The History of Radler

Picture Germany in 1922. Cycling was booming, and innkeeper Franz Xaver Kugler had created a trail through the forest that led from Munich directly to his beer garden, Kugler Alm. You can still visit it today.
 

As the story goes, around 13,000 cyclists arrived one day in June, and Franz was quickly running out of beer. Thinking fast, he mixed the beer with lemon soda from his cellar, half beer and half soda.

The thirsty cyclists loved it. The beer lasted. The day was saved.

Franz called his creation the Radlermass. “Radler” means cyclist in German, while “Mass” refers to a litre measure of beer. Word spread, and cyclists began asking for the refreshing new drink at pubs across Germany.

Today, radlers are enjoyed around the world in all kinds of colours and flavours. Most begin with beer and lemon juice.

We decided to get Crafty.

Our first Radler paired craft beer with our own grapefruit and tangerine fruit soda. It was bright, bold and unlike anything else on the shelf. Since then, we’ve created a whole family of unexpected fruit combinations, each with its own take on that original refreshing idea.

Traditional radlers often contain between 2% and 3% alcohol because the beer is diluted by an equal amount of soda. We brew a stronger base beer first, then blend it with our house made fruit soda to finish at 4.7% alc./vol.
 

A century after Franz served those thirsty cyclists, the idea still works beautifully: craft beer, bold fruit flavour and refreshment when you need it most.

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Same refreshing idea. A little more Crafty.