Robin Shepard
Nothing defines quaffable quite like the radler, a common mix of beer and fruit soda. Wisconsin Brewing has just released Re: Fresh Radler, a combination of grapefruit soda and light German lager that really is as re-refreshing as its name.
What is it? Re: Fresh Radler from Wisconsin Brewing Company (WBC), UW-Madison Campus Craft Brewery and the Potosi Brewery.
Style: The radler is often attributed to Franz Xaver Kugler, an innkeeper in Deisenhofen near Munich, who in the 1920s created a 50/50 blend of lager and lemon soda to quench the thirst of cyclists riding by his gasthaus. Radler in German translates to “cyclists.” The radler is different than the shandy, which is of British descent, and usually encompasses a wider range of beer mixtures, such as lemonade and ginger beer. The radler is commonly a mixture of German lager and fruit soda.
Background: Jesse Vogel, who is part of the sales staff at Wisconsin Brewing, made the suggestion for a grapefruit radler after experiencing how thirst-quenching one can be. Vogel says he was fishing last summer on a Madison lake when he reached into the cooler to discover Leinenkugel’s Grapefruit Shandy; it was just 9:30 am. “It wasn’t half-bad that early, and I couldn’t think of another American craft brewer that has touched this product niche,” says Vogel. With that in mind, Vogel took the idea to Carl Nolen, president of Wisconsin Brewing, who embraced it. When Campus Craft Brewery started looking for a project this spring, the radler was a good fit: A new product for an evolving market makes it ideal as a student project.
The students became involved in taste-testing the various soda blends that were considered, including lemon, lime, lemon-lime, grapefruit, grapefruit-lemon and grapefruit-lime. They ultimately chose grapefruit, and Wisco Pop of Viroqua helped refine the soda formulation specifically to match with the beer. That soda includes natural grapefruit juice.
Wisconsin Brewing’s Kirby Nelson, who is no stranger to making traditional German lagers, worked with the students to develop a helles (light) lager over several pilot batches. The final radler recipe is roughly equal parts grapefruit to beer.
Because of limited production space available at Wisconsin Brewing’s Verona brewery, Nelson reached out to Potosi Brewery to help with final production. Potosi also has experience with handling 16-ounce cans, which was deemed an ideal packaging because it opens up more outdoor venues for enjoyment (including Miller Park, where the larger cans were requested). “Even after they’ve been tailgating and drinking all day they still want something like this,” says Nelson. “I’ve been sampling beers forever and this is something totally different, it has a personality all its own.”
Re: Fresh Radler finishes at 3.2 percent ABV and sells in 4-packs of 16-ounce cans for around $10. Expect it to remain on local store shelves into early fall.
Tasting notes:
- Aroma: Fruity. Tropical, sweet grapefruit emerges from the beer’s effervescence.
- Appearance: Hazy golden with a thick bubbly white head.
- Texture: Light, with lots of bubbly body.
- Taste: A crisp, tropical sweetness. The beer flavor is light in the background.
- Finish/Aftertaste: The crisp, sweet grapefruit continues well into the finish while the beer flavor becomes more evident.
- Glassware: The weizen glass is ideal to show off the beer’s brilliant golden color and gently focus the grapefruit aroma.
Pairs well with: sunshine and a hot day. This is a thirst-quenching beverage on its own. However, it does make a nice companion for light crisp summer salads.
The Verdict: Re: Fresh Radler stands up to the well-known Stiegl Radler, which is available in the U.S. in 16-ounce cans. Actually, the folks at Wisconsin Brewing are quick to admit that Stiegl was an inspiration. And, as someone who has been to Salzburg, Austria and enjoyed Stiegl Radler at the brewery, I find it remarkably similar how refreshing this radler can be on a hot day.
