Comparison of a Radler shandy (left) and a Pilsner (right)
Type
Cocktail
Shandyisbeer mixed with a lemon flavoured beverage, often lemonade, usually half lemonade and half beer, resulting in a lower ABV for the finished drink. Shandies are popular in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada.
Shandy is a popular drink in UK and is usually ordered as either "bitter shandy" (50/50 bitter beer and fizzy clear lemonade) or "lager shandy" in which lager is substituted for the ale.
Radler (German:[ˈʁaːdlɐ]ⓘ, German for 'cyclist') has a long history in German-speaking regions. It commonly consists of a 50:50 mixture of beer and a lemon-flavoured soft drink.[2]
The term Radler originates with a drink called Radlermass ('cyclist litre') that was created by innkeeper Franz Kugler in the small town of Deisenhofen, just outside Munich. During the great cycling boom of the Roaring Twenties, Kugler created a bicycle trail from Munich through the woods that led directly to his drinking establishment.[citation needed]
While the term Radler has been widely attributed to Kugler, the combination of beer and soft drink is documented in texts dating from 1912.[3]Radler is consumed not only in Bavaria, but also in other parts of Germany, Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Poland, Portugal, Netherlands, Norway, Bulgaria, the United States, Canada, and Romania.
In northern Germany, a half-and-half mix of Pilsner beer and soft drink is known as an Alster (short for Alsterwasser, German:[ˈalstɐˌvasɐ]ⓘ, German for 'water from the Alster', a river in Hamburg). Regionally the Radler and Alster may refer to shandies made with either citrus or orange flavoured softdrinks, with the two terms either contrasting or referring to the same drink. In Austria, a saure Radler is a mix of lager and soda water.[4]
In Austria, it is common to use Almdudler instead of lemonade for the Radler.
Radler is very popular during the summer months due to its low alcohol content and reputation for being a 'thirst-quencher.'[5]
In New Zealand, the word "radler" was trademarked by DB Breweries for their "Monteith's Radler" beer, which is a citrus-flavoured, full-strength (5%) beer.[6] This has led to some brewers to use the names "reldar" (Radler spelled backwards) and "Cyclist" (the literal meaning of Radler).[7]
In the Netherlands, shandy and Radler are largely seen as two different drinks, shandy being a 0,5% alcohol drink popular as a children's drink during the 70s, as not >0.5% was officially seen as non-alcoholic.[citation needed] The classic Radler, known from Germany, and since a decade or so[when?] also sold as pre-mixed drinks in increasing popularity by most large Dutch beer brewers in increasing variants.
InBavaria, the southeastern stateofGermany, as well as in the countryside of Austria, a mix of 50% Weißbier and 50% lemonade is called a "Russ". There are three different theories about the origin of this name:[8]
Due to a shortage of raw materials that occurred during the great inflation between 1921 and 1923, Weißbier became more popular. To further reduce material efforts, the Weißbier was thinned with lemonade. The name "Russ" may derive from the popularity of the drink among Russian workers in Germany at that time.
Another theory of the name's origin is that the drink initially was called『Riesen-Maß』(Riesen = giant), as the drink mixture frothed heavily.
AShandygaff is an older British name for beer mixed with ginger beerorginger ale; the earliest written record of the word dates back to 1853.[9]InH. G. Wells’ comic novelThe History of Mr Polly, Wells refers to Shandygaff as "two bottles of beer mixed with ginger beer in a round-bellied jug".
In France, Switzerland and parts of Italy, a mix of beer and soda (Sprite) is called a Panaché.[12] This name was also adopted in Portugal due to the influence of French culture in the area.
In Spain, a clara is typically any mixture of beer with a sweet-tasting carbonated soft drink (in order to reduce the bitterness of the hops).[13] The addition of soda lightens the color of the beer, hence its name (clara means "clear" in Spanish). It is usually served as a refreshment in the hot summer months, being a very popular drink.[14] Other regions have different names for the mixture, and there is a debate over whether a clara refers to beer with lemon, or beer with a soft drink.[15][16][17]
