Lilac Shandy

Written by
Colleen Graham
Freelance writer and author Colleen Graham shares her love of preparing stylish cocktails on The Spruce Eats. Join her on a journey to discovering great drinks.
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Colleen Graham
Updated 05/13/21
Colleen Graham's Lilac Shandy Drink Recipe

The Spruce / S&C Design Studios
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 10 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cocktail
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
128 Calories
0g Fat
23g Carbs
1g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 128
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 15mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 23g 8%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 19g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 11mg 55%
Calcium 16mg 1%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 75mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Lilac season is short, so take advantage of it by mixing up a beautiful lilac shandy made with fresh lilac flowers. The fragrant purple blossoms only appear in spring, making it a perfect time to add this recipe to your personal cocktail menu. It's a light, refreshing beertail that has an amazing floral flavor ideal for a lazy day in the garden or a backyard barbecue.

A popular mixed drink of beer and lemonade, the shandy is a great base that begs for experimentation. This variation came about when playing with lilac simple syrup and using it to make lilac-flavored lemonade. The next step was, quite naturally, to try it in a shandy and it worked very well.

As all shandies go, this is a simple recipe and all you need is beer and lemonade. In this case, you'll sweeten a fresh-squeezed lemonade with lilac syrup instead of plain syrup. Add a light, spring-like beer to the mix and a beautiful purple cocktail is ready for you to enjoy!

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Ingredients

For Lilac Lemonade:

  • 1 cup lilac simple syrup

  • 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

  • 2 cups distilled water

For the Lilac Shandy:

  • 6 ounces light-flavored beer

  • 6 ounces lilac lemonade

  • Lemon slice, for garnish

Steps to Make It

Note: while there are multiple steps to this recipe, the cocktail is broken down into workable categories to help you better plan for preparation and assembly.

Make Lilac Lemonade

Once the lilac syrup is prepared, it's easy to make lilac lemonade. This will make a larger batch (about 4 cups or 32 ounces) than what is needed for a single shandy. However, this is a once-a-year project, so it's best to take advantage of the opportunity and make as much as you want. Until you add alcohol, it's a delightfully flavored lemonade that the entire family can enjoy.

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. In a pitcher, combine the lilac syrup, lemon juice, and water.

  3. Stir thoroughly and taste; add a little more water, syrup, or juice to suit your taste, stirring after each addition. Store in the refrigerator until it's time to pour a drink.

Make the Lilac Shandy

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Fill a pint glass half-way with the beer of your choice.

  3. Top with lilac lemonade and give it a quick stir.

  4. Garnish with a lemon slice. Serve and enjoy.

Tips

  • Any light-colored beer will work perfectly here. Something like Corona is an excellent choice, though many of the pale ales and light lagers would work as well. You might also try playing with any of the spring and summer releases from craft breweries because they should have a nice, light profile that's perfect for this drink.
  • As long as your lilac lemonade and beer are cold, there's no need to add ice. If you like, fill the serving glasses with ice rather than the lemonade pitcher to avoid dilution.

Recipe Variation

Try this same recipe any time of year with lavender. Simply make lavender simple syrup, turn that into lemonade, then add beer for a beautiful lavender shandy! It will have a slightly lighter floral flavor than the lilac version.

How Strong Is a Lilac Shandy?

Like all shandies, the lilac shandy is going to be half the strength of the beer you pour. For instance, if you go with a 5 percent ABV beer, the shandy will be a very mild 2.5 percent ABV.