Cloudy Lemon Shandy with Oleo-Saccharum Lemonade

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A pub shandy worth making properly: lemon peels pressed with sugar until they weep their oils, stirred into fresh juice for a lemonade base that tastes like the whole fruit, then cut with ice-cold wheat beer. One pitcher's worth of base makes four tall glasses, and the same syrup turns hard cider into an equally good cider shandy.

Ingredients

• 6 lemons (about 1 1/2 lb), preferably thin-skinned
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 pinch fine sea salt

• 2 bottles (22 oz each) German-style hefeweizen or other unfiltered wheat beer, very cold
• ice cubes
• 4 lemon wheels, for garnish
• 4 sprigs fresh mint (optional)

Instructions

1. Scrub 4 of the lemons under warm water and dry them. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest in wide strips, taking as little white pith as possible — pith is what makes the base bitter.
2. Put the peels in a medium bowl with the 3/4 cup sugar. Press and muddle with the back of a wooden spoon or a muddler for a full 60 seconds, until the peels look wet and the sugar smells strongly of lemon. Cover and let sit at room temperature 1 hour (up to 4), stirring once or twice. The sugar will turn into a thick, fragrant lemon syrup.
3. Juice all 6 lemons; you want 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (about 200 ml) of juice. Strain out seeds but leave the pulp — it's what makes the shandy cloudy.
4. Add the 1/2 cup cold water and the pinch of salt to the sugar-and-peel bowl and stir 1–2 minutes until every grain of sugar has dissolved. If it resists, warm the mixture in a small saucepan over low heat for 2–3 minutes, then cool completely.
5. Strain out and discard the peels, pressing them against the sieve to get every drop. Stir the lemon juice into the syrup. You should have about 1 1/2 cups of intensely tart lemon base. Chill at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 week covered in the fridge.
6. Chill 4 tall 16 oz glasses in the freezer for 10 minutes. Make sure the beer is at 38–40°F — anything warmer will foam over.
7. Add a few ice cubes to each glass, then pour in 3 tablespoons (about 1 1/2 oz) of the lemon base per glass. Taste a spoonful: if your lemons were very sour, this is your moment to add a teaspoon more sugar base or a splash of water.
8. Tilt each glass to 45 degrees and pour the cold beer slowly down the inside wall, about 10 oz per glass, filling to roughly two fingers from the rim. Straighten the glass at the end to raise a half-inch of head.
9. Give each drink one gentle stir with a bar spoon — just enough to marry the layers without knocking the carbonation out. Garnish with a lemon wheel and a mint sprig and serve immediately.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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