Ever wondered what a "shandy" is? Yes, it is also the name of a contestant from America's Next Top Model season 2, but typically a shandy (short for short for "shandygaff") is known as being a mixture of beer and soda or lemonade. It's often been seen enjoyed in Europe and the UK, especially in the warm summer months.
The Leinenkugel Brewing Company releases their Summer Shandy — which is conveniently already mixed — every year as their summer seasonal beer. It's light, tart, slightly spicy in character and, "an adventurous blend of select malted wheat and barley, lemonade flavor and a hint of Wisconsin honey." It can be found in bottle or can form (to easily transport to the beach) and on draft in many craft beer pubs from April until August.
This article appears in Apr 21-27, 2011.