I've Tried Hundreds of Beers. This Leinenkugel's Shandy Is My Official Beer of Summer
I grew up in the next town over from Leinenkugel’s Brewery—founded in Chippewa Falls, WI, in 1867. In my memories, the scent of malted barley on brew days mixes with Banana Boat sunscreen and the piney woodsmoke of late-night campfires. So when I turned 21 (or thereabouts—it was Wisconsin, after all), the Summer Shandy was one of the first beers I had.
A bright, easy-drinking mix of a weiss beer and lemonade, it’s arguably the beer of summer—one that pairs well with bratwursts, late innings, and that one summer playlist your buddy has been building since Memorial Day 2014. When I first tried it, it set the tone for everything summer drinking should be. And honestly? It still does.
Half beer, half lemonade (or some other citrusy mixer), the shandy isn’t just a summer gimmick—it’s a tradition that’s been cooling down thirsty drinkers for centuries.
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Where Did the Idea of Mixing Beer With Lemonade Come From?
The idea of mixing beer with lemonade goes back to 1920s Germany. Legend has it that an innkeeper outside Munich invented it in the 1920s to cater to the hordes of bicyclists who rolled up to his tavern. Running low on beer, he stretched his kegs by mixing lager with lemon soda. Whether that’s strictly true or not, the radler (as both the drink and the cyclists were called) quickly became a beloved fixture of beer gardens across Bavaria. The British took a swing at it too, mixing beer with lemonade or ginger ale and calling it a “shandy.”
For decades, the beer-meets-lemonade drink lingered more as a European curiosity—something you might stumble across while studying abroad or backpacking through beer halls.
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Origins of Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy
In 2007, Leinenkugels launched their Summer Shandy, blending their signature wheat beer with natural lemonade flavor. The timing was perfect: American beer drinkers were ready for something lighter, a little sweeter, and infinitely more sessionable than the double IPAs and heavy stouts that had dominated craft brewing.
Today, you’ll find shandy and radler-style beers from dozens of breweries, often with creative twists—grapefruit, blood orange, even cucumber and mint. Breckenridge Brewery’s Summer Pils Shandy, Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s Mind Haze Lemonade Rage, and Deschutes Brewery’s Anytime Lemonade Shandy are just a few good examples of the magic that is a lemonade beer that are currently in liquor stores.
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It's My Summer Beer of Choice
Even now, with shelves stacked with hazy IPAs, dessert stouts, and experimental whatevers, I still come back to Summer Shandy whenever the temperature warms. Not because it holds a sentimental place in my heart (though it does) but because it’s dependable. The lemon is bright, but never cloying. The wheat beer base gives it structure, but it never veers into heavy. It’s 4.2% ABV—so yes, you can have another one while manning the grill or floating downriver in a tube.
It’s my six-pack of choice for bringing to a barbecue, to a Saturday beach volleyball tournament, or on a pontoon boat for an afternoon of doing absolutely nothing when I’m not trying to impress—just trying to enjoy a hot day and a cold beer with friends. (Though, speaking of impressive, it did win the silver medal at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival in the fruit wheat beer category.)
For me, Summer Shandy isn’t just nostalgia in a bottle—it’s a reminder of what beer can be. Not every pour has to be a flavor experiment or a collector’s item. Sometimes, it’s just about refreshment, fun, and memories in the making.
Cheers to Leinie’s Summer Shandy: the first, the favorite, and the forever taste of summer.
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