Citrus? In My Beer? Hmmmm...

When I was about 18 or 19 years old a Trinidadian friend of mine introduced me to the Shandy. She had spent her 17 years watching her parents drink them and ultimately learning how to concoct the drink for them whenever they were sitting out by the pool soaking up the sun, so the natural thing to do while her parents were out of town on a sweltering Texas evening was to mix up some crap beer that I got from the guy who ran the Circle K and some Minute Maid Lemonade.

The flavors of the Shandy remind me to this day of that beautiful young lady, her even more stunning older sister (whom I'd had a crush on for years) and the hot Houston summers of my youth.

It's hot out there right now, so it's high time I broke out this bottle. Hoppin' Frog Brewing Company of Akron, Ohio, has put out a lot of wild beers over the years. They were chosen as 17th Best Brewery in the World by RateBeer not too long ago and I believe they've definitely earned that reputation. Everything I've had by them has been solid.

This beer is my least favorite of the 15 different Hoppin' Frogs I've had over the last 2 years, but that's not saying I dislike it. As I previously mentioned, I dig Hoppin' Frog's stuff. This one just fell short of what I expected, but then again my expectations may have been too high and my memories of Shandys past too shiny and closely held to the heart.

I poured this beer to find absolutely no head. Not even the beginnings of one. Instead I got tiny bubbles, and precious few of those to boot. Rarely can I watch single bubbles rise up from the bottom of the glass, spaced about a half second apart, but this one was doing exactly that. The color was lemony yellow. Almost artificially yellow. It was actually quite pretty.

Lifting the glass to the nose, I found a strong lemon scent, almost overpowering the wheat scent I got. I could sense a bit of malt, but the lemony aroma is so far forward that everything else seemed to be an afterthought. I definitely was not smelling a Houston summer spent with beautiful Trinidadian ladies.

Tentatively I took a sip. Interesting. The lemon-lime flavor was strong, but the beer came through fairly nicely. There was hardly any carbonation on the tongue. The zing I got was from the acidity of the lemon. Getting a hair closer to that long-remembered summer, I thought as I closed my eyes and reminisced.

Ultimately, though, I set my expectations far too high. This beer isn't bad. I'd never call it bad. It's just not what I hoped it would be. I expected a Hallelujah chorus, visions of swimming pools and dark-skinned, bikini clad girls and a flash back to my youth. I should well know that I'm not getting any younger and that those days are long gone, but a boy can dream can't he?

I'd drink Turbo Shandy again if somebody offered it to me, but I don't think I'd seek it out.

Mrs. Traveler's reaction? Her first thought was that it was a mead. She tasted a lot of honey in it, but also thought it tasted like a cider. She didn't hate it, but noted that it was a bit too sweet for her.

That past summer was very sweet. One of the greatest summers of my life. This beer is sweeter, but I don't think I'll remember it as fondly.

Shandy recipe:

Fill a glass halfway with lemonade. Homemade is best, because you can make it as tart as you want.

Fill the rest of the glass with beer. Wheat beers, lagers and lighter ales work best. The less hops the better, in my opinion.

Sit by the pool and enjoy a taste of the Caribbean.