Over the Holidays it was time again for family and friends to come over and we really enjoyed their company.

Along with this came the agony of all the different drinks available and what to enjoy. For these occasions and also in the heat of the summer, my top selection is the Bavarian Radlermaβ, a concoction of beer and lemon flavored soft drink such as 7up. As you will be mixing the two together, any decent quality beer, even light beer will do. The original mix is 50/50 which will effectively cut down on the sweetness of the soda and cuts the alcohol level of the beer in half. In addition to really quenching your thirst you will not get as tired as you would by drinking the beer “neat”, which also makes this an ideal long drink for summer.

Again the question was raised by some of our guests: “What da heck are you drinking” and after convincing them to taste it I usually had one or two of them enjoying a Radler with me. It is also a good way to use up the common beer you served to your guests at your last party.

Radler Maβ: Goes back to the bicycle clubs in Bavaria in the second half of the 19th Century, hence the first part of the name meaning bicycle rider.

A Maβ (β=ss) in Bavaria is a stein with the volume of 1 liter.

According to the German Historian Bauer: A Radler was enjoyed by the “bikers” once they reached their mid destination, a beer garden.  The “bikers” did not want to consume a soft drink, but if they would have had real beer, they would never have found their way home.

In Bavaria and nowadays even in other parts of Germany, this is a great alternative for the designated driver among the group, be sure it stays with only one though!

 recipe can be found at ingeskitchen.com/ie/drinks/radler.html