Fancy a shandy?
I’ll be honest, it seems to be more of a European drink. When I mention shandy to my friends I get one of two reactions; a confused look or a turned up nose. I’m not really sure why the bad rap. Maybe because the version Americans have been exposed to the most are the mass manufactured, pre-bottled, come in a 6-pack variety. I’ve had some of that and let me tell you it almost ruined shandy for me for good. For a long time I thought that all shandies were just weird tasting beer with an odd aftertaste.
On a whim, I decided to revisit the shandy this summer. What actually happened was one of my kids decided to set up a lemonade stand not realizing that we had no cups and no change, which are two key items needed to run a successful lemonade stand. We did however have some lemonade mix and a few lemons sitting around. They’d made up a whole gallon of lemonade before realizing the no cups and no money situation. For a food curious gal like me it’s a natural progression of events that I would do some experimentation with our excess of lemonade supply.
Let me tell you, I was stunned to discover that freshly mixed shandy is actually delightful! Add strawberries and it’s doubly refreshing and delightful! What started as lemonade experiments has turned into a full on obsession for me.
This strawberry lemonade shandy is:
Light
Fresh
Tart
Sweet
Bubbly
With tart sliced lemons and sweet fresh strawberries, this drink is pure sun-kissed lazy summer days in a glass. I could sip on it all evening long and not get tired of it and also not suffer any adverse effects from it. This thirst quencher though technically an alcoholic drink, when mixed has a very, very low alcohol content. In fact, in some areas the low alcohol content of shandies makes them exempt from laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages. If you needed another reason to give shandies a try, how bout this? They are easy on your wallet.
It’s cheap to put together, sometimes referred to as “poor man’s champagne,” and costs only a few dollars unlike some summer cocktails. So mix up a pitcher of lemonade, crack open a cold one, discover the beauty of a simple strawberry lemonade shandy and put your feet up darling!
Strawberry Lemonade Shandy
With tart sliced lemons and sweet fresh strawberries, Strawberry Lemonade Shandy is pure sun-kissed lazy summer days in a glass.
Ingredients
- Strawberry lemonade mix, (I use Country TIme)
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1 lemon thinly sliced and seeds picked out
- Beer
Instructions
- Prepare your strawberry lemonade. Add the strawberries and lemons to the lemonade. Mix 50/50 with cold beer and serve.
Rosina Harter
Monday 10th of June 2019
That sounds awesome! I need a bit of shandy in my life!
Amy D
Wednesday 12th of June 2019
I've been thinking the same thing this week!
Sam @ SugarSpunRun
Monday 29th of June 2015
I think you've convinced me to try out a shandy--I've never had one! This recipe sounds like something I would enjoy, though!
Colleen Cadiz
Thursday 25th of June 2015
Beautiful photos! And this recipe looks amazing! xoxo
A_Boleyn
Wednesday 24th of June 2015
I'm visiting from Frigg.com where I'm Lara_Quinn cause I wanted to say hi. I've been known to throw together more than a few jugs of raspberry lemonade but never strawberry. The blueberry pie you posted looks lovely as well.
I started my internet food posting on LiveJournal as A_Boleyn and things evolved from there.
http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/
These days, I'm cross posting to a blog on WordPress too.
A_Boleyn
Wednesday 24th of June 2015
Oops ... just realized you didn't post the blueberry pie that I mentioned.
Michelle @ Blackberry Babe
Monday 22nd of June 2015
I absolutely love shandy, but I've never made it at home! Yumming and pinning.Thanks for sharing, and glad to meet another MO blogger!