Yes, it’s Christmas evening and all the stores are closed. But now I’m looking toward the furure, when I’ll have a whole raft of Christmas beers to recommend.
And while my favor falls on big malty beers for Christmas, let’s realize you’ll have some guests at the party who will just want something light. I have had little love for Leinenkugel’s light product like Honey Weiss and various Shandies, but a Cranberry Ginger Shandy seems like something you might keep around if required (and I do like their all-malt beers like the flagship lager and Dunkel Weiss). So I picked this up from a “Mix a 6” rack to try.
The smell does have fruity and spice component, like a Canada Dry Ginger Ale. The beer in the glass is hazy gold, with a bit of pink to it, and a thin layer of foam. The taste shows honey at first, a bit of fruit, and then a definite burn from fresh ginger.
The beer also seems to stray kind of far from a “shandy.” It seems to have been brewed with the fruit and ginger in the boil, instead of being added to dilute it. The abv is 4.2%, which is a sessionable, but still a full strength beer. And the alcohol does hang in as part of the aftertaste. There also seems to be a bit of saccarine at the end, though. Still, it’s a bit more complex than a Mike Hard lemonade. So, as I suggested, you have a guest that would appreciate something light and fruity.
