Radler Radler (, lit. German for 'cyclist') has a long history in German-speaking regions. It commonly consists of a 50:50 mixture of beer and a lemon-flavoured soft drink. The term
Radler originates with a drink called
Radlermass ('cyclist litre') that was created by innkeeper Franz Kugler in the small town of Deisenhofen, just outside Munich. During the great cycling boom of the
Roaring Twenties, Kugler created a bicycle trail from Munich through the woods that led directly to his drinking establishment. While the term
Radler has been widely attributed to Kugler, the combination of beer and soft drink is documented in texts dating from 1912.
Radler is consumed not only in
Bavaria, but also in other parts of Germany, Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Netherlands, Norway, Bulgaria, the United States, Canada, and Romania. In northern Germany, a half-and-half mix of
Pilsner beer and soft drink is known as an
Alster (short for
Alsterwasser, , German for 'water from the
Alster', a river in Hamburg). Regionally the
Radler and
Alster may refer to shandies made with either citrus or orange flavoured softdrinks, with the two terms either contrasting or referring to the same drink. In Austria, a
saurer Radler is a mix of lager and soda water. In Austria, a variant, sometimes called Almradler, is popular, using
Almdudler instead of lemonade.
Radler is very popular during the summer months due to its low alcohol content and reputation for being a "thirst-quencher". In New Zealand, the word "radler" was trademarked by
DB Breweries for their "Monteith's
Radler" beer, which is a citrus-flavoured, full-strength (5%) beer. This has led to some brewers to use the names "reldar" (
Radler spelled backwards) and "Cyclist" (the literal meaning of
Radler). In the Netherlands, shandy and Radler are largely seen as two different drinks, shandy being a 0.5% alcohol drink popular as a children's drink during the 70s, as beverages not exceeding 0.5% alcohol were officially seen as non-alcoholic. The classic German Radler, for a decade or so, has also been sold as a pre-mixed drink of increasing popularity by most large Dutch beer brewers in a growing number of varieties.
Russ In
Bavaria, the southeastern
state of
Germany, as well as in the countryside of Austria, a mix of 50%
Weißbier and 50% lemonade is called a "Russ". There are three different theories about the origin of this name: • Due to a shortage of raw materials that occurred during
the great inflation between 1921 and 1923, Weißbier became more popular. To further reduce material efforts, the Weißbier was thinned with lemonade. The name "Russ" may derive from the popularity of the drink among Russian workers in Germany at that time. • Another theory of the name's origin is that the drink initially was called "Riesen-Maß"
(Riesen = giant), as the drink mixture frothed heavily. • The most popular theory is that the drink was first served in the
Mathäser-Keller in Munich after
the 1918 Revolution when Communists came together.
Shandyade Scottish manufacturer
A.G. Barr produces a
soft drink known as "Shandyade". Shandyade is a
non-alcoholic, carbonated soft drink flavored to mimic the taste of a traditional shandy. This is done through using malt flavouring. Shandyade prior to 2022 was branded as "Barr Shandy" and contained a small amount of real beer.
Shandygaff A
Shandygaff is an older British name for beer mixed with
ginger beer or
ginger ale; the earliest written record of the word dates back to 1853. In
H. G. Wells’
comic novel The History of Mr Polly, Wells refers to Shandygaff as "two bottles of beer mixed with ginger beer in a round-bellied jug".
Lager top In England, Wales and Scotland, a lager top is a lager with a dash of lemonade on top, the latter of which reduces the lager's hardness. This name was also adopted in Portugal due to the influence of French culture in the area.
Monaco In France, a 50/50 mix of lager and carbonated lemonade with a dash of
Grenadine is called a
Monaco.
Clara In Spain, a
clara is typically any mixture of beer with a sweet-tasting carbonated soft drink (in order to reduce the bitterness of the hops). The addition of soda lightens the color of the beer, hence its name (clara means "clear" in Spanish). It is usually served as a refreshment in the hot summer months, being a very popular drink. Other regions have different names for the mixture, and there is a debate over whether a clara refers to beer with lemon, or beer with a soft drink. == See also ==