I am not a
shandy guy. If you have a good beer to begin with, you shouldn't mar it by adding lemonade to it, and if you add lemonade to your beer, you are telling me that you started off with a pretty bad beer. Thus, the best shandy I have reviewed barely got a
2.0/5. The other two didn't fair as well. BUT, it is a particularly hot day while I'm writing this, and I mowed the lawn, so I'm thirsty.
Sadly, the beverage is not pink in any way. My understanding is that pink lemonade is just a little sweeter than regular lemonade, and they added the pink to sell it. The shade of this drink is more of a hazy bronze with an off white head that doesn't hang around all that long. The thin ring of bubbles around the sides of the glass is joined by a smattering of bubbles floating on top. The aroma is really nothing special - lemons and bread malt. Right now, this could be almost any very light ale.
First sip is a watery mess of too much malt, too much sweetness, lemon coming from nowhere, and possibly coriander. It seems like this beverage has the worst of a lager with the worst of a lemonade. The unbalanced taste is off-putting and makes me want to forego my usual process, but I must do what I must do.
Tip-in is sweet lemonade with a simple grain in the background (so far, it is way better than the sip). The middle stretches out and brings balance to the force with lemons and malt playing together very well, but the wateriness is a bit much. The finish is where grains heave up and toss the sweetness out the door for a trail-off that is not right and not good.
Bottom Line: Literally leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
1.25/5
