Idea...

[MyCarHasAbs]

We're going to the beach in August and I want to make a batch specifically for it. My gf and I both went to Germany in college and shared a fond liking to the German Radler. The local home brew shop doesn't sell a kit for this so.....I was thinking this.. Basic pilsner kit, last 5 minutes of the boil stick some lemon drop tea bags in there to get the lemon taste AND tea..

Thoughts?


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I once dated a girl who told me I will not drink beer in front of our children. I dumped her the next day.

 

[philippst]

As you might know, the German Radler is basically a pale Lager mixed with Sprite or or any kind of fizzy lemonade. Commercial Examples usually mix them in a 60(lemonade):40(beer) ratio. Dropping tea bags into your wort will bring you some lemon flavors and maybe some bitterness from the tea, but in my opinion it won't make you a desirable Radler. Furthermore, as yeast seems to metabolize citric acid to nasty stuff which you don't want to have in your brew (Can't find the article which I got this Information from), I'd advise you to just mix your Lager with some homemade carbonated lemonade before drinking, if you're aiming for the original Radler flavor. If you're looking for a spiced up Lager, which slightly reminds you of Radler, go for it.

Greetings from Bavaria,

P

(Excuse my English)

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

Oh ok, so basically make a spiced lager and poor lemonade and sprite in the pitcher or mug before hand. I always thought it was in Pilsner form.

EDIT: oooh, what would lemon zest do in the wort? Just thinking maybe that could add to the mix as well.


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I once dated a girl who told me I will not drink beer in front of our children. I dumped her the next day.

 

[Bearfoot]

Adding lemon zest @ flameout would certainly give you some lemony flavor.

Check out this thread for some more ideas on a good summer quencher; you might be able to modify the recipe to me more lemon and less limehttps://www.homebrewtalk.com/f70/lemon-lime-hefe-weizen-255659/

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

Very cool. I'll read through that. Thanks!!


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_____________________________
I once dated a girl who told me I will not drink beer in front of our children. I dumped her the next day.

 

[JayDubWill]

Phillips is spot on, you can't brew a radler the same way you can't distill a martini or bloody Mary...there mixed drinks. The mix of sprite lightens and sweetens the lager making it exceptionally refreshing on a hot day after working up a sweat. In fact radler means bicycler in German. Perfect a Helles (no easy feat) and a radler can be mixed on the fly.

 

[philippst]

Oh ok, so basically make a spiced lager and poor lemonade and sprite in the pitcher or mug before hand. I always thought it was in Pilsner form.

As I said, traditional Radler is a mix of an ordinary (non-spiced, mind the purity law ) Lager and fizzy lemonade as Sprite or similar sibstitutes. I myself prefer a hazy, homemade, carbonated lemonade which is less sweet than commercial examples for my Radler.
As a base beer, every kind of German Lager is suitable. (Helles, Pilsner, Export etc.). I'd recommend you a German or American Pilsner with at least 30 IBUs, a nice hop aroma (maybe add some citra) and bitterness, because I still want some hops in my Radler. A matter of taste though.

But as others have mentioned, there are several ways to create a delicate summer-brew with a lemon touch.

Cheers, P

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

All, thanks so much for the tips. Very helpful. This very well could be a trip down memory lane. My gf and I went to Germany when we were in college on a group trip and stayed with host families. I remember the first day I stayed with my host family the World Cup was going on and they had Deutschland vs someone on TV and my host mom came in and gave me the biggest damn glass of beer and she said "this is a wheat beer, enjoy". Having been on a bus from Frankfurt for 2 freakin hours I was ready for a good brew. It went down fast. The next glass she brought me was the most refreshing sh*t I'd ever tasted. I was like "what in heavens name is this glorious liquid". She said " that's a Radler, it means bicyclist. Excellent for hot days". They also took me to a movie theater later that week in between group breaks with the rest on the trip. I saw The Happening in German haha. But the cool thing was they served beer in theaters and another of my favorites that I'd like to learn to make is something they call Frieshling (cola and beer mix).

Anyway, thought I'd share!
Thanks again.


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_____________________________
I once dated a girl who told me I will not drink beer in front of our children. I dumped her the next day.

 

[JayDubWill]

Sounds like some great times! You can mix a makeshift radler using BMC lite and sprite if you want a quick one.