Shandy Ratio Calculator: Beer, Lemonade, ABV and UK Units

A 50/50 mix is the simplest starting point for a British-style shandy, but it is not a legally fixed universal pub ratio. A beer-forward 60/40 pour keeps more malt and hop character; a lighter 40/60 pour tastes sweeter and lowers the finished strength. Use the calculator above with the ABV printed on your actual beer rather than assuming every lager is the same strength.

For this guide, lemonade means an alcohol-free, carbonated lemon soft drink in the common British sense. If the mixer itself contains alcohol, the calculator will understate the result.

Quick shandy ratios for one UK pint

The table uses a 568ml finished drink and a 4.0% ABV beer. Numbers are rounded to the nearest millilitre and two decimal places for units.

The total alcohol does not disappear when the beer is diluted: the lemonade spreads the beer's alcohol through a larger finished drink. A half-pint of 4% beer still contributes the same amount of alcohol whether it is served alone or topped to a pint with a 0% mixer.

How the calculator works

1. Beer volume = finished drink volume × beer share.
2. Approximate final ABV = beer ABV × beer share, when the mixer is 0% ABV.
3. UK units = finished volume in millilitres × final ABV ÷ 1,000.

The third formula is the one published by the NHS. The first two are volume-weighted mixing calculations. They assume the two liquid volumes are approximately additive, which is sufficiently accurate for a home drink but not a laboratory measurement.

Which ratio should you choose?

• 50/50: the balanced place to start when you do not know how sweet the lemonade or bitter the beer will be.
• 60% beer / 40% lemonade: keeps more of the original beer character and works when the soft drink is very sweet.
• 40% beer / 60% lemonade: lighter in beer flavour and alcohol, but noticeably sweeter with ordinary lemonade.
• Alcohol-free beer: gives the same ratio choices without relying on dilution to reduce a normal beer. Check the label because “low” and “alcohol-free” products do not all carry the same ABV.

Ratio cannot correct a poor pairing. Taste both ingredients cold before batching a whole jug. If the lemonade dominates, add beer in small measured steps; if bitterness is too strong, add mixer rather than sugar syrup.

Beer styles that behave differently in a shandy

Clean lager

A pale lager is the easiest baseline because its bitterness and malt are restrained. Start at 50/50, then move toward 60% beer if the lemonade is sweet.

British bitter or pale ale

A more bitter beer can stay recognisable at 50/50, but citrus peel and hop bitterness can compound. Use a less aggressively flavoured lemonade and adjust in the glass.

Wheat beer

Wheat beer brings body, yeast character and often citrus or spice. A smaller lemonade share—around 30–40%—usually preserves more of that character. Pour slowly because both components are carbonated.

Alcohol-free beer

This is the clearest route when the goal is a very low-strength serve. The calculator accepts 0.0% and other label strengths; do not assume a product is exactly zero without reading its ABV.

How to pour without losing the carbonation

1. Chill the beer, lemonade and glass first.
2. Measure the two volumes instead of judging the halfway line through foam.
3. Pour the beer down the side of a tilted glass, leaving room for the mixer.
4. Add the lemonade slowly. Do not stir hard; one gentle lift with a bar spoon is enough if the layers have not combined.
5. Serve immediately. A jug is convenient, but a large surface and repeated pouring make a carbonated drink flatten faster.

Scaling a shandy for a jug

For a 1-litre 50/50 batch, use 500ml beer and 500ml lemonade. At 60/40, use 600ml beer and 400ml lemonade. Set the calculator to 1,000ml for the strength and unit estimate, then divide the result by the number of equal glasses you pour.

Batch only what will be served promptly. Keep both ingredients refrigerated and combine them close to serving rather than leaving an open jug to lose carbonation.

Alcohol and serving limits

A shandy made with ordinary beer is still alcoholic. The NHS defines one UK unit as 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol and gives the calculation as strength (ABV) × volume (ml) ÷ 1,000. UK Chief Medical Officers advise that, to keep health risks from alcohol low, it is safest not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis and to spread that amount over three or more days.

The calculator is an estimate, not medical or driving advice. Do not use a lower final ABV as a reason to drive after drinking. Pregnancy, medicines and individual health conditions can require different or zero-alcohol choices.

Sources and method

• NHS — alcohol units and the ABV × ml ÷ 1,000 formula
• GOV.UK — UK Chief Medical Officers' low-risk drinking guidelines

Ratios are editorial starting points, not claims about every pub's house pour. Calculator and example table checked 3 September 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the standard beer-to-lemonade ratio for a shandy?

There is no single legally fixed UK shandy ratio. Equal parts beer and lemonade is a practical starting point. Adjust to 60/40 for more beer character or 40/60 for a lighter, sweeter drink.

What ABV is a 50/50 shandy?

With a 0% mixer, it is approximately half the beer's labelled ABV. A 50/50 shandy made with 4.0% beer is about 2.0% ABV; one made with 5.0% beer is about 2.5%.

How many units are in a pint of shandy?

A 568ml 50/50 shandy made with 4.0% beer is approximately 1.14 UK units. Enter the real glass size, ratio and beer ABV in the calculator because all three change the result.

Can I make shandy with alcohol-free beer?

Yes. Enter the ABV printed on the product. A beer labelled 0.0% mixed with a 0% lemonade remains 0.0% in this calculation.

Does adding lemonade remove alcohol from beer?

No. It lowers the concentration in the finished drink but does not remove the alcohol already poured. Units depend on the actual beer volume and strength.