The Cocktail Made for Hours of Sunny Day Drinking

Photo credit: StockFood / Foodcollection

The shandy is a mighty thing: The beer-citrus-sugar hybrid is ideal for porch sessions and barbecues, it’s easy on the eyes, and it’s a snap to execute.

And although the golden elixir pictured here looks at first to be simply, you know, beer, it’s secretly So Much More. Shandies are:

Ideal for work parties. This glass has got the look of a full drink, right? But it’s a chameleon: Typically a good glug of it is lime or lemon juice. That means you’re staying a good quarter drink behind the boss lady. Now just remember to stay that way. (Put down that tequila shot. Do it.)

Food-friendly. Pilsner, which the below shandy recipe employs, is a famously food pairing-friendly beer. And citrus is such a flexible flavor that you can be just as happy sipping this alongside a platter of salmon or a few carnitas tacos.

You can tweak it in cool historical ways. As this Saveur article notes, there’s a British variation of the shandy involving equal parts beer and ginger beer (with no citrus) called the shandygaff, which may trace right on back to Henry VIII!

Really pretty. There’s a lot to be said for a golden glint of sunshine creeping into your shandy as you sip one outside. A lot.

Lime Shandies
From Everyday Food
Makes 4

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
4 teaspoons sugar
4 light-bodied beers, such as pilsner
Lime wedges, for garnish

In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice and sugar until sugar dissolves. Divide mixture among 4 tall glasses and top with beer. Garnish each with a lime wedge and serve immediately.

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