I received an invitation from The Traveler Beer Company to sample Jolly Traveler Winter Shandy, their seasonal wheat ale brewed with orange peel, pomegranate and holiday spice. I haven’t sampled a lot of Shandy, so I happily accepted the invitation and then waited patiently for the package.

I received a small white box with a large fragile sticker on the front:

When I opened the box, I found a note, a flyer about the Shandy, and my very own Traveler Sweater Koozie. The koozie retails for $8 on The Traveler Beer Company website and is currently sold out, so it was super cool of them to send me one!

Now to the good stuff – the Shandy! The bottle was buried in crinkle paper shreds and well-protected in bubble wrap.

I find Shandys to be a nice break from beer and Jolly Traveler fits that bill. Jolly Traveler draws inspiration from a traditional shandy — ale mixed with lemonade or lemon-lime soda — and is brewed, not mixed, with real fruit ingredients and spice to create a holiday beer style unlike any other. I was intrigued by the cocktail recipes created by the brewery’s mixologist — I’ll have to pick up a six-pack so I can try them!

Jolly Traveler is the third Shandy I’ve sampled from The Traveler Beer Company. Curious Traveler, brewed with real lemon, is available year-round, and Jack-O Traveler, brewed with fresh pumpkin, is a refreshing fall seasonal.

The Traveler Beer Company is a craft beer venture based in Burlington, Vermont with the mission of combining the European shandy tradition with American ingenuity to create the American Craft Shandy. I’d say they succeeded!

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