Traditional British Shandy Recipe

A traditional British Shandy is a refreshing mix of lager beer and carbonated lemonade. It is the perfect refreshing summer beer drink that goes down very easy.

The drinking age in the UK is 18, and Shandy seems to have become the beverage for the young drinker in training.

It’s no secret that the Brits love their pubs and beer. When one turns the drinking age (or before, if no one is looking) it takes a while to develop your taste for beer.

I remember trying my dad’s beer for the first time and hated the taste. This is where the Shandy is the perfect sweet transition for developing the palette.

I have fond memories of my parents taking me on summer evenings to the pub, sitting outside in the warm evening sun, drinking a nice cold Shandy and feeling so grown-up.

The pub I loved the most was on the side of a cliff overlooking the ocean. Taking an elevator down the side of the cliff was the only way to access the pub.

It was perfectly acceptable for them to serve me a Shandy because of the low alcohol content. This makes it exempt from laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages.

The ‘Shandy’ name is derived from the old British name ‘Shandy-gaff’, which is a drink from the 1850’s of beer and ginger ale.

Shandy is a mix of equal parts of beer (lager) and lemonade. It must be fizzy lemonade. Also, no ice.

Ice is not served in beer and it doesn’t belong in this drink, just use very cold beer and lemonade.

Shandy can also be made with bitter, which is a light body, copper colored beer. When you ask for a Shandy in a pub you have state your preference and ask for a “lager Shandy” or a “bitter Shandy”.

It goes exceptionally well with summertime favorites like Heather’s Trailblazer Burger and Kristy’s Grilled Baby Back Ribs.

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