A traditional British Shandy has had little problem with translation in crossing the pond. The difference in what you will be served in an American bar, as opposed to a British pub, if you ask for a Shandy may surprise you.
With England advancing to the semi-finals in the World Cup in a few hours, I think this is a very timely post!
If it’s hot where you are, this would be the PERFECT beverage to serve to watch the game. (As long as your time zone cooperates if you’re watching it live.)
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I discovered something last year when I was out with a friend for a drink and nibbles. As we sat at the bar of the restaurant here in LA, we were watching the bartender and talking to him, as you do. At one point, a Shandy came up as an order and I don’t exactly remember how it happened, but I realized he was going to make it with beer and lemonade (as in, lemon, sugar and water type lemonade)! I was shocked because this is not a Shandy as I had known it.
Immediately, it all clicked: in the UK, lemon-lime soda (like 7UP) is what is referred to as “lemonade” and so there was a lack of translation when this drink crossed “The Pond”! I explained this to the bartender who was curiously surprised. Instead of adding the US version of lemonade, he made the Shandy with lemon-lime soda. No complaints from the guest!
If you watch this video where James Corden is bartending in Liverpool, the lady asks for a lemonade, and you can see that she gets a clear sparkling soda, not a cloudy, pale yellow lemonade as we know it in the US.
What is a Shandy?
A traditional British Shandy is a mixture of beer (usually a lager) and lemon-lime soda, most commonly a 50/50 ratio. If you like more beer, you can add less soda and vice versa. (Thanks to my niece, Chrissie, who worked as a bartender in the UK (amongst other places), and happens to be living in Sweden now, for the details on a Shandy.)
I’m adding this due to a comment from a reader after posting this: if you’re in France, you can order a Panaché (what a Shandy is called in French)! Thanks to my pal Jill at Mad About Macarons for that tidbit. :)
Is Shandy alcoholic?
Well, yes–technically it is as there’s beer in it, however, compared to a cocktail, it’s very low in alcohol.
Shandy: A Refreshing Summertime Drink!
As I’m not a beer drinker, my biggest experience with Shandy was my dad drinking them in summer. He’d love to have one after he’d been out cutting the grass for hours in the heat and humidity. Dad would come inside and pop open a lemon-lime soda and whatever beer he had, and mix them together (about half and half). He’d always say how thirst-quenching they were.
I remember being SO jealous that he liked beer because his Shandy always looked so refreshing. It’d never fail: he’d ask me to taste it, but I have never even liked the smell of beer.
For a hot summer’s day, you can try this white wine sangria spritzer recipe~or even a Pimm’s Cup
When I told Dad about the lemonade mix up with the Shandy, he couldn’t believe it. I suppose now it’s too late to get the message out as all of the Shandy recipes I found online are for the wrong type of lemonade! This is much like the ricotta recipes I’ve seen flooding the internet: 90% of them aren’t for ricotta! Ricotta means “cooked twice” so it’s a specific way it’s made. Most of the recipes all are making cheese, NOT ricotta–ugh.
Unfortunately, people copy too many things off the internet (without proper research or giving credit) and so misinformation floods the web. After a certain point, it’s too late to fix it, but in this case, I’m trying my best!
Without further ado, here’s the simple, yet traditional British way to make a Shandy.
How to Make a Proper Traditional British Shandy
makes one (or two, depending on the size of the glass)
-your favorite lager (chilled is best if it’s hot)
-your favorite lemon-lime soda (I recommend using one with sugar, no corn-syrup or sweeteners), chilled
Special equipment – tall beer glasses
Pour half of each beverage slowly into one or two tall beer glasses. It really doesn’t matter which you pour in first, just tip the glass to the side when you pour.
Btw, there’s no ice in a proper Shandy! I saw recipes that instructed ice to be added! Egads!
Enjoy. And good luck to England’s National football team! (As long as Scotland and Italy aren’t in, I’ll back England 😎)
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How to Make a Traditional British Shandy (with Beer, the RIGHT way)
Ingredients
- your favorite lager
- your favorite lemon-lime soda (I recommend using one with sugar, no corn-syrup or sweeteners), chilled
Instructions
- Pour half of each beverage slowly into one or two (depends on the size) tall beer glasses.
- Enjoy.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 162 Unsaturated Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 0mg Carbohydrates: 39g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 0g Protein: 0g
What is the best beer to use for a traditional shandy? I’m told to use Bass. How can I get a can of English lemonade soda?
Hi Ian, you can read the other comments below here as I’m clearly in over my head! I just wanted Americans to know that British lemonade is not made with lemon juice, sugar and water, but is a clear soda like Sprite. Regarding getting the English soda, here is a link for it on Amazon if you’re at a loss on where to buy it locally (affiliate link: https://amzn.to/2USogoZ) Enjoy!
I know I’m a bit late to the discussion but I just wanted to clarify something. It has been mentioned before but standard shandy would not have any lime in it.
Don’t get me wrong – you are absolutely doing a good thing by clarifying that what we put into beer or lager to make shandy is what Americans call “soda” (i.e., a fizzy drink) and I know it was mentioned before but for the sake of accuracy, I just wanted to restate that lemonade in the UK and Ireland is soda with lemon flavour and doesn’t include lime at all (and is therefore a little sweeter).
Nevertheless, I would be very happy with a lager and Sprite “shandy” on a hot day but it’s definitely a variation on the theme rather than a traditional lager shandy. I’d also agree with the previous post who said that a traditional shandy would be made with beer rather than lager unless specified. This is where the Sprite/lemonade equivalency breaks down as I’ll clarify shortly*.
Over the last few decades, more and more people on this side of the pond tended to drink lager so that a lager shandy was often referred to – rather confusingly – simply as shandy (although thankfully beer is now going through a big revival).
To give a kind of historically accurate overview, I’d say in Scotland (where I am) we’d ask in a bar for a shandy and get: e.g., McEwan’s Export and Barr’s lemonade (roughly half and half but any specification can be given). Alternatively, we might ask for a lager shandy and get, e.g., Tennent’s Lager and Schweppes lemonade.
Those (beer shandy or lager shandy) are the classic two variations that I was brought up with (children were often introduced to alcohol with shandy just as French children were given diluted wine).
Other popular lemonade brands included Robertsons and R WHite as previously mentioned. Supermarkets here all tend to make their own brand as well. My dad’s favourite lemonade was TC (Thomson Craik) and he put it in whisky as well which is another story altogether! I don’t know if TC is still available. Other popular beer brands were Bass or Younger’s.
*I’m not convinced that Sprite would work so well in a standard beer shandy as well as classic British/Irish soda lemonade but it definitely works fine in a lager shandy as I’ve tried that.
Another interesting variation the theme, many Scots will order a “lager tops” which is lager with a generous dash of soda lemonade to sweeten/take the edge off. At the risk of confusing matters, another common order in a Scottish pub is “lager and lime” which is lager with a small dash of lime cordial. Lager and Sprite would therefore be something of a hybrid in our standard lexicon between lager tops and lager and lime.
Just to give a bit of background, regarding beer – in Scotland “beer” traditionally meant something like McEwan’s Export or another medium brown beer. Scotland didn’t have the same range of local ales as in England and beer types settled into roughly “shilling” categories or were referred to as, export, heavy, light or pale ale. As lager took more and more of a hold, many people simply ordered pints of either “heavy” or “lager” and your choice was usually between these two (the exact brand depending on who owned the bar) or perhaps, Guinness where available. Sometimes a ” light and/or a pale ale was also on offer. Whilst, I would think lemonade would spoil a Guinness, you could have a nice shandy adding it to any of these other beers.
In England, your beer choice is and has been much broader with many more local breweries and the real ale movement keeping traditions alive. As a proud Scot, I’m not afraid to say that one of my favourite things to do when heading “down south” for work or holidays was always to sample the local ales. The contribution of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) cannot be overestimated and Scotland has benefited from the knock-on effect of their good work.
Incidentally, in Spain, many people put lemon Fanta into a San Miguel. This is nice (and cloudy, not clear) but lemon Fanta is not as sweet as lemonade from Britain/Ireland and so this doesn’t resemble a classic shandy.
I believe that traditional lemonade as we know it can be sourced in the US and Canada in some import shops who specialise in Scottish, Irish or British produce. A bottle or two (or cans if you prefer) would allow you to experiment with different beers versus Sprite should anyone be so inclined.
Finally, when serving, lager would usually go in first because the lemonade (soda) can overfizz and spill over the top of the glass if you pour lager into it. This is less critical with beer than with lager. And, some pubs make a point of pouring your lemonade from a bottle instead as this is the traditional way.
Anyway, keep up the good work.
You are a shandy pro, Craig!! Thank you so much! I just wanted people in the US to know that a shandy is not made with beer and American lemonade (water, sugar, lemon juice), but you’ve really added so much to my post and I appreciate it! :)
Craig is most definitely correct on this matter. There would not be any lime in a shandy. But I agree if someone served me a shandy made with 7up or sprite, I would give it a go. Also it is definitely beer, specifically a bitter and not lager for a shandy here in the UK. If you want it with lager you have to specify when ordering that you would like a “lager shandy” otherwise it would be made with a beer/ bitter.
I think the UK peeps are missing the forest for the trees! The point of my post is to let Americans know that they shouldn’t use American “lemonade” in a shandy. We do not have a solely lemon soda in the US, so 7Up or Sprite is DEFINITELY the way to go here. The fact that there’s probably .01% lime juice in the soda is negligible. This is a post aimed at Americans, not the UK.
If someone handed you a shandy made with lemonade (water, sugar and lemon), I think you’d understand why I wrote this post, Clare. :)
I was introduced to the Shanty at a tennis camp in Bolton Valley, Vermont many years ago. It was introduced to us by a Canadien couple and was very refreshing.
The mixture was 50% Draft beer and 50% Ginger Ale. Great on a hot day.
Ginger ale is much better than water/sugar/lemon lemonade! Love memories of food and drinks from travels!
A proper Shandy here in England is made with Beer not Lager and proper English lemonade which is clear and fizzy Larger is a European import and is not English.
My point is to let people in the US know not to use homemade lemonade made with sugar, water and lemons in their Shandy. I did clarify that it’s a clear lemon lime soda to be used. Also, my niece who has been a bartender in England would give you a lager and lemonade if you asked for a shandy in her bar. :)
When I walked the Camino in Spain we pilgrims drank a Clara—essentially a shandy. It was so refreshing after walking all day. They even had a mix on tap and we had the option of lemonade or just carbonated water. I always chose the sweeter version. Here in Canada we mix our beer with Clamato juice for a savoury drink. Just as it sounds, clam and tomato juice with a variety of seasonings. Also very refreshing. Radler in Austria and panache in France. Great summer drinks!!
British shandy is normally (clear) lemonade, as someone has already said, but you can also get a shandy with beer and ginger beer called a ginger beer shandy (nothing if not logical we Brits). French for shandy is I think Panache (with an acute accent on last e), it’s radler in German.
Oh dear, that’s what I tried to get across on this post, but now two of you are clarifying that it’s clear (British) lemonade. Yes, that’s what I specify, like 7UP, it’s clear. Hope I wasn’t confusing. Thanks for the German name, didn’t know that one! :)
Yep, lemonade means something different in London! My daughter lived there for four years and I learned a lot! Love your photos!
I bet she did! Thank you, Mimi!
Sounds nice, Christina! Never had a Shandy but I’m sure it’s very refreshing for a summer afternoon. Very different context, but this reminds me of my grandparents’ generation. All the women in the family used to drink their red wine mixed with 7Up. I remember my grandmother was always in deathly fear of “getting drunk” off of it…
OMG, that’s too funny! My mother is a “lightweight” when it comes to anything alcoholic, too! We used to give our children wine and 7Up when they were little (as my parents did with us) and we called it a spritzer. This backfired once when my daughter was 4 and went to the person making drinks at a party and asked for a spritzer! I had to go explain! ;)
So glad you’ve set the record straight on a Shandy. My goodness, this brings back memories as I used to have this as a special treat as a teenager when we went down the coast to North Berwick and stopped off for a pub lunch – and haven’t had it since!
Had no idea about the lemonade lost in translation between the UK and USA.
I think you need one for old times’ sake, Jill! Yes, isn’t it crazy about the translation error! Eeek!
Christina, I’m not normally a beer drinker, but I think this is a drink I would like. The addition of the lemon-lime soda would do it for me. Especially on a hot summer day. :-)
I bet you might enjoy it, Valentina!
It has a name! 1975, Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral. It was hot and the cathedral was jammed with tourists. 2 Canadian gals, me, and our tour bus driver walked to a nearby bar to sit it out and the driver ordered us beer and Sprite mixed together. We loved it! Now I find out it has a name. Who knew?
That’s funny that you never knew the name since then! However, now we must find out what it’s called in French! I’ll be back! CC
I’m back! My friend Jill from http://www.MadAboutMacarons.com (an ex-pat Scot in France) says it’s called Panaché in France! So now you have TWO names for it! :)
Great that you discovered it in Paris, Victoria – and thanks, Christina, for the explanation … x
So there are TWO kinds of shandy. :)
Now there are! The original, and the American version, haha! :)
You know how there are some foods you just can’t eat? For me, it’s beverages… never shall a beer, coffee, or tea pass my lips. Admit, I have had maybe three beers in my life, but under duress! I’m sure everyone else will love this, and the photos are lovely!
I’d guess that you’re a supertaster, David. Read something recently about the connection to beer and supertasters. I also don’t drink coffee (unless I’m in Italy, it has to be that good). The tea, though, does my head in as I’m from Scotland! haha! :) Glad you’ve finally said you don’t like something I’ve posted to even up the number of times I’ve told you I don’t like asparagus or all the other things I don’t eat!
To me lemonade in a shandy would be plain lemonade like rwhites not 7up or sprite which to me is American. I don’t like beer though so only have the low alcohol version of shandy in a can.
We don’t have that choice here, so I just want to get the word out to distinguish between the fizzy drink and the lemon, sugar, water version of lemonade. Trust me, 7Up is closer to a real Shandy than the other version! ;)
I’ve lived in the US for many years but grew up in England and have family in Scotland. When we were visiting Scotland one time and my son was about 9 years old we found ourselves at a “Highland Night” in the hotel. I let my son go and order himself a drink from the bar. He had asked for lemonade and got the British lemonade, much to his horror! He never did like fizzy drinks.
A lesson for American boys in the UK!
That’s funny, Margaret! I’m sure that’s happened SO many times and vice versa when Brits come here and ask for lemonade! :)