Chill everything thoroughly. Radler is only as good as it is cold, so put the beer, the lemon soda and two tall glasses in the fridge for at least an hour, or the glasses in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 12 oz (1 bottle) cold German lager or Helles, such as a Munich-style pale lager
- 12 oz cold sparkling lemonade or lemon soda
- 2 thin lemon wheels
- Ice, optional, for a chilled glass
- A pinch of flaky salt, optional, for a savory edge
Instructions
- Chill everything thoroughly. Radler is only as good as it is cold, so put the beer, the lemon soda and two tall glasses in the fridge for at least an hour, or the glasses in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- If using ice, fill the glasses just a third full so the drink stays fizzy rather than watery.
- Pour 6 oz of lemon soda into each glass first, tilting the glass to keep the fizz.
- Slowly top each with 6 oz of beer, pouring down the side of the tilted glass so a modest foam head forms rather than a flood.
- Give one gentle stir with a long spoon. Drop in a lemon wheel and, if you like, a tiny pinch of flaky salt.
- Taste and adjust: more lemon soda for a sweeter, lighter drink, more beer for something crisper. Serve immediately while the bubbles are lively.
- The radler, meaning cyclist, is said to have been invented in 1922 by a Bavarian innkeeper named Franz Xaver Kugler, whose beer garden was overrun by thousands of cyclists on a new trail from Munich. Running low on beer, he cut it half-and-half with lemon soda and sold the mix as a drink designed for riders who still had to pedal home. A century later it is the default summer order in every German beer garden and, at roughly half the alcohol of a full beer, it is the rare cocktail that makes sense on a Tuesday when there is still a school lunch to pack in the morning.
Nutrition (estimated, per serving)
- Calories: 140 kcal
- Protein: 1g
- Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Fiber: 0g
- Sugar: 17g
- Sodium: 20mg
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