7 Up And Beer Make For A Surprisingly Refreshing Cocktail

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Beer cocktails tend to be less common than their spirit-based counterparts, and interestingly, one of the best mixers for beer is commonly another beer. The best part is that beer cocktails tend to be simple drinks, often only using two or three ingredients. For example, you can mix beer with a can of lemon-lime soda, like 7 Up or Sprite. It takes about ten seconds to make and the result is more refreshing and lighter than your average beer glass.

In France, a drink like this is called a panaché. In Germany, it's called a radler. In the United Kingdom, it's usually called a shandy (short for shandygaff, which originally used a mix of beer and ginger beer). No matter what you call it, the recipe is consistent: Equal parts beer and carbonated citrus soda. But if you prefer more beer or more soda, that's okay too. The type of soda can vary by region, and when it comes to beer, you typically want a lager or another variety of lighter beer to properly match the brightness of the lemon or lemon-lime flavors. It's often served over ice to make it extra refreshing, and this is one of the situations where it's okay to serve beer on the rocks.

It should be noted that lots of folks who refer to a panaché say that it is a mix of beer and lemonade. Before you go hitting up any lemonade stands, you should know that lemonade in Europe often refers to a fizzy, carbonated lemon drink. The term dates back to as far back as the 1600s in Paris, when fizzy lemonade was first sold, and some European visitors that come to the U.S. are surprised when they order lemonade and it's a flat mix of lemon juice, sugar, and water. Ideally, you'll want to use a fizzy drink with your beer to avoid diluting that carbonation in the beer. In this case, lemon-lime soda like 7 Up makes for a good substitute.

What else could you use besides soda? In regards to what's available in the U.S., you might consider a sugar-free San Pellegrino sparkling lemonade or a Sparkling Ice sparkling lemonade, which are both carbonated. If you can find any lemon-flavored soda or lemon-flavored water that specifies that it's sparkling, it should be exactly what you're looking for. It doesn't need to be an especially strong or sweet drink: The appeal of a panaché is that it's refreshing, light, and easy to drink.