Making a Radler beer cocktail couldn't be easier. All you need to do is pour 1 part beer into a glass and top with 1 part sparkling lemonade. The combination of those two simple ingredients makes for a very tasty and refreshing cocktail.
Need another cocktail made with beer? Try my Loaded Christmas Ale! This Spaghett Drink is another great, refreshing option!
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🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
It's so easy to make. Can you pour a couple of ingredients into a glass? Of course you can. Then you can totally make this recipe.
It only requires two ingredients. Just two!
It's super refreshing. This drink is great for warm weather sipping.
💭 Radler vs. Shandy: what's the difference?
They're both delicious, lower ABV options that are great for sipping on a warm day.
However, I'd be willing to bet that most people are more familiar with a Shandy than they are a Radler. For those who aren't, a Shandy is made by mixing beer with lemonade, often in equal parts. Leinenkugel makes a pretty popular one.
A Radler on the other hand, is made up of a 50:50 mix of beer and sparkling lemonade or sparkling grapefruit juice. Legend has it that the Radler was first concocted when an innkeeper in Munich, Germany was starting to run out of beer to quench the thirst of the hordes of people who had taken up cycling (evidently it was super popular in the 1920s). He ended up cutting the remaining beer with lemonade (which, in Europe, is often carbonated) and in doing so, created the Radler.
That's the story, whether it's true or not. They relayed this story to us during a beer tour that my mom and I took while in Munich. If you're interested in bottled versions of the Radler, Stiegl and Bitburger make some good ones.
Fun fact: Appropriately enough, "radler" is the German word for "cyclist"!
📝 Ingredients
- Beer: Use a German wheat beer if you want to keep things authentic.
- Sparkling lemonade: I really like San Pellegrino Limonata.
🍺 What kind of beer should you use to make a Radler?
A German wheat beer, like a weissbier or witbier, would be great given that this cocktail likely has its roots in Bavaria. You could also go with a pilsner, which is what I've used to make mine. You can use whatever you prefer, but I'd stick to something that's wheat-y or maybe use a lighter lager.
🍕 What to serve with a Radler
A Radler is perfectly delicious on its own, but would also pair really well with any kind of bar food (maybe some air fryer chicken wings?), BBQ, or a homemade pizza!
👩🏻🍳 How to make a Radler
It almost couldn't be easier. Just pour your beer into the bottom of your glass, then top it off with sparkling lemonade!
🔗 More beer-based cocktails
Click on any of the photos below to be taken straight to the recipes!
✨ Recipe
Radler Beer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz pilsner or wheat beer divided (see notes)
- 12 oz sparkling lemonade divided (see notes)
- lemon slices for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Pour 6 oz of the beer into each of two glasses.
- Top the beer with 6 oz of sparkling lemonade.
- Garnish with lemon slices, if you're feeling fancy.
Notes
- I used an American pilsner, but a German wheat beer is also excellent.
- You can also use sparkling grapefruit juice if that's more your style. I used San Pellegrino Limonata.
- Using regular, non-carbonated lemonade instead of the sparkling lemonade would make this a Shandy (also delicious).
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.
Kim (Feed Me, Seymour)
I really, really do love those sodas! This look so refreshing and amazing. Perfect for Friday!
A_Nerd_Cooks
Aren't they the best?? I stocked up on a bunch at Costco recently. Happy Friday!