As the hot Hawaiian summer continues to linger like fingertips on the encroaching blanket of an equally sweltering fall, is it any wonder that a simple glass of water — or even a cool lemonade — won’t cut it? And even after a long day’s work or a long night’s shift, why is it that going straight home doesn’t seem quite so immediately appealing?
The infallible Homer Simpson would testify that beer culture is American culture. Even our British counterparts will admit that the pub is the one place where it’s permissible for strangers to converse freely with each other.
The ’80s sitcom Cheers was my first inspiration to become a bartender. And as a cinephile and bibliophile, I think the two main characters from Stephen King’s Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, later adapted to screenplay and one of my favorite movies of all time, The Shawshank Redemption by Frank Darabont, said it best:
Andy Dufresne: “I think a man, workin’ outdoors, feels more like a man if he can have a bottle of suds.”
Red: “… It lasted 20 minutes, that beer break, and for those 20 minutes, we felt like free men.”
Sept. 18 would have marked the beginning of this year’s Oktoberfest, a two-week long celebration held annually in Munich, typically hosting more than six million swill-loving folk from around the world. The festival was understandably canceled this year, but our insatiable thirst lives on. While there may be restrictions on our social gatherings, and last call is once again imposed a few hours earlier than is convenient, not even Prohibition had the staying power to deny us of our right to enjoy the sweetest of all indulgences — that first, ice-cold, frothy, amber-colored brew after work. Nothing in this world tastes quite so justified, even if, in the meantime, we may be limited to enjoying it from within the comforts (and confines) of our own homes.
I have the solution for your ails, and ales for your solution. Leave it to the Brits, whose practicality in the 1850s led to the invention of the brilliant Shandy. An effervescent, low ABV (alcohol by volume) concoction of one-part beer and one-part lemonade, the shandy was the perfect response to those who sought to take the edge off, while still keeping their good senses about them.
The perfect shandy is like the perfect bar conversation with a beautiful stranger — light enough to be refreshing, and just sweet enough to be approachable. Depending on which continent you’re imbibing, “lemonade” could mean different things. If you’re making yours at home, ditch the soda pop for fresh lemon juice, sugar, a splash of soda water (optional). Try a lighter style of beer, like a Pilsner or golden ale. Darker beers don’t lend as well to the citrusy profile of the shandy. While Australian lemonades also contain bitters, feel free to experiment with different Shandy styles at home until you find your perfect match.
After all, as the famous saying attributed to Benjamin Franklin goes, “In wine, there is wisdom; in beer, there is freedom; in water, there is bacteria.”
