That is until the other night...
I had a partially full (ok, almost empty) bottle of this Emek Ha'ela Irish Red Ale sitting in the fridge, because my attempt to drink it a couple of weeks before had been sabotaged by its hyperactive bubbly foam/head. And then when I tried to finish it a week or so later, it was disappointing, so there was still some left in the bottle.
It cost too much to spill down the drain, and I haven't recently made potted beef which probably would have been a good companion. So, I decided to try something much more radical, and possibly medicinal. I had it with freshly squeezed lemon juice and even left the lemon in the mug.
The lemon added a bit more life to it, and it didn't bother me at all that the beer was totally flat, no foam at all. I'm not a great fan of carbonation and sodas. And it certainly was not sweet. OK some of you beer mavins may be groaning in disgust, as if this is sacrilegious, but I liked it!
Well, Shandy is not the preferred drink of beer lovers, but it does have a following on both sides of the ocean. The people I know who drink it tend to make their own rather than buy the ready-made bottles. They mix their beer with Sprite or some other lemon-lime or citrusy soda. They tell me the proportions are also important: either less beer or more beer depending on how sweet you like it. L'Chaim! -- but don't let it replace your love of good craft beer.
ReplyDeleteShabbat Shalom.
Doug, it just seemed a good way to finish beer that had been sitting in the fridge too long. Also, the lemon is always good to fight colds.
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