A traditional British shandy is a classic beer cocktail served in the UK which is light and refreshing. It is enjoyed throughout Europe, and other places around the world, but be sure you’re making it as it should be made (see below).
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 classic shandy, may surprise you. Because I am a Brit living in the US, I discovered a huge error in American shandy recipes.
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Good thing you clicked on this post to read about making a shandy because the first link on google has it WRONG! Yes, they are just as uninformed as so many others on how to make a proper shandy as they do in the UK (and other places in Europe)! Everything on the internet isn’t right, but it will only be a matter of time before they see my post and copy mine (EDITED: it’s already happened, 2021 🤬) It’s frustrating as hell, tbh.
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 it’s made in the UK.
Immediately, it all clicked: in the UK, lemon-lime soda (like 7UP) is what is referred to as “lemonade” and so there was a “lost in translation” error 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: a proper shandy (as proper as you can get in the US at a bar) and 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 and lemon 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 British shandy).
The photo below shows the type of British lemonade used in a shandy
(it’s a sparkling lemon soda, NOT lemonade made from sugar, water and lemon juice).
In the US, you can find R. Whites Lemonade on Amazon and in British shops.
What is a Shandy Called in Other Countries?
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.
In Germany, the same beverage is called a Radler.
Is a Traditional British Shandy Alcoholic?
Yes–technically it is alcoholic as there’s beer in it, however, compared to a spirit-based cocktail, it’s very low in alcohol.
Can I Use a Non-Alcoholic Beer for a Shandy?
Looking for a non-alcoholic alternative? Athletic Brewing Company‘s range of beverages are quickly becoming more and more popular. You can even make a non-alcoholic shandy using their Golden Ale. My son loves the product so much, that he became an affiliate. Click the link above and use this code: STEVENW20 for a 20% discount on your first order.
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 Michigan heat and humidity. Dad would come inside and pop open a lemon-lime soda (simply because that’s all we have in the US) and whatever beer he had on hand. He’d mix them together (about half and half) into a beer glass, and always said how thirst-quenching they were. I LOVE these toucan Guinness glasses!
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.
Here’s another refreshing summer drink: an elderflower flavored cider!
When I told Dad about the lemonade mix up with the classic 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 use 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.
Here’s a great pulled pork recipe you may enjoy using a slow cooker and a can of beer!
Unfortunately, people copy so 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! This is why it’s important to know and trust your recipe sources.
I’m a stickler for doing things the tried and true/authentic ways, and I test ALL of my recipes before posting. My husband gave the thumbs up on the shandy, though! :) Some recipes have never even been made in a kitchen; did you know that? Without further ado, here’s the simple, yet traditional British way to make a proper shandy.
How to Make a Proper Traditional British Shandy
makes one (or two, depending on the size of the glass) FULL PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW
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.
By the way, there’s no ice in a proper shandy! I saw recipes that instructed ice to be added! Egads! 😱
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If you love a good homemade lemonade, try my cranberry flavored lemonade!
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How to Make a Traditional British Shandy (with Beer, the PROPER way)
All about a shandy, what it is and how to make it properly (without confusion about a translation from overseas)!
Ingredients
- your favorite beer/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: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 162Unsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
Cooking with beer? Try this totally authentic Jamaican jerk chicken recipe, straight from Jamaica!
And a Guinness dessert to follow: Guinness Stout Dark Chocolate Pudding Cakes!
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Here in the U.S., I have bought sparkling lemonade. It sounds like that would be a fair substitute for the R Whites maybe.
Unless you’re a shandy connoisseur, I wouldn’t worry too much and just use Sprite or 7up. Most people commenting here are from the UK and have missed the point of this post which is simply to use soda for a shandy and not homemade lemonade with lemon and sugar. Enjoy!
Thanks, I was one of the misinformed. I am going to try one with the soda mix. I’ll bet it will taste a lot different.
Yay! So glad you found my post, Deborah! Let me know what you think of the “real-deal”, so to speak! :)
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. :)
Yep your def right… Originally it was made with beer and has been change to larger especially here in NZ.. I tryed to buy a shandy yesterday… the girl behind the bar didn’t have a clue… I tryed to explain how to maje one but ended up with a pint of larger with a splash of lemonade in it… I gave up and drank the pint lol… At least we can go to the pub here and have a drink so wasn’t gona complain… Alto if I’d had 2 of her shandy I’d have been over the limit lol
Haha! Yes, at least you can go get a drink at a pub, good way to look at it, especially when we’re going backwards in curbing this virus here in the US! Ugh!
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!!
And Clara in Spain !
Oh, I didn’t know that! Thanks, Margaret!
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!