The Summer Shandy Cocktail is a refreshing drink that combines your favorite beer with iced tea and lemon juice. The perfect spring or summer sipper!
Cocktails can get as fancy and complicated as you want, or be as simple as you like.
Personally, I tend to lean toward the simple side when mixing up cocktails.
You may know this iced tea and beer cocktail by one of two different names, depending on where you live. And frankly, it depends on what you prefer to call it.
Some may call it a Summer Shandy, while others call it a Radler. Both are cocktails that combine beer and iced tea or beer and lemonade.
Radlers are traditionally made with beer plus lemonade. They’re SO good. Have you tried one?
Summer Shandy Cocktail is made with beer plus iced tea.
Summer Shandy Cocktail
I attend quite a few different food and beverage events throughout the year, and sometimes I discover products and places that require a while to sink in with me… I need just the right moment to share them with you all. Today’s Mixology Monday post is just the right time to share with you two products I have discovered in the last few months, combined in one gloriously refreshing cocktail: the Summer Shandy.
The Iced Tea
Recently, while taste-testing various artisan food & drink with some local food friends, I discovered The Owl’s Brew. The Owl’s Brew is the first reported tea crafted specifically for cocktails. There are currently six flavors: The Classic, White and Vine, the Famous Mint Tea, Wicked Green, Pink and Black, and Coco-Lada.
For this Summer Shandy, I used The Classic: a blend of English Breakfast with lemon peel and lemon and lime juice.
The Beer
You can use any IPA-style beer you like, but I used the relatively new Rogue Ales/Yard House Spruce Tip IPA. This beer is a special collaboration that was introduced in December 2015. I was fortunate enough to attend the media launch event for this Rogue Ales/Yardhouse beer, and have been trying ever since then to think of different cocktails that would do this beer justice. The Summer Shandy is it!
Spruce Tip IPA is brewed in Oregon and, for my beer loving readers, consists of Rogue Garms Dare & Risk, Weyerman Pils, Fawcett Maris Otter Pale, Weyerman CaraRed, and Dextrapils Malts, along with Liberty and Alluvial Hops, Sitka Spruce tips, water, and yeast. It’s got some nice hop up front and a slightly sweet finish, making it an awesome beer to pour for this Tea Shandy.
The Lemon Juice
It’s just juice squeezed from an ordinary lemon. From the grocery store. You can pick one from your fancy Meyer Lemon tree or from your backyard lemon orchard, but I find that any old lemon will do for this cocktail.
Summer Shandy
Ingredients
- 2 parts iced tea
- 1 part beer
- Squeeze of fresh lemon
- Garnish with lemon wedge
Instructions
- Pour iced tea and beer into a tall beer glass. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into the glass. Garnish with lemon wedge.
I really enjoy this summer shandy. It’s SO easy to whip up and you probably already have beer and tea somewhere in your home.
If you’re enjoying this on a hot summer day, I recommend using chilled tea. And make sure your beer is sufficiently chilled.
Have you ever had a Summer Shandy or Radler, or any other cocktail with tea?
How cool that there’s a tea specifically for cocktails! I once had a terrible shandy – like so bad I had to spit it out – but I may just have to give it a second try.
Ooh I have also had a bad shandy, but don’t let that one keep you away! I think it depends on the combo of beer + non-alcoholic liquid used…some are just not meant to be co-mingling, ya know? ;)
Yay spring! I cannot wait. :)
I’m so ready for spring too! :)
I have never tried this combination – it totally intrigues me. Thanks so much for the info – can’t wait to give this a try!
Hope you like it if you give it a try!
I LOVE Shandys/Radlers, especially when the weather gets warmer. Your version with tea sounds absolutely amazing Marlynn!
These are such wonderful drinks for warmer summer days, indeed. Thanks, Erin!
this drink looks so yummy, thank you for sharing. I myself do not like beer, but i try new things since my boyfriend is a beer lover, especially ipa, dark beer, and different beers, thank you so much
You might like this one, Stacy, since it’s not all beer – and if you make it at home, you can adjust the contents to your liking ;) Thanks for stopping by!
This looks like a delicious cocktail! I’ll have to give it a try!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Thanks, Kari!
I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I do love a cocktail mixed with tea. Back in Dec, I traveled to NY and had brunch at Bobby Flay’s restaurant. I ordered the B&T, Jim Beam and Chia Tea with mint. It was SOOOOO yummy! I’m tempted to try the Mint Tea you mentioned above with some Beam. =)
Ooh that drink at Bobby Flay’s sounds delicious!
This sounds great! And Owl’s Brew is amazing! Yum!
Thanks, Leah! I can’t wait to try the other Owl’s Brew flavors, too!
That sounds so tasty and fresh for spring! I have never been one to experiment too much with adding different flavors to my beer, but this makes it seem awesome and I am looking forward to giving it a try!
Thanks, Ashley!
I’ve shied away from shandies just because I love carbonation (fizzy water lover over here), and I’m afraid mixing beer with a “still” liquid would take the bubbles out. Geez, maybe I just need to try one!
You could always do a radler with a carbonated lemonade! Have you tried that? I bet you’d love it! I love fizzy water too ;)
Mmmm…Your Tea Shandy looks so refreshing and delicious! I’ve never made a cocktail like this before, so I’m loving this great mixology inspiration in all it’s beautiful simplicity. Your recipe will help me mix things up a bit after hosting large spring and summer backyard parties where I end up having loads of beer left on hand. :-)
I’ve never had anything like this before. I bet it’s good!
It’s tasty – I hope you get the chance to try something similar!
I love this. Any beer drink with a twist is alright in my book. I’ll definitely have to try this.
I’m intrigued that there is tea crafted just for cocktails (although I guess we should have seen that coming) but it sounds delicious. One question though: is there a specific reason that you need to use an IPA for this, or is just a preference?
Yum, this looks absolutely delicious!
Thank you, Molly!
I’m not really a beer drinker but that Owl’s Brew sounds awesome, I would like to try all of them!! Do you know where you can find them in Portland?
The Classic is delicious and I can’t wait to pick up more flavors to try as well. In Oregon, you can get them at Whole Foods Market, Zupan’s, Green Zebra Grocers, Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma, and several different liquor stores!
It would be the great recommendation for me now. It might be so interesting to enjoy them while working at home. Thanks.
Thanks
These are wonderful drinks!Thanks for sharing!
Tea Shandy Cocktail. I am lovin’ it with this drink, the combination is also an amazing Tea Shandy Cocktail. Thanks a lot for this amazing share. The recipe is also simple. I shall try this soon.