Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Shandy Tasting
Shandy is beer with a lemon twist. I have memories of drinking some in Paris almost forty years ago, and I liked it. So when my son offered me a bottle recently, I was happy to accept it. I had to choose between three flavors, all from the same company, Maccabee Beer. OK that does seem to be an oxymoron since the shandy I first drank only had a lemon juice added.
So, that's the flavor I chose, the lemon-lime. As my good friend, Doug the beer maven will testify, I like a beer that tastes "like beer," those that have hops that dominate the taste. This shandy was horrendous. It tasted like over-sweetened lemon soda, sort of 7 Up with extra sugar. OK, I don't drink soda including 7 Up, so maybe that's how it tastes. If I was to try a "shandy," I'd rather take a strong beer and add some fresh lemon.
Doug, thanks! And do you agree with my evaluation? Not that there's a "right or wrong," or is there?
ReplyDeleteHi Batya. I was one of the judges at the porter testing with you. I also felt that the bottled Shandy was just sprite with some alcohol added. So I asked my daughter Shoshana, who was also one of our judges and works as a professional bartender, does she get customers who ask for shandy and if yes, what does she serve them? She answered without blinking an eye. She gets a lot of requests and she makes it with 1/2 Carlsberg and 1/2 Sprite (not diet sprite). I tried it and it was great. And best of all... you can make it in any proportion that YOU want! And as I discovered and she confirmed: any light lager, like Heineken - will do.P.S. I tried it with Heineken. My daughter was right. Not as good as Carlsberg!
ReplyDeleteYitzchak, thanks I must try it some time. We just don't keep sprite in the house.
ReplyDelete