Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy
Style: Radler
ABV: 4.2%
IBUs: 13.5

Well it's been a long time coming that I review this beer and seeing as how it's my Summertime Series, I figured now would be a most opportune time to take a look at this beer. For this review, I've got Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, a name which my readers in the Midwest will instantly recognize.  Summer Shandy is a Radler, which is a German word that means "Cyclist." Radlers are basically beer mixed with lemonade or juice and was originally meant to be a thirst-quencher for bikers during their long bike treks across the German countryside.

Summer Shandy is one of those beers that you'll find at virtually every Bar-B-Que, 4th of July Celebration, Picnic or any outdoor related event in the Midwest. I also consider this beer to be the brewery's flagship beer. In any case, I've had this many times before at various outdoor events since I've started drinking beer. For this review, we're also bringing back the mason jar!

Appearance - Maybe it's because it's in can form but the head is quite foamy and voluminous initially before becoming a mildly foamy film. The beer itself an extremely hazy yellow color with no visible carbonation.

Aroma - Lemonade and barley on the front of the nose with some pale maltiness and maybe just a hint of lemon twist. There's nothing more to it then that, so bottoms up!

Taste - Lemonade, sparkling water, light pale malts and a hint of barley on the tail end of it all. There isn't much in terms of an aftertaste so it's really quite dry.

Speaking as someone who bikes almost every day, a beer like Summer Shandy after a 20 mile bike ride would taste pretty amazing and would be an adequate thirst quencher; Or if you're out on a hot July evening at a Bar-B-Que. However if you're just chilling at home and you so happen to drink this, then it'll probably be some more left to be desired. That's my way of saying it's a good summer beer for the great outdoors, but less-than-ideal if you're just staying in for the evening.

Still, I don't mind this beer. It serves it's intended purpose and that's all that really matters.

Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy - 7.5/10

Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
ABV: 8.5%

After a couple of weeks of waiting and searching, I've finally been able to snag a bottle of Leinenkugel's other Oktoberfest called "Uber-Oktoberfest" as part of their Big Eddy Series. I mentioned in an earlier review that the Big Eddy Series is the line-up of stronger beers to appeal to the craft beer drinking crowd which, in my opinion, has been fairly successful in making some good beers.

The other thing you'll probably notice about this beer is it's 8.5% ABV, which is very strong for this style of beer considering that most beers in this category fall in-between the 5-<6.5% range.

Uber-Oktoberfest pours a clear dark amber color with a foamy yet fizzy head that fades away after a few minutes. The lacing left behind is pretty good and rather sticky.

The nose kicks things off with a pretty strong citrus hoppiness and caramel malt notes up front. This is followed up by roasted barley & malts, yeasts and some mild nutty notes.

The flavor has some strong floral hop notes up front with  strong roasted barley, nuts, yeasty and citrus/grapefruit notes. Quite hoppy even for an Oktoberfest beer.

The body is fairly moderate in weight but it feels thick at the same time. The carbonation is actually quite mild compared to Leinie's other Oktoberfest beer.

Well the term "Uber" was properly utilized in the name because this is a strong tasting Oktoberfest. I thought this was rather good. It has some really strong flavors in it's profile, particularly with it's hops and is also bit boozy at the same time. If this were available in 6-packs (as opposed to 4) and a couple dollars cheaper this would be my go to Oktoberfest beer.

It's hard to describe how a stronger Oktoberfest beer tastes after having so many of them, so my advice to you is to try it out and make the call for yourself.

Leienkugel's Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest - 8/10


P.S. Keep your eyes open for a special review tomorrow night as I'm going to be looking at something completely different (and awesome!)

Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest Review

Name: Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
ABV: 5.1%

Tonight I'm doing something a bit special, as I will be doing two reviews of same style of beer made by the same company, Leinenkugel's. My first review will be their regular Oktoberfest beer, which is released around this time every year and the second beer I'll be reviewing is their Big Eddy Über-Oktoberfest beer.

With the case of many Leinie Seasonals, you're bound to find this in pretty much anywhere in the Midwest, whether it's a bar, grocery or liquor store; Though I'm unsure how widely available Leinie's is available in the rest of the country.

Leinie's Oktoberfest pours a clear orange color and a foamy head with excellent retention. The carbonation has a very mild appearance and the lacing is fairly decent.

The aroma has some light caramel to it, but the majority of the nose is grain adjuncts, cooked corn and some grassiness.

The flavor starts out with a mild caramel and Munich Malt-esque taste but aside from that it's grain adjuncts, corn, and grassiness make up most of the flavor. The finish is also quite dry so it doesn't linger on the palate

The body is quite light but the carbonation is quite intense for what it is, a sharp contrast compared to what I saw earlier.

There isn't really too much going on here: it smells like a typical adjunct lager and while the flavor somewhat resembles what an Oktoberfest should be, it just doesn't cut it. You're better off getting something else if you're looking for a decent fall seasonal.

Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest - 6/10