It is almost October and the long slog through the South’s summer weather is not over. Not even close. While the rest of the country prepares to hunker down bracing for cold weather, we reach for another cold beer after mowing the lawn, again. Instead of liquor jackets around a fire, most Mississippians could reach for a life jacket if the urge took them.
This just means that it is always good weather to reach for a cold beer. I prefer Southern Prohibition’s take on the American lager made in Hattiesburg. There is something so clean, crisp and refreshing about a SoPro Light but moving into the fall season one is certainly looking for that depth of flavor you get from a no-less cold but much darker in color and fuller in body beer.
Pumpkin Beers are a nice seasonal fare and when combined with some good apple cider and a little whiskey, to make up for the cider, make a pretty good shandy. Barley’s Beer Barn in Gluckstadt and Craft Beer Cellar in Ridgeland would be a good place to start when hunting for specific seasonal beers.
Greg Purnell, the owner of Barley’s, said they would have a variety of seasonal beer in stock and on tap. He said off the top of his head pumpkin beers they have had stocked as of early August include the Elysian Night Owl, New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin and Ace Pumpkin Cider. Plenty of variety to experiment with.
Mixing beer and a non-alcoholic drink, usually lemonade, is called a shandy. In Germany, they call them a “radler” which means “bicyclist” or “rider” because they were popularized by bicycle riders who wanted to drink beer during a long bike ride but needed to cut it for obvious reasons.
Not a lot is known about the origin of the shandy. Certainly, many people were cutting their beer for who knows how long before someone gave it a name. Best research shows the term was first recorded in 1888 shortened from “shandygaff” which dates back to at least 1853 in Britain. It was actually recorded in a “comic novel” by the English writer H.G. Wells known as “The History of Mr. Polly” in which he describes a shandygaff as “two bottles of beer mixed with one bottle of ginger beer in a round-bellied jug.”
In France, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy they have the “Panache,” a French word, which is draft beer and carbonated lemonade. Throughout Europe one can order a “diesel”, which consists of draft beer and cola.
In the Netherlands, they have the “sneeuwwitje” which is 7Up or Sprite with a little bit of draft pilsner added for foam and has been canned by the Dutch company Royal Club since 1976.
The practice has even found its way to South America. In Colombia, a “rafajo” is enjoyed at barbecues. This consists of beer, usually a lager, mixed with a popular carbonated drink called a Colombiana that consists of champagne and cola. Meanwhile, in Chile, a “Fan-Schop” or “Fuentes de soda” in Spanish is a popular drink in pubs and diners. It consists of lager and orange soda, usually Fanta.
For fall, we recommend the Pumpkin Apple Shandy. A note on the drink: I tried a pumpkin beer, the Elysian Night Owl and a hard apple cider from Angry Orchard. The result was quick and pleasant but hardly the balanced cocktail we recommend below.
• 12 oz pumpkin beer
• 10 oz apple cider
• 2 oz of bourbon
Add beer, cider and bourbon to a pitcher and stir carefully, as to not agitate the beer. This should produce about two pint glasses of shandy. Garnish with apple slices.
