Cycling through new trends in Radler

Radler has become a very popular beverage over the past decade or so even outside of its country of origin. Along with non-alcoholic beer, Radler is now a staple amongst the so-called “Dry January” crowd when the beer/liquor-drinking world feels the need to dry out after a month of festive swilling, which is generally marked as beginning on the Eve of St. Nicholas’ Day (December 5th) to Epiphany, i.e., Three Kings’ Day (January 6th). Of course, New Year’s Eve sits right in the middle of the Twelve Days of Christmas as well. Even though Radler is not completely free of alcohol, the concentration, which is already quite low in beer, is greatly diluted in a Radler; moreover, non-alcoholic Radler is now available as well.

The term “Radler” is actually short for “Radlermaß,” since “Radler” really just means “cyclist” in German. The “Maß” on the end of the word indicates that the beverage is served in a one liter “Krug” (a glass or ceramic mug). The term – and the beer-based beverage – originate in the Munich area. An innkeeper and one of Munich’s most colorful characters, Franz Xaver Kugler, is said to have invented the beverage. Like Nutella, carrot cake, Caeser salad and Obazda, among other best-loved foods around the world, Radler was created out of necessity.

Just to clarify briefly, the Radler, which is of Bavarian origin, and the shandy, a British beverage, are not the same, though they are very similar. Each of them is a summertime, thirst-quenching drink and has its own independent origin story. The “shandygaff” was developed in the 1850s in England and consisted of a mixture of normal ale and ginger ale. In the late 1800s, the ginger ale in the mix was substituted with lemonade or lemon soda. Like the “-maß” in “Radlermaß”, the “-gaff” was eventually unseated, and the beverage simply became known as “shandy”. When lager is used instead of British ale – a much more common manifestation of the beverage nowadays – it is known as “lager shandy”.

Inventing Radler

So, back to Herr Kugler’s story: In the latter half of the 19th century, our protagonist worked on the railway between Munich and a village called Holzkirchen. He was involved in construction work to expand the line to two sets of tracks. The nearest watering hole happened to be quite a distance away from where the work was being done. Herr Kugler was an enterprising man and began supplying the railway workers with beer. In a horse and cart, he transported beer from a Gasthaus (a pub) at the Deisenhofen station to the railway construction site. It wasn’t long before Kugler figured out it would be easier to build a small wooden hut at the site rather than haul it back and forth. Though only four wooden walls and a roof, he rather pretentiously christened his hut the “Kantine der Königlich-Bayerischen Eisenbahn zu Deisenhofen” (the Canteen of the Royal Bavarian Railway at Deisenhofen).

When the work was complete in 1897, he expanded his enterprise and opened an inn that served food with a beer garden called the “Kugler Alm”. An “Alm” is a hillside pasture in the mountains where animals graze during the summer. A tradition developed over the centuries that those tending the animals would often serve food and drink to any visitors who might wander by, such as hikers. So, Kugler’s new Alm soon became popular with Munich day trippers. Cycling had become a popular pastime with the Lost Generation, i.e., amongst young people in the aftermath of World War I. Ever-enterprising, Herr Kugler had a path for cyclists laid down through the forest, leading up to his Kugler Alm. The route is, in fact, still popular with cyclists today. What he did not reckon with is how popular it would become on a day when he became a victim of his own success. On a summer’s day in 1922, it is reported that around 13,000 cyclists rode up to the Alm expecting to have their collective thirst slaked with a liter of Helles. Herr Kugler did not have that much beer on hand. He was able to think on his feet, though, and shrewdly blended his diminishing beer reserves with equal amounts of “Kracherl” (a carbonated lemon soft drink) and served this to his guests as a “Radlermaß”. He not only invented the mix of the two beverages out of necessity, but the name he did as well. He cleverly and confidently told those in attendance in his beer garden the story that he had invented this beverage especially for cyclists. He said that it would allow them to quench their thirst without having to drink too much undiluted Helles, i.e., the beer at regular strength. He added that this would take the wobble out of their wheels on their homeward journey back to Munich. And yet, whether this story is the undiluted truth, we cannot say, but thus runs the tale of the first “Radlermaß” and how the modern beer-based beverage “Radler” came to be.

The journey goes on

German breweries have since seen the potential in the market for beer-based beverages and nowadays package their own Radler. Some are even formulated with other fruit-flavored soft drinks, such as the popular grapefruit Radler. Breweries now fill ready-to-drink Radler in bottles and cans. No need to mix one at the bar or at home. Given that there’s a Reinheitsgebot in Germany, breweries are only allowed to do this since each beverage is produced separately and mixed prior to packaging. Nevertheless, though the beverage is now widespread, nothing major seems to have changed regarding how it has been formulated since 1922. But dear readers, there are riveting new developments in the story of Radler on the horizon.

Before we pedal off, a quick note regarding our chain of causality: There are those of us who cannot bear the thought of diluting a perfectly good, well-attenuated beer with a sugary drink – so we never do. A beer with added sugar is a bit of a flat tire for us. It goes nowhere. We prefer our beer to taste like beer, and we like the sugars in our beverages to be fermented. Even so, there are like-minded individuals who still enjoy the refreshing tartness of citrus in an unsweetened beer-based beverage. One thinks on our brethren in Britain and Belgium: Brewers in Britain coax out the citrus notes in pale ale from certain varieties of hops, and to pleasantly pump up the effervescence and top-fermented bouquet of a Belgian wit, Seville or Curaçao orange zest, along with coriander, is added.

However, in citrus-growing countries, a style of fermented beverage is just cresting the hill in the distance. It’s been referred to as Whole Citrus Radler, since the idea for the beverage did, in fact, spring from Radler. However, there was a desire to avoid mixing a sugary soft drink with one’s beer. The thought was that one could have the sunny piquancy of citrus notes in a thirst-quenching summertime beer without the added sugar. In order to make a beverage such as this, carefully dehydrated oranges or lemons in the form of granules – the nutrient-rich, whole, pure fruit (zest, pulp, essential oils and citric acid with no additives) – are integrated into the production process to create a beverage with these characteristics. The granules can be added in the brewhouse and/or on the cold side. Otherwise, the brewing process occurs as normal.

The granules are only added at rates of 1 to 20 g/hl. One must, of course, alter the production process somewhat due to the extra acidity. It might be advantageous to add the fruit granules a bit akin to how one adds Sauergut (natural lactic acid) to the wort kettle, i.e., towards the end, since the drop in pH could reduce the hop isomerization rate, while adding the granules on the cold side will preserve more of the fruit’s essential oils. As a matter of fact, wort/beer acidity is just one aspect a brewer making one of these beverages must take into consideration. The mineral composition of the brewing liquor among other parameters will need adjusting as well.

Of course, this is obviously not in tandem with the German Reinheitsgebot, but there is no purity law for beer in citrus-growing countries. Just the laws governing the general quality of foods apply in this case. In creating a Whole Citrus Radler, one would utilize the appropriate malts and hops that complement the citrus notes of the fruit supplement in question. So, one of the ingredients provided the yeast for their dining pleasure is citrus fruit, which they ferment in due course. This in itself will impart fascinating aromas and flavors. Given that citrus notes can complement the flavor profiles of many beer styles, the possibilities are only limited by the brewer’s imagination. Beers have already been formulated that are as varied as zesty lemon wit and chocolaty orange stout.

We will be intrigued to see where this journey leads.

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