The heat is on, which means that it’s almost summer time! We’re ready to be outside in the sun or by the water for BBQs and, of course, cool, refreshing drinks. This month’s drink is an ode to beer, with a summery, refreshing twist. Known as Ginger Shandies, these drinks fall somewhere between beer and wine and cocktail, but with a nice flavor that will refresh even on the muggiest of summer days. Check out the recipe and some tips for making Ginger Shandies.

You’ll need at least three bottles of Hoegaarden beer or some type of light Hefeweizen beer if you can’t find the Hoegaarden brand. Keep this as cold as possible before making the Ginger Shandy.

You’ll also need one bottle of chilled ginger beer per three bottles of actual Hefeweizen beer. This should be kept with the actual beer in a fridge or cooler before making the drink.

Cut a couple of lemons into thin slices and pieces of mint for garnish and a little bit of an added flavor.

To make the Ginger Shandies, combine the Hoegaarden or other Hefeweizen beer with the ginger beer. It should be three parts regular beer and one part ginger beer. Stir in the lemon slices and mint leaves for about 30 seconds to a minute to make sure it is well combined but not too frothy. Then fill glasses with ice for whoever is having the Ginger Shandies, and add the extra lemons to those glasses as well as the pieces of mint. Then pour the Ginger beer and Hefeweizen mixture into each of these glasses and serve. You can garnish with one of the other lemon slices or some mint if you’d like, but much of the time there is plenty of flavor from what has been added to the mixture in the pitcher, and you may not want the sourness and tartness of the lemon and mint combo to be overpowering.