Citrus Shandy - Saint Arnold Review
When the sun punishes from above the body begs for something light, refreshing, and sessionable. And, trust me, the sun punishes from above a lot here in Texas. But no matter where you are in the world, there’s always a time and place for that cooling drink.
For a lot of people, that drink is a shandy, or if your tastes are more German, the radler. Shandies are blonde beers (often lagers) mixed with lemonade, and radlers are lagers mixed with fruit juice, usually grapefruit juice in our experience.
With that in mind, Saint Arnold brings us both in one can. Citrus Shandy starts with a Pilsner based lager that is blended with lemon and grapefruit soda to add that pop, bang, and fizz which offers a bright sweetness to help combat the summer heat. This all together brings us a beer with 4.5% ABV and (we hope) lots of citrus flavor with not too much sweetness.
It’s getting hot outside, so let’s pop a top before we melt.
First Impressions:
On the Eyes--Citrus Shandy pours straw-colored and cloudy and looks like a well mixed elixir.
On the Nose--Bright and sweet like a fresh lemon pie. As a citrus drink should, it gets the salivary glands pumping. Let’s drink!
On the Palate--The lemon soda comes through the strongest with a bite from the grapefruit soda. The pale lager offers a light fermented flavor that compliments the citrus sodas and tones down the sweetness appropriately. It has a light to medium body, making it really easy to drink, and the low ABV makes it more than sessionable.
Food Pairings: Grilled meats or vegetables, roasted sweet corn with lots of butter, and good old hot dogs and hamburgers. It’s summer, baby, keep it fun!
Final Thoughts:
My main concern when buying something like this is how sweet it might be. And also the fact that beer is pretty damn good by itself, so why add the extras? I’m sure you’re here because you have many of the same concerns. Well, I think there are always reasons to lighten a beer and make it more palatable or sessionable. And I think if you’re going to buy something that’s already mixed, Saint Arnold isn’t lying one bit about their product. It is a Citrus Shandy to a T, so much so that it will probably be the beer I think of when I think of a shandy.
That being said, it obviously expresses the traits of a shandy. It is sweet—sweet enough that I could only drink two or three, but that’s coming from a guy who likes his bitter beers, so it might be right for you. But in the way of shandies, this is one of the better balanced ones, with chiefly lemon flavor followed by the grapefruit zing and the lager crispness.
So, if sweet is your thing, this beer is a great BBQ companion to help cut through all those fatty foods. Also, if you’re a person who likes to add citrus to your beers, this is one for you to try. It offers a great freshness, and to be honest, I’ll probably be buying it again when I’m craving a shandy.
Cheers!
Mr. Brew
Check out more citrus beers on tap — Yellow Rose IPA from Lone Pint Brewery and Juicy IPA from Saint Arnold.