in name and composition:

• Hefeweizen mixed with cola is called a Colaweizen.
• Weißbier mixed with cola is called a Flieger (Aviator), Neger (Negro), or Turbo.
• Pilsner or Altbier and cola is a Diesel or Krefelder.
• A Brummbär (Grouch) is stout or porter mixed with cola.
• An Altbier Cola is made with Altbier, cola, and a shot of Kirsch.
• A Greifswalder, a shandy which is very popular in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, is made with Köstritzer (a type of dark lager) mixed with cola.

In New Zealand, the term "radler" was controversially trademarked by DB Breweries for its "Monteith's Radler" beer, which is a citrus-flavoured, full-strength (5%) beer.

Diesel

A Diesel in the United Kingdom is a combination of half a pint of lager and half a pint of cider, finished with a dash of blackcurrant cordial, which gives the drink a red colour similar to that of agricultural diesel fuel. This drink is also commonly known as Snakebite and Black.

A Diesel with a shot of Pernod is called a Red Witch.

In Slovenia, the preferred method is to prepare it using Cockta soda instead of cider.

In Italy, lager beer mixed with Coca-Cola is called a Diesel.

Variants made with added liquor

The Bavarian Goaßmaß (“goat stein”) is a 50%/50% or 60%/40% mixture of dark Weizenbier and cola, with a shot of Kirsch. It is served in a one-liter stein called a “Maß”. There is also a Goaßhalbe (“half goat”), which is served in a 0.5-liter glass.

The Berliner Weisse mit Strippe (“Weisse with a ribbon [of alcohol]”) is made with a shot of Korn liquor or Kümmel.

A turbo shandy is made with lager and a citrus-flavoured or lemonade-based alcopop (e.g., Smirnoff Ice or Mike's Hard Lemonade). It is sometimes fortified with a shot or more of vodka.

Made with sparkling wine

The Heller Moritz is Hefeweizen served with a piccolo (Italian:“small bottle”) of champagne and a slice of lemon.

The “Bismarck,” named for a favorite drink of Germany’s “Iron Chancellor,” is made with 50% Köstritzer (a Schwarzbier) and 50% champagne. It is served in a beer stein and is similar to a Black Velvet.

The Thuringian Kalte Ente (“Cold Duck”) is 66% pilsner and 33% German lemonade with a shot of Kirsch.

The Bierkut is 50% pilsner mixed with 50% vodka and orange juice.

The Mass und Schuss is a liter of beer served with a schuss (“shot” of hard alcohol) on the side. The Laterndl is prepared by putting a shot-glass of Kirschwasser ("Sour Cherry Brandy") at the bottom of the Mass before pouring in the beer, making it a sort of reverse “Depthcharge”.

The Dr Pepper Shandy is a mix of lager with amaretto. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste, generally somewhere between three and five parts beer to one part amaretto. The name is derived from Dr Pepper soda which tastes comparable.

The soju shandy is a Korean version that includes a shot of Korean soju.

Rock shandy (non-alcoholic shandy)

In Ireland, a non-alcoholic half-and-half mix of fizzy orange and lemon soft drinks is popular, and described as a rock shandy. It can be mixed by the drinker from the two ingredients, or bought as a pre-mixed product. The website of the manufacturer claims that the name arose when the managing director of the company was a member of the Blackrock Swimming Club in Dublin. After training, he would drink a half-and-half cocktail of orange and lemon squash at a local pub, and it became known as rock shandy, after Blackrock.

In South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, a rock shandy is made up of half soda water, half lemonade and copious quantities of ice, usually with a few dashes of angostura bitters for flavour. In Southern Africa, a popular variation is the Malawi Shandy, which is made from half lemonade, half ginger beer, and a few dashes of Angostura bitters. In Germany and Austria, the Spezial, or Spezi is a non-alcoholic drink with half orange lemonade and half cola. It is a traditional drink that is very popular among children.

A rock shandy recipe from French chef Jacques Pépin that goes back to colonial times consists of lime juice, Angostura bitters, water and ice.

In Iceland, a non-alcoholic half-and-half mix called Jólabland (en: Christmas Mix) is a local variation of rock shandy which especially is enjoyed at Christmas. Jólabland consists of of a fizzy orange flavored soft drink and a brown ale (preferably the local Icelandic Egils Appelsin or en: Egil's Orange and Egils Malt or en: Egil's Malt, but Fanta and e.g. Guinness (or a similar malt ale) can also be used, though it would be more similar to a shandy rather than a rock shandy, because of the alcohol content. Some Icelanders also, while abroad, substitute Egils Malt with a Ginger Ale to get a similar non-alcoholic drink. One possible explanation for Iceland's non-alcoholic variety of shandy, may simply be that beer/ale with alcohol was prohibited until 1989 (since the prohibition).

See also

• Beer cocktail
• Cerveza preparada
• Michelada
• Snakebite (shandy)

External links

• Pimp Your Beer: Micheladas, Shandies And Other Cocktails Using Beer
• Magical blends