Can’t decide between a refreshing lemonade and a nice, cold beer on a sunny Saturday afternoon? How about both? Shandies — the traditional English tipple made with beer mixed with Sprite or lemonade—are the perfect refreshment for the end of summer. “They are a great hot-weather, daytime refreshment,” says Joshua Bernstein, a Brooklyn based beer expert and author of “The Complete Beer Course.” “I’ve definitely seen an explosion of shandies.” But as New Yorkers try to hang on to the last vestiges of the season, bartenders around town say the drink is in high demand even as temperatures get cooler. Pre-packaged versions, such as Shock Top’s Lemon Shandy and Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, have been filling up bodega shelves, and the number of global shandy product launches more than tripled between 2009 and 2012, according to data research firm Data monitor. City mixologists are also mixing up their own spins on the traditional recipe. Here are five:
A fresh take
Penn Shandy, $11 at Back Forty
190 Avenue B; 212-388-1990
“Shandies have been popular this summer, but ours is the best one in town, if I do say so myself,” Back Forty bartender Nathan Connor says with a laugh. He thinks the key to a good shandy is simple, fresh ingredients, and that’s what the East Village farm-to-table restaurant specializes in. Its shandy takes Bluecoat gin from Pennsylvania, infuses it with lemon and lime, then adds simple syrup and Sly Fox pilsner. The beer is also from Pennsylvania—hence the name, Penn Shandy. “The shandy used to be a staple here, but we haven’t had it on the menu for about a year and a half,” Connor says. “But we brought it back because shandies this year have been extremely popular. And it’s been selling like crazy.”
Jammin’ apricot
Desert Shandy, $13 at Betony
41 W. 57th St., 212-465-2400
At Betony, a new, modern-American restaurant, the shandy is taken to a new level. The drink was inspired by one of its desserts, a pastry featuring roasted apricot, almonds and watercress. “When I tasted that dish, I was like, ‘Man, this is all the ingredients of a shandy,’” says owner Eamon Rockey. “Grain is an integral component of pastry and beer, and I thought to myself, ‘Apricots are delicious with grain, why wouldn’t it be delicious with beer, too?’ ” To that end, Betony’s shandy features its draft IPA, apricot brandy, orgeat (a sweet almond syrup) and sherry vinegar—all topped off with a spritz of rosemary tincture. “We’ll keep it on the menu for as long as apricots are in season,” Rockey says. “It’s one of our go-to cocktails.”
A sweet treat
Canilla-Candied Lemon Shandy, $7 at the Third Man
116 Avenue C; 212-598-1040
Alphabet City’s Viennese-inspired cocktail bar started selling a sweet take on the shandy late July. To make it, bartenders cook lemon slices in simple syrup and a bit of vanilla until they’re nice and crispy. Then, using the liquid as the base for a lemonade, it’s topped off with a bit of Schöefferhofer Hefeweizen beer and garnished with the crispy lemons. “Hefeweizen is super-refreshing, lemon is super-refreshing and vanilla adds to both the smell and the taste,” enthuses bartender Kasia Krupinska.
Seasonal sauce
Summer Shandy, $6 at Northern Spy
511 E. 12th St.; 212-228-5100
The Summer Shandy at this East Village restaurant—homemade lemon-lime seltzer and light, refreshing Tröegs Dreamweaver wheat beer—has been especially hot.
“It outsells most beers by the glass, it’s nonstop,” says co-owner Chris Ronis. When temps dip below60, the citrus-based drink will be replaced by the Northern Shandy, mixed with apple cider. “There are more complicated shandies out there,” Ronis says, “but ours are really just as simple and as delicious as you can get.”
The hard stuff
Greenwood Shandy, $11 at Greenwood Park
555 Seventh Ave., Brooklyn; 718-499-7999
The massive Brooklyn beer garden’s shandy was inspired by the popular, delightfully pink-hued Shoefferhoeffer grapefruit hefeweizen shandy they serve on tap.
“I tried the grapefruit hefeweizen and thought it was delicious but that the alcohol level was a little too low,” explains bartender Michael Esposito. “So we thought, ‘How do we kick it up and make it more desirable?’ ”
To add some punch, the Greenwood Shandy mixes grapefruit vodka, Ruby Red Grapefruit juice and St. Germain lavender liquor with the Shoefferhoeffer. It’s one of the bar’s most popular specialty cocktails.
“It satisfies people that want something sweet to drink and don’t want to taste alcohol,” Esposito says, “and the beer drinkers like it, too.”