From Austria’s Stieglbrauerei zu Salzburg GmbH comes their pop… no wait beer…. ummm I mean… Well I don’t know really! The drink in question is called the “Grapefruit Stiegl Radler” a 50/50 mix of Stiegl Goldbrau lager and pure grapefruit juice. By definition a Radler is a mixed drink that is either 50/50 or 60/40 beer to softdrink found extensively German speaking regions. This Radler pours a cloudy yellow colour with a good sized white head. The aroma consists of grapefruit pop, lemonade, rind and a hint of malts. The flavour is of lemonade, grapefruit, rind and a mild malt profile provided by the beer although faint. This beer is a great summer beer and can be consumed in large quantities on hot summer days due to is 2.5% alcohol content and pretty low on the calories also at only 35 calories / 100 ml. This is the way all session ales or light beers should be doing it. Do not create a lesser product just to get a lower alcohol content! This is a brilliant and delicious way to make a drink that you can session for long periods of time in the Summer! To the purists this may not be a beer but don’t look at it like that. It is a Grapefruit pop with some malts present and a nice low alcohol content. Why drink grapefruit pop when you can drink alcoholic grapefruit pop? This is not a rhetorical question!
Commercial Description: “Stiegl Grapefruit Radler is the perfect summer beer, it’s light-bodied, clean, crisp and refreshing,” says Guy McClelland, president of McClelland Premium Imports. “And for the health-conscious consumer with an active lifestyle, it’s low in calories and only 2.5 per cent.” Radler, which means “cyclist” in German, is a beer style invented by Bavarian cyclists. Seeking a great tasting, low alcoholic beverage they could take on bike rides and picnics, Bavarian cyclists blended a 50/50 mixture of Bavarian lager and fruit juice. The refreshing result is now known as the Radler.
