Leisure

Strangers with Shandy

The City’s Five Most Important Shandies

Ah, the shandy. Half beer, half citrus. So summery. So simple. So... not that simple, actually. Behold the city’s five summer-friendliest shandy variations—let’s just say the competition was intense. Even though it wasn’t. Just sorta involved everyone sitting around drinking shandies.

THE TRADITIONAL SHANDY

Son of a Gun

The scene: Shook/Dotolo. Lobster rolls and shrimp toasts.
The shandy: A 16-ounce bottle, a highball glass and a straw. Nothing super-crazy here—just a Widmer hefeweizen, some lemon, some honey and some deliciousness.
You’re thinking: Shandy lunch meeting. Secret weapon: hefeweizen.

THE MEXICAN-INSPIRED SHANDY

The West End

The scene: Westside cocktail connoisseurs. 405 absconders. Off-grid drinkers doing off-grid things.
The shandy: The SouthEast Shandy, with Tecate, housemade lemonade, muddled ginger and fresh Thai basil—so it’s got a bit of a kick.
You’re thinking: Shandy date. You know this little place...

THE DOWNTOWN SHANDY

Soleto

The scene: Suits. Loosened ties. And pizza. Lots of pizza.
The shandy: The Soleto Shandy, with lemonade, housemade limoncello, Sprite and Angel City Brewery’s Eureka Wit (a Belgian white ale). You know what they say: beer is the soul of wit.
You’re thinking: Downtown shandy dinner. You’ve been hearing rumblings about Downtown’s shandy resurgence...

THE PISCO-SPIKED SHANDY

Freddy Smalls

The scene: Raucous friendliness. A Cheers vibe. Waffles with bacon butter.
The shandy: The Shandenstein—Belgian pale ale, orgeat, lemon, honeydew melon juice, ground cardamom and pisco. Yes, pisco.
You’re thinking: Hard to think anything past just... pisco shandies and waffles.

THE BOURBON SHANDY

Laurel Hardware

The scene: Beautiful people. Profound hardware-store history.
The shandy: The LH Boilermaker has bourbon along with the beer (which is Magic Hat #9 Ale), lemon and apricot juices, and apricot liqueur.
You’re thinking: Shandy date... with somebody you’ll meet when you get there.