Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy - Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

mead4me

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev +15%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This beer is a great session beer, sitting out back or by the pool on a hot day. This is by far one of the better summer shandy's out there. I really prefer this on a hot day then my go to paulander heifer. A wheat beer on a hot summer day or night is what I look forward to after a long day at work. If you like wheat beers then this is a good one. Not for everyone but for me it just fine. Going in to get my third one now.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2011 22:07:33 | More by mead4me

billab914

Virginia

3/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12oz bottle into my Three Floyd's glass. Hazy and a lighter, golden yellow color with a thin, frothy white head to it. Decent lacing on the glass as I drank it.

The aroma has a lemon-aid, slightly lemony household cleaner type of flavor to it. Just a hint of a grainy, sweet, beer base to it.

The taste shows a little more of a sweeter, grainy, beer quality to it up front. The finish is all about the lemonaid with a tart, lemony quality to it.

The mouthfeel is light and carbonation is above average. overall, it was a decent beverage but not a very good beer. I think I'd rather just have an actual lemon-aid.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2011 20:41:45 | More by billab914

kylehay2004

Florida

3/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A: Single finger head which rapidly disspiates to a thin rim around the periphery. Murky straw color with golden hues.

S: Very lemony with a bit of bready/wheat.

T: No esoteric commentary needed here. Just read the label... " Beer with natural lemonade flavor". More like lemonade with a touch of beer flavor.

M: May be the most refreshing beer ever. Its carbonated lemonade. Add some sugar and you have a Mike Hard Lemonade.

Overall: Maybe these types of beer are for some, but not for me.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2011 07:08:20 | More by kylehay2004

VelvetExtract

Massachusetts

2.98/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

I knew I would eventually end up reviewing this beer.

A-Well, If lemonade had a head, this beer would be almost indistinguishable from the fruity beverage. Translucent. Hard to see any carbonation. Head is bone white and leaves more lacing that anticipated. How do I rate this? As a beer, it looks less than amazing. As a lemon spawned Summer sipper, I guess it looks nice.

S-Lemonade. Artificial lemonade. Smells like a plastic bottle of vending machine lemonade. The more I smell, the more I will admit that this brew may harbor some natural lemon tartness. So maybe the vending machine comment should be revoked? The flavor will decide.

T-To be honest, the flavor displays more natural lemon flavor and far less sickly sweet artificial lemon flavor. I recently burped and the burp's aftertaste was identical to lemonade. Was expecting a lot more 'Lemonade flavored Splenda' than 'Hey, this truly tastes like Lemonade'. So I guess that means good job?

M-Crisp and the carbonation draws my attention. Light body.

O/D-Better than expected. I don't really like lemonade anyway so this one never had to chance to make the word 'underrated' slide across my mind. Yet, while trying to be somewhat objective, this thing does not suck nearly as bad as expected.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2011 05:06:52 | More by VelvetExtract

deebo

Minnesota

2.25/5  rDev -28.1%
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

mattgreger

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev +16%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The brew poured a very cloudy yellow color, not allowing very much light to shine through. It had a bit of a small white head on top, that faded quickly. This brew didn't have much lacing at all.

The beer had a nice strong lemon aroma. Very much like lemons that have been sitting in the sun. Its dumb, its like sunshine in a bottle, the aroma makes you think summer right away. It has a great smell of a wonderfully cold lemonade. It seems to be holding true to the style.

Its apparent in the flavor of this beer that they have gone for. Its very much like the Sunset Wheat. It has a great lemon flavor that goes well with the carbonation levels of the brew. Its actually helps give this brew a great balance. Its a bit tart and sweet at the same time, making it very good.

The mouthful onl this brew is pretty good. I am not oen to drink a lot of vegetable/fruit beers, but this is a great one for the summer. Its has a thirst quenching aspect that is great. I would surely reach for this again.

Its a very drinkable brew, with a nice carbonation that goes with the lemon flavors. It goes down easy, with a bit of a tingle on the tongue. I will surely reach for it again.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2011 20:12:57 | More by mattgreger

BeerAmbassador

Arizona

2.68/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Hazy yellow color with a thin head that dissipates after a minute or two. Wheat on the nose with a soapy lemon aroma. Lemon flavor is predominant and definitely does not taste like fresh squeezed lemonade, but I wasn't expecting it to. More like Country Time lemonade. Carbonation is pretty good. All in all it is not a great beer, but it is pretty refreshing. I can't see myself buying this again, but on a 105+ degree day in Phoenix if someone handed me one I would certainly enjoy it.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2011 23:27:02 | More by BeerAmbassador

Wadsey

Indiana

2.63/5  rDev -16%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Summer Shandy

Served in 12 oz bottle. 

A: Appears to be a hazy gold. Not much of a head in the bottle. 

S: Watery lemonade with orange wedges and light wheat tang. 

T: Lemonade that tastes a bit artificial. Wheat tang and graininess, the combination of which brings to mind a children's breakfast cereal similar to fruit loops.  Light bitterness.  

M: Light body and medium carbonation. 

O: Summer Shandy represents a stab at the Blue Moon/Shocktop market. I'm not sure how well it compares to them as I have not sampled Blue Moon in many moons and Shocktop has never touched these lips. In comparison to other summer beers, Summer Shandy pales next to pale ales Berliner Weisses. Still, it is marginally than Sunset Wheat and Berry Weiss.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2011 12:43:00 | More by Wadsey

MoreThanWine

Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured a 3/4" white head. Hazy lemonade yellow colored body. Smells like lemonade. Taste is pretty much as to be expected half weiss beer and half lemonade. Although there is some lemonade sweetness I don't personally think it was even a fraction as sweet as a typical off the shelf lemonade. Plus if it had instead been predominately beer with just a little lemonade spike it would be been more like one of those BMC's with lemon or lime twist. So all in all I thought this delivered exactly what the label indicated. And yes, it's refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2011 11:55:04 | More by MoreThanWine

Superfly3176

Pennsylvania

1.95/5  rDev -37.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

I tried this a few weeks ago when we went out to dinner. I was expecting a mild lemon malt taste. It wasn't mild at all, the lemon taste was downright overpowering.

The beer pours a nice yellow to gold color. Had a good head to it. I'm not a big fan of this type of beer, too sweet for my taste. But Widmer Brothers Citra Blonde Summer brew was by far better tasting.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2011 23:28:46 | More by Superfly3176

gatorguy

Virginia

3.13/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a nice bright yellow with a two finger white head that fizzes away at a fair pace and leaves some lacing. Smells strongly of lemon and not much else. Taste is of carbonated lemonade with some malts thrown in. This was a surprise to me as I was expecting more balance, not that it was a bad taste, it just threw me off. Mouthfeel was decent, again like carbonated lemonade. This was an interesting beer and was really refreshing for sure, but it's not something I would get again myself.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2011 15:13:38 | More by gatorguy

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

2.88/5  rDev -8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I CAN tell you that I was not a huge fan of this one last year around this time, bottle give it another try. I CAN't wait to get back on The CANQuest (TM)!

Wow! I have to give it props for presentation. Two fingers of bone-white head above a cloudy banana-yellow colored beer!?! It looked like liquid lemon meringue pie! It smelled like it, too, that or Lemon Pledge. Mouthfeel was medium and the taste was a sugary lemonade. I would have preferred it to tend more towards tart and/or dry, but the inherent sweetness was not to my liking. Finish was still too sweet for me to really get behind it. I am a member of Leinie's Lodge, but I am not putting this in my canoe (unless Pocahontas is coming along and she would like to drink it, in which case ...). Nah, this is just too close to kiddie alcopop for my taste.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2011 00:14:58 | More by woodychandler

jsprain1

Minnesota

1.73/5  rDev -44.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

A- Pale yellow, fizzy white head lasts only for a little while.
S- A bit worried here. It smells overwhelmingly of lemon. There is very little beer aroma. Maybe just a touch of wheat characteristics. The thing about it is, I like lemonade well enough, but the artificial aroma on this one just lingers.
T- Yeah... It immediately is lemon. Lemon beginning, middle, and end. Which is cool and all, but there is not much beer to it. I mean beside the slightest bit of a grainy/wheat flavor, there is nothing but artificial lemon.
M- I guess the body is substantial enough considering a pretty significant portion of the bevarage is lemonade. Fizzy at first, but flattens out quickly.
O- I recognize that there is potential for a shandy. That said, the beer aspects are absent here, and the lemonade charactersitics taste strongly artificial. Thus, this one didn't work on almost any level for me.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2011 07:05:02 | More by jsprain1

aval89

Arizona

2.68/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: pale yellow..cloudy..small thin cap for a head.

S: smells like mildly spiked lemonade.. fresh lemons.. that's pretty much all im getting..

T: watered down lemonade.. almost like mixing an adjunct lager with lemonade.. small hints of wheat and/or grain.. finish is a bit chalky &for dry.. pretty lemonade like..

Mf: light-medium body with good carbonation ..

O: its not offensive..I just don't know how to classify this or even rate this.. refreshing non the less..

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2011 07:16:45 | More by aval89

spitInTheOcean

Michigan

3.15/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

hazy yellow color. nice big head retention.

smells like lemon, almost too much to be true. would not be surprised to learn that an artificial flavoring were used. its not bad, it just smells about as much like lemons as lemonheads do. but it smells nice.

it tastes about like it smells. not bad just very lemony. has a nice big mouthfeel, nice carbonation.

overall though, this doesn't really strike me as a beer. i dont remember what mike hard lemonade tastes like but i imagine it tastes like this.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2011 04:44:35 | More by spitInTheOcean

MattyG85

Minnesota

2.9/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from 12 oz. bottle into a Sam Adams perfect pint glass.

Appearance: Cloudy, pale yellow with a lot of bubbles. Big two finger white head with very good retention and lacing.

Smell: Big aroma of sweet and tart lemonade. Light hints of wheat and pale malts. Smells more like lemonade than a beer.

Taste: Tastes like it smells. Big taste of tart lemons throughout with a little wheat and very subtle hints of pale malts. Like a hard lemonade with hints of beer.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with a medium to high level of carbonation. Crisp.

Overall: This tastes ok but it's not something I would seek out again. As a lemonade it tastes pretty weak and as a beer its almost nonexistent.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2011 22:17:14 | More by MattyG85

beertunes

Washington

3.5/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into 10oz glass. Poured very lively, over 2 inches of fluffy white head that had moderate retention and no lacing. The beer was the cloudy yellow of a Hefe.

There was a solidly noticeable lemon scent at the front of the nose, with some earthy wheat coming in underneath. The lemon didn't come across as boldly on the tongue, it was still solidly present, but blended and balanced sicely with the base wheat beer.

The body was fairly typical for an American Wheat Ale, medium and clean. Drinkability was very good, I could easily see having a sixer of these while hanging out by the Nooksack River during the summer. Overall, a nice little beer. Worth your time.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2011 19:54:18 | More by beertunes

thegodfather1076

Ohio

3.13/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This beer was served out of a 12oz. bottle dispensed into a glass....

Presentation - Nice festive colorful label.

Appearance - Pours a murky yellow color with a thick 1 finger white foam head that dissipates quickly into a thin foam ring.

Smell - Smells of lemon and citrus notes. Very little actual beer smell.

Taste - Tastes of lemonade and light malts. Not enough beer flavor for me at all.

Mouthfeel - Light bodied and a little fizzy.

Drinkability - This beer has an ok flavor and would probably be very drinkable on a hot summer day.

This was mediocre in my opinion. It did not taste enough like beer for me. I would rather have a cold beer with a slice of lemon, lime, or orange.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2011 07:12:51 | More by thegodfather1076

JohnFatAss

New Jersey

2.8/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A friend recommended this to me who is a serious beer drinker and really knows his stuff.

It is a cloudy yellow color, more lemonade than beer. Goes down easy.. As a thirst quencher, this really hits the spot on a hot summer day.

As a beer, it is just average. I am not sure you can even call it a beer.

Over all, it is a pretty good summer drink. Makes for a pretty good social lubricant as well.

It is hell of a lot better than Bud Light Lime.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2011 03:09:17 | More by JohnFatAss

chocosushi

Oklahoma

3.18/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

12oz - > bridgeport pint

A ~ Pours a gritty head that's gone in 60.
Looks like mix between fresca, crystal light, and lemonade. Wierd translucence

S ~ Candied lemons & lemonade...powdered sugar

T ~ Candied lemon peel, the faintest of grains, soda crackers, and artificially flavored lemonade. No weissbeer here, but still pretty refreshing.

M ~ Spritzy and light

D ~ I admit I like this. It's great for the summer. I don't buy it all the time but it's nice and unthreatening plus it it is one of the only shandys on the market

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2011 21:38:54 | More by chocosushi

ZeroSignal

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle with freshness date poured into a SA Perfect Pint

A - Pours a cloudy, pale yellow with an aggressive, bright white head. It really looks quite nice.

S - There is a clear, standard lemonade smell in the nose with subtle hints of grain; pretty much my expectation for what a shandy (one that uses lemonade anyway) should smell like.

T&M - I feel like anyone who has traveled and is familiar with biermischgetränke (basically mixed beer drinks) would be pleased with the way this tastes, for the most part. It's rather light and refreshing, and certainly easy to drink. The lemonade flavor shines through, probably a little too much really. I wish that the base beer was of a higher quality with some flavors that stand up to the lemonade better. It's also a little too lightly carbonated for my tastes, as I typically prefer a shandy made with a carbonated lemonade. Beer wise I pick up the light malty, grainy flavor, but there's really not much there.

O - I think one needs familiarity with mixed beer drinks to appreciate a shandy properly. I'm admittedly not thinking in standard beer geek terms while enjoying this drink. That's the bottom line really...I enjoyed it for what it is. Is it a fantastic shandy? No, it's not, but for a highly commercialized version it's not half bad, seeing how most places will make these to order. If you've never had one, I don't think this should be your introduction. If you have, I think one would be "okay" with what is being offered here.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2011 02:31:33 | More by ZeroSignal

jmeyers78

Ohio

2.58/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A-pale hazy yellow and almost no head

S-Faint lemons not much else

T-It tastes like a shandy should...lemonade and beer but the flavors aren't very good. The lemon flavor over rides the beer flavor completely.

M-Very carbonated and watery. Very similar to the typical BMC.

O-Not impressed. I can see how a lot of folks would go for this in the summer but for me this beer seems to miss the mark

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2011 09:52:07 | More by jmeyers78

rdilauro

Connecticut

2.75/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

Light dry fun and REFRESHING!!!
After opening the bottle it had a nice hint of lemon. First taste, there was a little more lemon... After the second taste, it was full of fun and yesting lemon.
A real summer delight.
This was something that you could drink bottle after bottle and enjoy each one more and more

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2011 00:58:04 | More by rdilauro

Tripphop

Virginia

3.7/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Hazy yellow color, glows in the glass. Pithy white foam rises and crumples back to a thin cap of bubbles. The aromas are of lemon rind and cotton balls. Taste is very nice, Like malted lemonade. Light clean biscuit malt with a tangy lemony finish. Nicely dry and light-medium body, very clean and easy mouthfeel, quaffable. Good summer pounder, its a very feminine beer but damn, don't I enjoy it on a hot day.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2011 15:15:22 | More by Tripphop

ChugginOil

Illinois

3.4/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

This one pours a whitish yellow color and settle a lightly hazed straw color that resembles lemon juice. A fast dissipating inch of white head is observed. The nose is very lemony and citrus infused. Lemon & lime peel zest create the bouquet. Although quite tasty and citrusy up front, the after taste just reminds me of a watered down lemon/lime soft drink. Nothing too bold. The mouthfeel is crisp and light bodied, this is the highlight of this brew and certainly makes up for what lacks in the taste, considering how hot it is outside. Great for a hot day like today!

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2011 05:48:01 | More by ChugginOil