Leinenkugel's Lemon Berry Shandy

Brewed By: Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin  

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at some random liquor store in Urbana, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Fruit Beer/Shandy, 4.2%

Reported IBUs: ?

Oh Leinie's...I do occasionally run into Leinenkugel's beer at the ball park or when I go to cookouts, but I rarely buy the stuff. Saturday night was one of those nights when I found myself at a liquor store...I should emphasize that this was a liquor store. So they had cases of such fine delicacies like Steel Reserve. It's a small miracle that they even had Guinness and Sierra Nevada. Ambivalent but not defeated, I spotted some Leinenkugel's Lemon Berry Shandy and literally said, "alright, fuck it." And that's how this beer happened. About Leinenkugel: 

The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company is an interesting company. First...the company is owened by MillerCoors LLC, which is owned by SABMiller. That makes this company a micro-macro brewery, kind of like Goose Island. As I understand it, Leinenkugel still brews ther own shit (or at least some of it). But every time you buy a Leinenkugel beer, proceeds go to Miller. In fact, recently, MillerCoors LLC announced their new craft beer company, "Tenth and Black Beer Co," which was named after the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee that brews Leinenkugel and Blue Moon beers. 

I don't want to totally shaft Leinenkugel just because they are owned by SABMiller. There is a whole history of the brewery on their Heritage Page, and it's actually nicely done so I recommend checking it out. The brewery was founded in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, back in May 1867 by Jacob Leinenkugel and his business partner, John Miller (who, according to Wikipedia, sold his company shares in 1884). During prohibition, Leinenkugel brewed non-alcoholic "non-beer" called Leino. Unsurprisingly, the stuff wasn't popular, so the brewery started making and selling soda water instead. When prohibition ended, Leinenkugel was the largest bottler of soda water in the area. The brewery continued to expand, post-prohibition, and Leinenkugel expanded into Minnesota, Michigan, and Chicago. The brewery was purchased by the Miller Brewing Company in 1988. In 1995, the 10th Street Brewery was opened to help accommodate the growth and brew Leinenkugel beers. 

Leinenkugel has two breweries: the original one in Chippewa Falls, and the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. According to Wikipedia, 95% of the Leinenkugel's sales by volume are brewed in Chippewa Falls. The 10th Street Brewery brews the Leinenkugel's Auburn Ale, Berry Weiss, Creamy Dark, Hefeweizen, Honey Weiss and the Original pale lager.

The Lemon Berry Shandy isn't particularly fancy. The bottle states that this is a "Weiss beer with blackberry juice and natural flavors." The Leinenkugel website describes this as light and crisp. They state that this beer is brewed with blackberry juice, pale and wheat malt, and cluster hops. This is a great session and Summer beer.

Leinenkugel's Lemon Berry Shandy

For all the scorn, this beer actually pours pretty sexy, especially if you pour it into a wheat beer glass. In low light, the body of this beer is a hazy orange/brown color, with a swampy/murky look, and 3 to 4 fingers of big, pillowy, cloudy head. In bright light, this beer is a hazy orange color, and the pillowy white head not only is sticking around, but also leaving solid lacing. It's like your quintessential Summer wheat beer, only 9 out of 10 times you aren't pouring this into a wheat beer glass. 

The aroma here is pretty much lemon, wheat, and big, sugary, raspberry lemonade. I'm also getting some raspberry/grape Smucker's jam, fruit preservatives, iced tea and tea leaves, and some lemon soda. All-in-all, the nose is pretty inviting and reminds me of sweet tea and raspberry lemonade.

This beer is super creamy, carbonated, and smooth. You get a big mouthful of sweetness, sugar, lemon soda, lemonade, raspberry lemonade, and berry/herbal tea. There's some wheat and grain rounding this out, and I'm getting a nice finish of berries and lemonade. This is sweet, but it never becomes sickly sweet, unlike the pretty craptastic Stiegl Zitrone.   

At 4.2%, and being as sweet and refreshing as this is...you kind of pigeonhole this as a beer to drink at a cookout, baseball game, or while you're sitting around on a Summer evening shooting the shit with some friends. And that's how I utilized this beer this weekend, and it was great. This is a beer where you can have a couple of these without smelling or looking like that raging alcoholic who shows up to the little league game and starts yelling at everyone. Palate depth is great on this beer, with a light to medium-light mouthfeel. The mouthfeel is creamy, smooth, and makes great use of the wheat malt. This is supported by moderately high carbonation, and the back end rounds out with some really nice wheat. Obviously this isn't very complex....up front is sugary lemon, lemonade, raspberry lemonade, and sweet berry tea; mid palate rolls into more sweet raspberry lemonade and berry tea; back palate rounds out with some malt, lingering lemonade, and herbal berry freshness. 

Rating: Average (3.5/5 Untappd)

This one gets a Strong Average from me. In many ways, I almost prefer this to the Summer Shandy. But I don't know...they're both great beers with respect to what they intend to do. If you're drinking this expecting an IPA or Barrel-Aged Stout, you are not only a pretentious twat but you are a fucking idiot. This one is marketed pretty clearly: "Lemon Berry Shandy." Lemon + Berry + Beer + Soda. Put a lemon wedge in this, and go enjoy some John Mayer with your friends on the porch. And you know, John Mayer actually has chops outside the mainstream shit he releases to snag poontang and make money. Also, this shit is legit cheap at anywhere from 6-8 dollars for a 6-pack. Compared to some of the craft beer I buy, buying 6-packs of this is like me making money with each purchase. I digress...I'd pair this beer with warm weather, a cookout, family, friends, and baseball games. 

Random Thought: Beer is about taste, but "the feels" help too. Unless they're triggering....in which case get therapy and avoid said triggering beer. The Lemon Berry Shandy happens to taste okay, but it also reminds me of Summer.