Watch Out Aperol Spritz! This Maltese Craft Beer Shandy Could Soon Become Everyone’s Favourite Summer Drink
Cheeky Spritzes are one of the island’s most popular drinks, and it’s very easy to see why. With enough wine, prosecco, soda and Aperol (topped off with copious amounts of ice and orange slices) to cool off any hot summer, the refreshing cocktail is perfect for Malta. But the timeless drink’s days on the top of the drinkchain might be nearing an end.
What with its unforgettable marketing and cool minimal branding, local craft beer Stretta has had an amazing year. Now, to celebrate yet another successful summer, Stretta have teamed up with some big names in the partying scene – along with a couple conscious plastic-collectors – to bring Stretta Sessions to Sliema. The first of these chilled events full of funk, disco and craft beer went down yesterday, and it saw the birth of a very interesting summer refreshment.
Say hello the Stretta Clara… Malta’s very first craft beer shandy!
If you’re not sure whether you caught that, allow us to break it down for you.
After chilling the glass and slotting in a wedge of lemon, you’re looking at a cocktail that has equal measures of orange juice and lemonade, along with St Germain Elderflower Liquor… and your good old Stretta Mu?ajk beer, of course.
“It’s a fresh take on the old classic shandy,” Stretta’s John told Lovin Malta. “The first two releases have been an IPA and a Pale Ale/IPA hybrid, which are lovely, but we wanted to make something especially for the summer.”
In between the traditional orangey taste and the introduction of Malta’s latest craft beer into the mix, the whole thing positively screams summer, and is sure to become a firm favourite among locals. “The focus was on instant refreshment,” John went on to explain. “The end result is a softly-carbonated, ice cool, hazy yellow shandy that really goes down a treat on a hot day!”
“It was a real hit at Surfside yesterday, and it’s still rolling out at the moment,” John finished. “It’ll be available across beach clubs and a handful of bars and restaurants.”
As people who were there perfectly put it, this really is “the new Maltese drink you never knew you always needed needed in your life”.