Give Your Next Shandy A Ginger Infusion

When you can't choose between an ice-cold lemonade or a frosty beer on a hot summer day, a shandy is a perfect compromise. A shandy is typically a mixture of half beer and half lemonade, but another citrus juice or soda can be combined with the beer instead. This refreshing beverage leaves a lot of room for creative interpretation — you can switch up the type of beer, or what you use as the sweet, fruity component. Next time you make a shandy, ginger should be the star ingredient to create a beer cocktail with a sweet, spicy kick.

The easiest way to make a ginger shandy is to use ginger beer or ginger ale soda in place of lemonade. The difference between ginger ale and ginger beer is that the latter is a fermented beverage with a stronger, spicier flavor, while ginger ale is a bit sweeter and milder. Neither is necessarily better than the other in a shandy, as the decision depends on your taste preferences. Whatever you choose, stick with the equal parts beer and soda ratio for the best balance. There are a few more options for incorporating ginger flavor into a shandy, too.

Ginger syrup, a mixture of boiled water, chopped ginger, and sugar, can be used as an easy swap for ginger ale or beer. You can start with a full glass of beer and add small amounts of the syrup until it's flavored to your liking, but the result will be more like a true shandy if you also add lemonade or another fruity component. It might be tempting to just add ginger tea or chopped ginger to your beer, but these ingredients won't be able to impart enough flavor, nor provide any sweetness to the brew. 

For a lower-sugar option without soda or syrup, a ginger-flavored kombucha can be blended with beer. Because kombucha is a strong, fermented beverage, start out by adding a small amount to the beer to ensure you enjoy the flavor, then add more to taste.

Don't forget that the beer you use is an important step in crafting your perfect shandy. Wheat beers are the standard, but a lager beer or a light ale could also be used instead. Each of these beers have a mild flavor that won't overpower the citrus or ginger component. There are plenty of shandy variations, and beer varieties outside of these classic choices, like different IPA styles or sours, can create interesting flavors. Just avoid dark and flavored beers — these tend to cover up or not blend well with gingery, citrusy flavors.