Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy - Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

allengarvin

Texas

2.15/5  rDev -31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1.5

Into a 12oz mug, this beer is a very pale straw color, quite hazy, with a nice creamy head on top. EGAD the aroma is like Lemon Fresh Pine Sol (tm). Huge lemoniness, but not pleasant like, say, lemon-aid. This tastes like those disgusting lemon malternatives. I can't find any hefeweizen flavors under the overwhelming lemon, except maybe faint fruitiness.

I couldn't finish this. It doesn't taste like the shandy's I used to drink in the UK during vacations in the 80s. Bleagh.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2007 02:42:45 | More by allengarvin

KI9A

Illinois

2.15/5  rDev -31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Ugh.

Pours cloudy, attractive yellow, with a nice white head.

Hmm, smells OK, lemon, of course.

Taste, well, nothing but lemon pledge, or lemon cleaner. Just about the most discusting beer I have had in a long time. Can't find anything good except it poured down the drain, making it smell nice.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2007 03:28:21 | More by KI9A

thekanna

Maryland

2.15/5  rDev -31.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

A: A dull, clear yellow with some amount of appreciable head. Overall, typical and not very impressive.

S: Faint adjuncts and citrus. Lemon aroma is a bit off, like smelling a household cleaning product.

T: Adjunct malts very much reminiscent of a Budweiser hit the mouth, followed by faint lemon flavors which pull through, albeit weakly. It seems as if there's a struggle between the lemon and adjunct flavors for your taste buds, and the result is somewhat haphazard and metallic-tasting. Hops are a strangely cardboard-like aftertaste.

M: Extremely thin and somewhat over-carbonated, like Perrier.

D: There's nothing special to distinguish this: I could mix stale bud light and lemonade at home and it would save me the trip to the store to get this. Overall, very unimpressive (from the company that makes Sunset Wheat); the non-alcoholic Shandy I had in the UK even tastes much more flavorful than this.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2009 04:08:11 | More by thekanna

weizenbob

Michigan

2.15/5  rDev -31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

This 12 ounce can of Summer Shandy came from a Summer Variety 12-Pack. What a novel idea. Best by July 4, 2011. From the label: "Weiss beer brewed with honey with natural lemonade flavor." Uh, that sounds weird, but whatever. I cracked this open and poured into a weizen glass.

A moderate pour produces three fingers of foamy lemon-tinted head. Retention is moderate. The brew is maize colored and incredibly hazy but not dirty looking. The amount of haziness provides almost zero translucence. It's exceeding my expectations in appearance.

The aroma is dominated by a strange artificial lemon scent. I cut my teeth on Short's Brewing Company beers so I should be used to this kind of thing; but I'm telling you, this beer smells weird. Taking a big whiff is akin to huffing household cleaning products. In a blind scent test I doubt that I would identify it as beer.

The overall effect on the palate is that of watered down Diet Snapple Lemonade, complete with NutraSweet brand artificial sweetener. It does have a recognizable wheat finish, but at that point it's more like "who put beer in my nasty fake lemonade?" rather than the other way around. It is just all around watery and artificial. Approaching it as beer, I can't help but feel disappointment. Approaching it as some other form of liquid summer refreshment still leaves me on the fence. Why wouldn't I just drink lemonade...or beer?

This is a light bodied brew for sure. In the mouth it is tingly thanks to the high amount of carbonation and sharp lemon bite. It leaves an unpleasant acidic feeling on my teeth that I could do without. It's actually kind of refreshing, though it only vaguely resembles beer.

Overall, I can't say that I would recommend Summer Shandy to anyone. Aside from being a confusing beverage, it just isn't that good. At roughly a dollar a can it's not that great a value either. The upside is the relatively low 4.2% ABV. If equal parts water and Diet Snapple is your thing then you could drink these all day in the hot summer sun. As for me, I will be sticking with ice cold Arnold Palmers for my non-beer summer refreshment needs.

---

The Two-Schlitz Scale: (see my profile for an explanation)
I do not give a Schlitz for Summer Shandy. I do not give a Snapple for Summer Shandy. And just to be clear; I do not give a lemon scented Pine Sol for Summer Shandy.

Serving type: can

04-29-2011 00:13:36 | More by weizenbob

drxandy

Michigan

2.17/5  rDev -30.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

5/28/08 on tap @ Reno's West, Lansing, MI -
Served in 25oz mug, bright hazy lemony yellow, white head fades

smells solely of lemonade!

tastes on first drink pretty good, lemony flavor is fresh and refreshing, very easy to drink, elements of malt hide in the background, high carbonation brings out lemon quite a bit, hmm alcopops?. This is meant to be drunk ICE cold, once it starts to warm up, and even a bit before I was trying to place the flavor it reminded of.. and it hit me.
Thera-flu.

mouthfeel is crisp, sessionable if cold, tastes like candy

overall, not something i would make a habit out of.

Serving type: on-tap

05-30-2008 19:39:33 | More by drxandy

engagechad

Virginia

2.17/5  rDev -30.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Purchased at Deluxe in Richmond, VA - poured into pint glass

Pours a golden yellow with a fat pillowy head. Smells lemony but kind of nail polishy too. Taste is horrid. It tastes like lemon flavored corn water. Feels slimey and overall this beer was a waste of money.

Don't.

Serving type: can

07-26-2011 18:15:37 | More by engagechad

Dogbrick

Ohio

2.2/5  rDev -29.9%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

On tap at Easy Street Cafe in Toledo. Murky bright yellow color with a nil white head that looks a little too similar to a glass of lemonade. Very little lacing. Aroma of Lemon Pledge and hops. Light-bodied and fizzy with a taste like...lemonade beer. Lemons and grassy hops are really all there is to this beer. The finish is citrusy and mercifully short. Not for me.

Serving type: on-tap

10-11-2007 18:53:04 | More by Dogbrick

botham

Illinois

2.2/5  rDev -29.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

12 oz bottle poured into a weizen glass. pours a hazy lemon yellow with a single finger of off-white head that dissipates quickly.

aroma is distinctly of lemonade, with a bit of pale and wheat malt mixed in. the fruit overpowers any other aromas (if there are any), much like a berry weiss.

taste is of lemon and wheat malt. the lemons taste rather bland, without much character, along with residual wheat malt that lightens the body but adds nothing to the profile. not impressive.

mouthfeel is light bodied and watery, with a clean finish of only a touch of residual lemon.

drinkability is not good. this is reminiscent of under-sweetened, overwatered lemonade. aside from that, the malts just get in the way of the lemon flavor, making this one easily passed up.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2008 00:07:47 | More by botham

nrbw23

Ohio

2.2/5  rDev -29.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

A- Pours a slightly hazy pale yellow color with a decent white head that leaves some spotty lacing.

S- Lemonade and maybe a touch of wheat/grass not much else going on here. The lemonade flavour dominates this brew.

T- Doesn't taste like a beer and tastes more like lemonade.

M- Light in body and carbonation.

D- Not my type of brew. Interesting and different but I think I'll pass on this one.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2008 20:59:44 | More by nrbw23

harrymel

Washington

2.2/5  rDev -29.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Best by 20SEP12

Pours yellow and diaphanous with a etched white surface. Some spotty residuals on the rim. Smells like lemon juice, and a bit of detergent - really not much else going in the nose for me. It's ceratainly lemony, but in a antibacterial sense. Taste is empty wheat water with a bit of artificial lemon flavor - like the innards of a lemon head candy (not the sour part). Very commercial to me, in a bad way. Water body with moderately hi carb and an unobtrusive finish. I can see why many folks dig this, and why my WI buddy asked me to find some for her - and why she also loves The Beast outta Milwaukee.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2012 04:22:06 | More by harrymel

Freshie

Massachusetts

2.23/5  rDev -29%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

I was ignorant to the term shandy before picking this one up. An English friend of mine made me hip to it.

Pours a pale yellow and cloudy color with little head.

Smell is citric and not very beer like.

The lemonade flavoring is too strong and overpowers almost every aspect of actual beer. Which makes this taste more like a bad lemonade than a wheat beer.

Not sure where they are going with this one. I wanted a beer not a mike's ripoff.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2008 15:03:40 | More by Freshie

franksnbeans

Ohio

2.25/5  rDev -28.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Thanks to genog for this gem of a bonus. Pours a cloudy and murky light urine color with a slight head that dies quick and doesnt lace. Smells of a lemon cough lozenge. Tastes like the powdered vitamin pack Emergen-C in tap water. Tangy, highly carbonated but doesnt hide a thing. Light in the mouth. Tastes between lemonade and theraflu. Had to choke this down but should have poured it out. If you like lemon jolly ranchers in zima, this is your brew.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2007 04:50:30 | More by franksnbeans

BamaBeerBuff

North Carolina

2.25/5  rDev -28.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

A: Pours a cloudy golden yellow--it looks like cloudy lemonade. The head starts out large and frothy, eventually settling down to a thin lace. It actually leaves a decent bit of lacing on the way down.

S: Strong lemon-zest aroma--tart and sweet. I can get some of the wheat malt mixed in, as well. This is a zesty, fruity smelling beer. Since it's a shandy, I think the smell is right on.

T: Ugh. It's got a lemony flavor, but like it's mixed with Coors Light or something. The pale, mildly bitter wheat flavors emerge mid-way through and subdue what little lemon flavor actually makes it to the beer. This really isn't any good at all. There ought to be some more lemon sweetness and the underlying beer ought to be better, too.

M&D: It's got a very light body and a watery mouthfeel, appropriate for the style they're going for. There's a good bit of carbonation, as well. As far as drinkability goes, the beer is light and summery, but it tastes pretty bad. I won't be getting another bottle ever again, and I would probably drink an American macro over this if I was just chilling on the porch.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2008 19:58:31 | More by BamaBeerBuff

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

2.25/5  rDev -28.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Poured into a pint glass.

This beer is basically lemonade meets beer. It pours a hazy yellow with a head that didn't last very long. It was overpowered with lemons and I barely could tell that I was drinking a beer.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied with a crisp taste to it.

I personally think that lemonade and beer shouldn't be mixed, but I know of some friends that think the shandy is a great idea. This wasn't too drinkable for me.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2008 06:50:42 | More by mothman

deebo

Minnesota

2.25/5  rDev -28.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A-Cloudy appearance with a pale yellow color, white head with a little staying power

S-Lemonade flavor is dominant, hint of pale malt in there

T-Lemonade flavor, with a hint of a weiss beer in there at the end, maybe a hint of hop in the end-but probably just the carbonation.

M-Thin, light to medium carbonation. Smooth
and easy to drink.

D-Easy to drink these on a hot humid day like today.

O-Think Leine's could have done something better with this beer-seemingly took the cheap route by making a basic weiss beer-(Is it their base beer that they use to make honey weiss?) and adding some lemonade flavoring, too much in my opinion, and this was the result. Would be interesting to make this one with lemon juice or peel and see what could be done here. For a summer seasonal can see why this would appeal to many though-easy to drink and refreshing on a hot summer day.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2011 22:57:18 | More by deebo

jdhilt

New Hampshire

2.28/5  rDev -27.4%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a five finger white head that fades quickly to ring and leaves some lace. Murky pale amber color. Medium carbonation and light-medium bodied. Lemonade nose. Flavor is like slightly fizzy, sweet lemonade with vague hints of hops way in the background not at all like an English shandy. $1.50 for a 12oz bottle from Capitol Convenience Concord, NH.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2008 22:55:48 | More by jdhilt

genog

Ohio

2.3/5  rDev -26.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

This 12 oz bottle pours a cloudy yellow color that is clear visibility through it. Smell is weak in every aroma. I can smell a bit of lemon, and a small bit of the weiss part of spices. Taste is at first a carbonated weiss beer with lemon, and spices but then the faint, watered down taste of lemonade pops into the senses. Not really a very welcome taste when I am trying to drink a hefeweizen. I will say the crisp carbonation is refreshing on a hot day, but the beer is not my favorite. Weak in all aspects except the crisp refreshing carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2007 15:25:25 | More by genog

jwc215

New Jersey

2.3/5  rDev -26.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours lemon-drop yellow with a thin white head that vanishes.

Smells like lemon merangue pie with a powered "artificial" lemonade mix. Interesting - where's the beer?

The taste is of powered lemonade - ala from a mix- slight lemon merangue. Sweet. I guess this is what they were going for...Again - any "beer" flavor is hardly detectable - some maltiness at most. Hardly, though.

Light-bodied, weak, a bit watery, with a lemonade dryness.

The concept is fine - but, this is hardly a "shandy". Regardless, this will be suited to the people who like lemonade from a powder mix with just a tad of undetectable alcohol. Too sweet, in an "artificial" way, for me, though lemonade dryness almost makes up for it - almost.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2008 16:02:54 | More by jwc215

champ103

Texas

2.33/5  rDev -25.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

A: A very odd, cloudy yellow with almost no head and no lace.
S: Take lemonade and add some beer. That is just what this beer smells like.
T: There is not much here but a lemonade zest and alcohol.
M/D: Light, watery and over carbonated. Easy drinking summer beer.

This is an odd beer. It is more like Mikes Hard Lemonade than a beer. Not something I will ever get again.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2007 20:25:21 | More by champ103

claminat420

Michigan

2.33/5  rDev -25.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A- cloudy like a wheat beer. poured into a weizen glass. great head at first then disappeared quickly.

S- definitely note the lemon

T- reminds me of some household cleaner found under the sink that has some lemon/fruity "hint"

M- not to carbonated. very light

D- very easy to drink. would be considered a "slam" beer if you like the fruitiness.

Overall- I would have to say it still beats a bud light:) this beer fits the "woman beer" category with the low alcohol factor and the watery taste. I guess it would be a decent starter beer to get the ol' gf or wife slowly into the field of better beers.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2009 06:30:25 | More by claminat420

2.33/5  rDev -25.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Appearance - Yellow with a smallish white head. Vaguely hazy.

Smell - Lemonade and not much else. A little faint bread, no hops to speak of.

Taste - Tastes like someone dumped a can of Country Time lemonade into a pint of Stella. A little bit of malt and a lot of very sweet lemon flavour.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2011 01:07:12 | More by

CMUbrew

Michigan

2.33/5  rDev -25.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass

A: Poured with almost a finger of white foam for a head, which disappated quickly. Pale light yellow in color and cloudy enough that you can't see through it. It certainly resembles a mix of lemonade and beer.

S: I mostly get lemonhead candy in the nose. Not much else.

T: The taste is initially a small burst of watery subpar lemonade flavor that is followed quickly by a longer wash of a BMC-esque beer taste. The aftertaste holds a slight bit of that artificial lemon detected in the smell.

M: Light bodied and pretty watery. Carbonation makes it feel far too foamy.

O: Many people like this and find it to be a super refreshing summer beer, but frankly I don't think it is good enough to drink any time of the year. The lemon in it just tastes artificial and the beer flavor behind it is watery and not pleasing in any way to me.

Note: This beer is not brewed with lemons as some people might suggest. It is "beer with natural lemonade flavor." Says so right on the label.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2012 20:26:34 | More by CMUbrew

Bagman007

Texas

2.35/5  rDev -25.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Served in a bottle poured into a pint glass.

A- Very pale yellow color with a slight head.

S- Very strong, overpowering lemon scent. Honestly it kind of smells like Pine-Sol.

T- Entirely too much lemon in here. Very bitter beer. Way too much citrus in this beer.

M- Very bitter. The overpowering lemon flavor really hurts this beer.

D- Not a great taste so I wouldn't drink many of these. The citrus is too overpowering to have a lot of these in a sitting.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2008 04:12:13 | More by Bagman007

HosP

Indiana

2.35/5  rDev -25.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Thanks to my wife who ordered this and made me finish it!

A- A cloudy orange color. White head that left very fast.

S- Not a lot of nose to it. Mostly lemony, citrus smell.

T- Wow, lots of lemon up front. Not much taste to it once you get past the heavy citrus. Tasted like a spiked ade drink.

M- Moderate carbonation. Light body. Very crisp taste to it.

D- Well it's better than coors light. I drank this after an Alpha King on tap so the flavors were very subdued to me. I really have no desire to ever drink another one of these.... unless stale yellow beer is the only other alternative.

Serving type: on-tap

08-19-2010 02:21:25 | More by HosP

nickthetick

Maryland

2.35/5  rDev -25.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

A: pours a cloudy straw yellow with a huge pure white head that doesn't hang around too long and only leaves a bit of spotty lacing.

S: ok, it smells like crystal light lemonade sweetened with honey. Its a nice smell but not for a beer.

T: taste is a lot like the nose but not as much, to say I didn't get as much on the tongue as the nose would fit well.

MF: heavy carbonation and watered down.

O: not a good beer, throw a slice of lemon in it and I could easily confuse it with crystal light with some sprite mixed in.

Serving type: can

05-18-2011 01:03:35 | More by nickthetick