Temperatures are creeping all the way up into the mid-60’s here in the northeast, which means it’s time to start crushing vaguely summer-themed beers. There are already a plethora of options on the market, but the Narragansett/Del’s Frozen Lemonade shandy collaboration is towards the top of the list for anyone who’s grown up in or around New England.
Now, Narragansett is teaming up with Del’s again to release a new limited-edition flavor that should be sure to please fans of red-colored Italian ice: Del’s Watermelon Shandy. As its name implies, this is a sweet, tart spin on Narragansett’s classic beer that “brings natural watermelon flavor, our award-winning Lager, and just a touch of sugar together” to create a shandy “that tastes as refreshingly different as a New England summer,” according to the brewery’s website.
As with the previous partnership between Narragansett and Del’s, this brew is a celebration of two things without which no Rhode Island summer would be complete. Narragansett was founded in Cranston, Rhode Island back in 1890, which is also where Angelo DeLucia first opened the first Del’s frozen lemonade stand in 1948. Since then, both have been a fixture on beaches from Weekapaug to Warwick and everywhere in between.
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For the folks responsible for brewing Narragansett, the addition of a watermelon flavor to the is perhaps an attempt to appease those Ocean Staters who prefer it to Del’s more famous lemon variety. “While Del’s has made a ton of great flavors in the last 70+ years, around here it’s the Lemon and Watermelon that we argue over the most,” Narragansett president Mark Hellendrung told Brewbound. “So we figured, ‘why not fuel the fire’? I suspect our Nobel Peace Prize is in the mail.”
Narragansett’s introduction of a watermelon shandy also comes at a time when there seems to be a greater interest in fruit-infused beers. Natural Light’s strawberry-lemonade Naturdays beer is winning actual awards, and Corona is launching coconut beers that nobody asked for. It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first watermelon shandy either: Leinenkugels makes one, but this Rhode Island take will surely be easier to find in the northeast.
So if you’re looking for a new brew to take away the beach, or just want to ease the pain of the Red Sox’s slow start to the season in a new way, the 4.7 ABV watermelon shandy from ‘Gansett is available now wherever you buy your Rhode Island-themed beer. Hopefully it helps you enjoy a wicked good summer.
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