18099 - History of the Radler

The radler owes its creation to a 1920s German innkeeper named Franz Kugler. As the story goes, a large group of cyclists riding through the Bavarian countryside arrived at his tavern, exhausted and parched for beer. Realizing he wouldn't have enough to quench the crowd’s thirst, Franz needed a quick solution. To stretch his beer supply, he added sparkling lemonade to his kegs. Franz coined his drink “Radler,” the German word for “cyclist.”

There are several types of radlers/mixed beer drinks in Germany.  As above, the most common is the addition of carbonated lemonade.  Other variations include a Berliner Weisse mit Schuss - a light Weißbier (white beer) mixed with a Schuss (shot) of sweet syrup. The three most common varieties of this delicious drink include:  Grün (green) with Waldmeistersirup, a woodruff-flavoured syrup; the Gelb (yellow) with a shot of Zitronensirup (lemon syrup); and the Rot (red), with a shot of Himbeersirup (raspberry syrup).