Radler recipe?

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Last summer I was in Munich for a few days so naturally I went to the beer gardens. Everywhere I went had this stuff called "Radler" which was basically a beer with lemonade mixed into it if I am not mistaken (at least thats what it tasted like and what some people explained to me). It was so good I had two 1L steins before 11:30am :drunk: Good times. Also gotta love being able to drink on the streets.

Anyone have a good extract recipe for this, rather than just making an ale and adding lemon juice or extract?
 
You'd have to make a really light beer if you didn't want to mix with the lemonade. Radler is usually low ABV I think.

Paper City Brewing of MA makes a radler which, IMO, is dreadful. Maybe a fresh blend of lemonade (and i'd guess that would be fizzy Euro lemonade) and beer is better.
 
A Radler is beer and lemonade, it's not like a smirnoff or a Mike's hard. Something like a Pilsner Urquell mixes great because it has a good hop bite that sticks around even with the lemonade addition. So I'd go with that and if you can't be bothered with mixing at drinking time, I suppose you could keg half lemonade half beer and then carbonate.

-OCD
 
Something like a German Pilsner mixed 50/50 with lemonade (sprite, 7-Up, etc.) at serving time would work wonderfully, and was probably pretty much what you were drinking in Munich.

As for a recipe you'd want something like:
OG of 1.048
Mostly Pils extract (95% or so) with some steeped Carapils (say 4%), and maybe a tiny touch of Caramunich (1%). And, say 35 IBUs of Hallertauer including good sized 15 min and flameout additions.
Ideally you'd use a liquid Pilsner lager yeast, but failing that S-05 fermented cool (say 16C) would get you close.

Interestingly there's been a bit of a fuss about Radler here in NZ recently. Dominion Breweries, one of the big two here was recently granted a trademark for the name "Radler," and used the threat of a lawsuit to stop a small craft brewery from calling their radler "Radler."

Check the debate out here.
 
I vividly remember having Radler while in Germany; SOOOOO refreshing on a hot summer day.

But it looks as if the only way to make it, would be to brew a pils, and then add the lemonade/sprite at serving time. Is there anyways you can add something to it at bottling time, so when you pop open the cap, you get something ready to go without the mixing?

I am new to brewing, but one of my original intentions once I started was to create a Radler since you can't find a good one state-side.
 
Raddler is 50/50 light pilsner or lager and 7-up or Sprite

I am pretty sure they do not use lemonade! My family is German and they have several beers they mix with various soda's. My uncle calls them "***** drinks" but I love 'em.

Here's another to try:

ColaWeiss - 50/50 hefeweissen and coke (or pepsi but they use coke)

Even better is colaweiss made with dunkleweiss instead of regular hefeweissen.

50/50 is negotiable - could lean one way or the other.
 
PS - this is great to drink whist brewing. Low ABV keeps your mind sharp and thirst quenched.
 
PS - this is great to drink whist brewing. Low ABV keeps your mind sharp and thirst quenched.

So true!! Great summer drink period! Same with the other mixes! All low ABV and thirst quenching! I thought Radler was the ****! Until I had a dunkle-colaweiss! All time favorite! Try it out sometime!
 
I was just looking for info on when to add the lemonade on a Radler and came across this thread. Still don't know when to add it or if it can be added prior to bottling but it is not a pilsner, hefewizen, etc. Its a Helles mixed with lemonade. Sam Adams has one called Porch Rocker so I know it can be bottled that way, I just don't know when. Considering lemonade has massive amounts of fermentable sugar I'm thinking there has to be something different about bottling.
 
Helles meaning light colored pilsner or lager... yes. Sam does make one premixed...(the porchrocker. As you've mentioned) though I am unsure ofhow they do it. In germany they just mix on the spot...
 
grey487 said:
I was just looking for info on when to add the lemonade on a Radler and came across this thread. Still don't know when to add it or if it can be added prior to bottling but it is not a pilsner, hefewizen, etc. Its a Helles mixed with lemonade. Sam Adams has one called Porch Rocker so I know it can be bottled that way, I just don't know when. Considering lemonade has massive amounts of fermentable sugar I'm thinking there has to be something different about bottling.

You add it in the glass, right before you drink it. Sprite should work well, for a more alpine experience try ginger ale (the soft drink) - it's quite similar to a soft drink called Almdudler (here in Austria it's a popular ingredient in Radler). Generally, these mixed drinks are made with Märzen or Helles (both lager species), but if you can't get your hands on those, pilsner will be fine.
 
drchris83 said:
You add it in the glass, right before you drink it. Sprite should work well, for a more alpine experience try ginger ale (the soft drink) - it's quite similar to a soft drink called Almdudler (here in Austria it's a popular ingredient in Radler). Generally, these mixed drinks are made with Märzen or Helles (both lager species), but if you can't get your hands on those, pilsner will be fine.

Great info and a great start to with. Half the fun can be experimenting with different soft drinks. (Orangina may be cool.).

But I wish there was a recipe where you could bottle something like it. Maybe use the lemonade as/instead of priming sugar to get a similar result? However I'm still a noob so who knows!
:)
 
There are several Austrian breweries that offer bottled Radler. However, almos all of them use sugar-free lemonade, which means that the sweetener is sorbit or something similar. These kinds of sweeteners are not fermentable, afaik. If you'd like to bottle your Radler alread mixed in advance, that might be the way to go. However, since radler is actually a sports drink (albeit for the more laid-back athletes), mixing it on the spot is more authentic and also allows you direct control of mixing ratios for each and every glass, making it a perfect low-ABV summer quaffable.
Btw, "Radler" is the Bavarian/Austrian word for a bicyclist, and is (amongst others) very popular with people engaging in that activity.
 
Btw, "Radler" is the Bavarian/Austrian word for a bicyclist, and is (amongst others) very popular with people engaging in that activity.

Hopworks in Portland has the "Totally Radler" which is 70% lager and 30% fresh lemonade. I've never had it, but their sales angle is "quench your mid-ride thirst while carbs help beat the bonk".
 
Brining up and old thread, but I'm pretty sure a traditional Radler should be with a hefe - it's a refreshing drink for cyclist (that's what radler means in german) and I believe the wheat was/is believed to have health benefits.

Just try it with sprite, unless you can find a carbonated lemonade.
 
Meinetwegen auch mit Hellem. Wenn man es mit einer Hefeweißen macht, dann heißt es nicht mehr Radler, sondern Russ.
 
Seriously,though: once you use a hefeweizen it's no longer called radler, it's called Russ.Theories as to that name abound, and opinions differ as to whether calling a beverage Russ represents an ethnic slur or not.
 
Helles meaning light colored pilsner or lager... yes. Sam does make one premixed...(the porchrocker. As you've mentioned) though I am unsure ofhow they do it. In germany they just mix on the spot...
Not really! In Germany it’s sold premixed in the bottles.
 
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