Why This Works
The shandy is a two-ingredient drink that has cooled off summers for a century. The lemonade brightens and lightens the beer, and none of that depends on alcohol.
A wheat beer or a soft lager works best. You want maltiness to balance the tart lemonade, not a hoppy IPA that fights it.
Adjust to taste: more lemonade for a lighter, sweeter drink, more beer for something drier and more beer-forward.
The Alcohol-Free Swap
A non-alcoholic wheat beer or lager gives the shandy its backbone. The softer and less bitter the beer, the more seamlessly it blends with the lemonade.