Beer and Blank

Though September makes us switch into fall mode, warm weather will stick around through mid-October. So rather than leave behind your go-to summer beer, why not mix it up? Literally. A shandy is a classic British creation, typically made of equal parts light beer and a citrus-flavored soda, lemonade or ginger ale. The most requested version at The Scottish Arms in the Central West End is a lager shandy, which calls for filling a pint glass three-quarters with Spaten Premium Lager – or, for a royal treat, Radenberger Royal Pilsner – and topping it with lemon-lime soda. Another frequent request by UK regulars – a lager and lime – combines a pint of lager with a shot of Rose’s Lime Juice. I was first introduced to shandy-like drinks when I lived in Madrid. Friends suggested I order a clara, made with equal parts beer and Casera (a carbonated lemon-flavored tonic water). Back in The States, my solution has been to top a lager with some 7-Up and lemon-flavored seltzer. While Casera is the preferred mixer in Madrid, head to Barcelona and you may see lemonade. Order a clara at Modesto on The Hill and you’ll sip a combo of house-made lemonade and Estrella Damm. One version for beer-loving Germans is a Radler (pictured above) – a 50/50 mix of beer and lemon-lime soda. Florian Kuplent, brewmaster for Urban Chestnut Brewing Co., suggested using UCBC’s Zwickel, an unfiltered Helles, for a popular German version. Replace the Zwickel with Schnickelfritz, UCBC’s Bavarian-style wheat beer, and you get a Russn (meaning “Russian”). Numerous other classic beer-based combos abound, both now (How about lager plus cider for a snakebite?) and as the weather cools (Think Guinness and pale ales.). For these beer and fill-in-the-blank cocktails, anything is possible; that’s the American way.