(Full Disclosure: All of these were drunk out of a NY Jets cup. Because sadness. If anything can overcome the stench of failure that is the NY Jets it has to be good. Also, I really don’t drink “good” beers, I usually drink standard American beers Budweiser, Miller and the like, whatever happens to be on sale when I go to the liquor store. Really I have no business doing this a beer comparison, but BlakeMT asked if I was going to do one, blame him.)
As some of you may remember I asked yesterday morning if anyone had tried Leinenkugel Summer Shandy.
I got a whole bunch of recommendations to try it. I also received recommendations for other lemony or fruity beerish drinks. That turned into me buying all of the recommended beverages I could find at the liquor store. I ended up with a six pack of the Leinenkugel’s 12 oz. bottles, a sixer of the Arnold Palmer 12 oz cans and a 4 pack of Stiegl Radler Zitrone Lemon.
Here are the results, from worst to best
3. Arnold Palmer Spyked
The Disappointment
Recommended by XJDano
Quick Facts
If anyone doesn’t know what an Arnold Palmer is it’s a Half Iced Tea Half Lemonade non-alcoholic drink. It’s one of my favorite drinks and I was really excited that someone made it alcoholic. I was ready to love this, I really was.
5% ABV 220 calories per 12 oz can
Verdict 3/10
I was disappointed. The taste isn’t bad, not too sweet, not too sour. Pretty much tastes like Arizona Iced Tea Arnold Palmer you can buy in most stores, the aftertaste, however, was not enjoyable, if you have ever mixed cheap Vodka with anything you will recognize the aftertaste.
The biggest problem for me was how filling it was, I drank 2 of them last night and felt extremely full afterward. In all seriousness, I kind of wanted to throw-up about 20 minutes after finishing the 2nd one just to purge it out of my body. I drank another one earlier this afternoon and felt almost exactly the same as I did last night.
It gets a 3 based strictly on how it tastes when before swallowing it, once you swallow it’s all downhill from there.
2. Leinenkugel Summer Shandy
Would have been the winner.
Recommended by XJDano, tromoly, SmugAardvark, nFamousCJ, Sampsonite24, Miss Mercedes, fhrblig, Gmporschenut, WilliamsSW, Kiltedpadre, McMike, and BlakeMT
Quick Facts
According to Leinekugel’s website it “is our traditional weiss beer with refreshing natural lemonade flavor that makes it the perfect summer beer” 4.2% ABV 130 calories per 12 oz bottle.
Verdict 8/10
This is some good beer. Crisp, really crisp and refreshing. The aftertaste has a hint of fake lemonade flavor, definitely not overpowering and not even bad, imagine lemon bar deserts made from a store-bought box cake mix, it’s not real lemon but it’s close enough to still be good. Just the right amount of lemon to balance out the taste of the beer. I am a fan and will definitely be buying it again, especially if I am grilling or some other outdoor activity, this beer definitely seems like it would perfectly on a hot day out on the sun.
It’s only real downfall was it was going up against the Stiegl Radler Zitrone Lemon.
1. Stiegl Radler Zitrone Lemon
Good Googly Moogly that’s some good beer
Quick Facts
Per Wikipedia:
Radler (German for “cyclist”) has a long history in German-speaking regions. It commonly consists of a 50:50 mixture of beer and sparkling lemonade. The origin of the name is lost to time, but is presumed to relate to the popularity of cycling and the need for a refreshing, less-alcoholic beverage on the journey. The story says that a German innkeeper was waiting for his cyclist regulars, when he found out that he doesn’t have enough beer. So he blended the remaining beer with a fresh citrus lemonade. The regulars really liked the new drink, so it became popular.
If said innkeeper was still around I would shake his hand.
2% ABV 175 calories 16oz can
Verdict 8.1/10
This is good, really good, tastes and feels like a sweeter and citrusier Perrier sparkling water. Very refreshing and very crisp, the carbonation is perfect a little more carbonation than soda, but not quite as fizzy a carbonated water.
Almost got a 10/10 except for 2 glaring problems, first and foremost for me, 2% ABV. I think I could have bought and drank every can of this the liquor store had and gone into a diabetic coma before I got really drunk. That being said if I was mowing the yard or riding a bicycle all day I am pretty sure this would be the perfect level of alcohol and hydration.
The second problem is it’s supposed to be a beer, it barely tastes like beer at all. There is definitely an aftertaste of the lager but in the initial taste, there is very little beer taste. To me, this wasn’t a huge deal for beer fans though I could see it being a problem.
Seriously, go buy some, it really good.
If my review sucked here’s a pic of Squirrel in a box to make up for it.
