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Meg is Well

Beverages

Shandy Punch

June 21, 2017

A combo of sour beer, orange juice, and red wine make this Shandy Punch a perfect summer drink for a party. | www.megiswell.com
THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS WHICH WON'T CHANGE YOUR PRICE BUT WILL SHARE SOME COMMISSION.

This Shandy Punch is a perfect summer beer drink for entertaining. While the combo of sour beer, orange juice, and wine might seem strange, it is light and icy enough to enjoy during a heat wave. Or any 4th of July parties you might be planning.

Is there a heat wave where you’re at right now? I bet there is. My little town of Vacaville, California has been reaching 110 degrees the past week. Add that to the cold I’ve been slowly getting over and you have a very unmotivated Meg.

I missed posting last week for the first time in a long while. And over the next few posts, you’ll probably be seeing a lot of drinks or ice-cold desserts and treats. This Shandy Punch is the first of the bunch.

A combo of sour beer, orange juice, and red wine make this Shandy Punch a perfect summer drink for a party. | www.megiswell.com

Let Me Explain

Okay. I know you probably cringed or maybe barfed in your mouth a little bit about combining beer and wine. So let me explain why this combo makes sense.

Sour and Barrel Aged Beers

The distinction between a sour beer and a barrel-aged beer is often blurred. A beer can be sour. Or barrel aged. And often it is both.

Bacteria and wild yeast are responsible for sour beers. Brewers can add particular strains through inoculation, open-air fermentation, fruit, and barrel aging. Barrel aging is simply aging brewed beer in recycled barrels from wineries and distilleries. Most sour beers I’ve tried are a combination of inoculation + fruit + barrel aging.

A combo of sour beer, orange juice, and red wine make this Shandy Punch a perfect summer drink for a party. | www.megiswell.com

People’s reactions to sour beers are quite frankly, hilarious. They take a sip, their lips pucker up, they shake their head, and their eyes get really big. It’s what happened to me.

I was first introduced to sour beers when I moved to Santa Rosa for graduate school. Home of Russian River Brewing Company, there were many sour beers to choose from (with cool names like Consecration, Supplication, and Temptation).

Let’s just say sour beers are funky and a little rich. They’re not the type of beer you would want to be drinking a lot of during the heat of the day. Sour beers are also usually too adventurous for the average beer drinker.

A combo of sour beer, orange juice, and red wine make this Shandy Punch a perfect summer drink for a party. | www.megiswell.com

But Memorial Day came around and I had a 22-ounce bottle of Anderson Valley Horse Tongue Wheat sitting in the fridge and an opened bottle of red wine. Inspiration struck. By adding wine to a wine barrel aged beer, would some of that funk disappear?

The answer is yes. By adding a very small percentage of wine to sour beer, you get a delightfully fizzy feeling light beer that still has a little kick to it. Adding the orange juice waters it down more, making it hot weather punch material.

What Beers to Look For

I used Anderson Valley Horse Tongue Wheat, a beer that’s fermented first in a stainless steel tank for 6 months and then in locally sourced wine barrels for another 6 months.

A combo of sour beer, orange juice, and red wine make this Shandy Punch a perfect summer drink for a party. | www.megiswell.com

I think any wheat or blonde ale based sour beer aged in wine barrels will do. Sour beers tend to be more spontaneous brews that aren’t always available everywhere, so check out what your local breweries are getting up to.

If you’re like me, you always make more than what’s needed too. You can turn the leftover punch into a Strawberry Orange Shandy Sherbet.

Strawberry Orange Shandy Sherbet combines a shandy beer punch, fresh fruit, and sweetened condensed milk for a great summertime icy treat. | www.megiswell.com

A combo of sour beer, orange juice, and red wine make this Shandy Punch a perfect summer drink for a party. | www.megiswell.com
5 from 1 vote
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Shandy Punch

A combo of sour beer, orange juice, and red wine make this Shandy Punch a perfect summer drink for a party.

Course Beverages
Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings 11
Author Megan Wells

Ingredients

  • 1 and 1/3 cups red wine
  • 5 and 1/2 cups sour beer 2 (22-fluid ounce) bottles
  • 4 cups orange juice
  • ice
  • orange, lemon, and lime slices to garnish
  • punch bowl

Instructions

  1. Combine wine and beer in a large serving bowl filled with ice. Add the orange juice and stir until combined. I used 4 cups but feel free to add based on taste. 

  2. Add orange, lemon, and lime slices for garnish. 

Recipe Notes

I used Anderson Valley Horse Tongue Wheat for this punch. It' fermented first in a stainless steel tank for 6 months and then in locally sourced wine barrels for another 6 months. Any wheat or blonde ale based sour beer aged in wine barrels will work.

 

A combo of sour beer, orange juice, and red wine make this Shandy Punch a perfect summer drink for a party. | www.megiswell.com</div/

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  1. Mary says

    June 29, 2017 at 3:40 pm

    5 stars
    I’m a sour beer fanatic! This shandy sounds delightful!

    Reply
    • Megan Wells says

      July 6, 2017 at 11:25 am

      Yea for sour beer! I love how they all taste so different, you never know what you’re going to get. Thanks, Mary!

      Reply
  2. Stephanie@ApplesforCJ says

    June 29, 2017 at 2:43 pm

    This definitely sounds like an interesting combination. Looks refreshing. My husband is a beer drinker and I like wine. I think this is something he’d probably enjoy!

    Reply
    • Megan Wells says

      July 6, 2017 at 11:26 am

      You get to satisfy both your likes!

      Reply
  3. Dannii says

    June 29, 2017 at 1:30 pm

    It’s been a long day and I am needing one of these. The perfect way to cool down this summer.

    Reply
    • Megan Wells says

      July 6, 2017 at 11:31 am

      I hope this past week hasn’t been filled with long and laborious days! This is perfect for hot days when you need to decompress.

      Reply
  4. Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says

    June 29, 2017 at 11:29 am

    I am sure adding beer to this gives it so much flavor. What a creative cocktail! Love you photos too!

    Reply
    • Megan Wells says

      July 6, 2017 at 11:32 am

      It really does and thanks so much Karen!

      Reply
  5. Hannah Healy says

    June 29, 2017 at 11:19 am

    This drink looks amazing and refreshing. Love it!

    Reply
  6. Sarah @ Champagne Tastes says

    June 21, 2017 at 2:15 pm

    5 stars
    Oh man.. 110 is brutal! I saw that it’s so hot in Arizona that some flights are grounded. It’s been downright cold here.. in the high 80s. Okay cold comparatively.. lol. And how in the world have I not tried sour beer?!!?! I’m gonna look for it!!

    Reply
    • Megan Wells says

      June 26, 2017 at 11:19 am

      I believe it, it’s way too hot.

      Reply

Hello!

Hi! I’m Megan Wells. Food, photography, and writing is how I deal with life’s struggles, mainly ulcerative colitis and living with a j-pouch. Read more…

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