My loyal readers, if you’ve known me for any length of time, you’ll realize I’m not much of a drinker of alcohol. I usually only do my drinking at restaurants and bars, so when I actually went and bought beer to bring back home, it must have been a special occasion. My beer of choice for the last little while has been a shandy, which is traditionally composed of half beer and half carbonated soda. Due to my love of sodas, I find this combo to be a refreshing and tasty beverage. The presence of the beer makes it less sweet than a regular soda while the carbonation gives it an interesting texture.
You can just imagine my delight when Rickard’s began selling bottled shandys as their summer beer. A few weeks ago, I bought six bottles and brought it home. After sufficient refrigeration, I decided to have a taste and cracked open a bottle. Unfortunately, whatever excitement I had for this beer turned into disappointment. The Rickard’s shandy was terrible. It was neither refreshing or tasty. It kinda just tasted very bland. The beer part sucked and the lemonade part was just dull. I couldn’t even finish the bottle. If you think I’m alone in this assessment, I’m not as other people seem to think it sucks too.
Now I had a problem. I had five other unopened bottles of terrible Rickard’s shandy in my fridge which sure as hell wasn’t going to drink. I thought about giving it away but I didn’t know how. Most of my friends live in downtown Vancouver and I wasn’t going to carry beer all that way just to get rid of it. I then wondered if I could just give it to a random local bum. While that would be convenient, my sense of morality came into play and I thought it was counterproductive to give free alcohol to people who needed real help. So the terrible beer continues to sit in my fridge. Short of pouring it down the sink, how else can I get rid of it?
Oh, if you’re wondering if it’s possible to buy a great shandy at the liquor store, it is! I was introduced to the Stiegl Radler while I was in Las Vegas and it’s everything you want in a shandy. It’s simply delicious! At least in British Columbia, you can buy it in cans. Give it a try!