No. Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy is a wheat beer, and it isn’t safe if you have celiac disease or need to avoid gluten.
It’s an easy one to get wrong. A shandy tastes light, like lemonade on a hot porch, and it doesn’t feel like “real” beer. But the base is beer, and that’s where the gluten is.
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What’s in it
Leinenkugel’s describes Summer Shandy as its traditional weiss beer with natural lemonade flavor, at 4.2% alcohol. Weiss means wheat. It’s brewed with malted wheat and barley, then blended with the lemonade flavor.
Wheat and barley are both gluten grains. The lemonade doesn’t change that.
I had a Summer Shandy once and it was delicious, but I got an upset stomach—this was before I knew I was celiac.
What about the other Leinenkugel’s shandies?
The whole shandy line is built the same way: a wheat or barley beer blended with fruit flavor. We couldn’t find any gluten-free beer from Leinenkugel’s. Treat all of them as off-limits unless the label clearly says gluten-free.
Gluten-free vs. gluten-removed beer
You’ll see two kinds of “safe-looking” beer on the shelf, and they aren’t the same.
- Gluten-free beer is made from grains with no gluten, like sorghum, rice, millet or buckwheat.
- Gluten-removed (or gluten-reduced) beer starts with barley, then an enzyme breaks the gluten down. Many people with celiac disease react to it anyway, and many celiac groups advise caution.
If you have celiac disease, look for beer made without gluten grains, and check the label every time.
Make your own gluten-free shandy
This is the easy fix. A shandy is just beer and lemonade, so you can make one at home in a minute.
- Fill a tall glass halfway with a cold gluten-free beer. A light, crisp one works best.
- Top it up with cold lemonade.
- Add a squeeze of fresh lemon and a few ice cubes if it’s a hot day.
Adjust to taste. More lemonade makes it lighter and sweeter; more beer makes it drier.
I’m not a beer drinker, but my friends tell me that Glutenberg is a good one to try.
For more options, see our Gluten-Free Alcohol Finder, which covers beer, cider, spirits and wine.
The short answer
Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy contains wheat and barley, so it isn’t gluten-free. Skip it, and mix your own shandy with a beer made from gluten-free grains.
Sources: Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, Beverage Business: Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy
Club Gluten Free shares practical, well-researched guides to gluten-free ingredients, products, restaurants and recipes. We check manufacturer statements and celiac organization guidance, and update our guides when products change.