Steigl Radler Grapefruit Beer by Steiglbrouerie zu Salzburg (Austria)

The Hoppy Hippie sez:

Steigl Radler

Two things. No three:

1)         I hate drinking beers out of cans. Hate it. 

2)         I dislike the taste of grapefruit very much.

3)         I fucking love Stiegl Radler.

Three more things:

1)         Stiegl Radler is in a can. A tall can. So there’s extra can.

2)         It’s grapefruit flavored.

3)         I fucking love Stiegl Radler.

There’s something about the colors of the can that remind me of a countryside picnic sometime in the 1950’s. From Austria; this Radler is ridiculously inexpensive in the liquor stores, (typically around $3.00 or under,) but ridiculously priced at pubs and restaurants (usually around $8-$9.)

I discovered this one a few years ago while at Public House downtown with some friends. I was wanting a Rickards White, which they were out of, so the waitress recommend this. It was on tap and comes in a slim curvy drinking glass. Rickards White and Stiegl Radler are not the same tasting FYI, but I really dug it.

It’s high with carbonation and pours a very cloudy sunshine yellow color. It’s hard not to notice the carbonation first, but it is quickly replaced with a poppy refreshing smack of flavor. 

This is that drink you want after spending hours doing yard work on a sunny day. This is not really the drink you want at 11:00 pm at your local Irish pub. 

I fucking love Stiegl Radler. You will too. Just pour it out of the can and into a glass.

Alewife Anne sez:

I have heard this beverage described dismissively as a "chick's beer", usually by some mouthbreather in a backwards ballcap and an Oiler's jersey slugging back a cold Coors Lite (which I can assure you will never appear on these hallowed pages). The intimation here is that "chicks" dig Steigl Radler because "chicks" prefer sweet things, and Steigl might as well be soda pop.

Well, boys, to start with, you're wrong about chicks. I know several ladies who are as excited by a mouthful of suds as Bill Cosby over quaaludes, and these women can throw down with the best of them. These broads can drink, and they drink good stuff.

Which is why some of them like Steigl Radler. It's as cloudy as any heifeweizen, but the similarities stop there. It looks and smells just like grapefruit juice. It starts with a lively white head that disappears almost immediately, like Mountain Dew, and the first sniff promises that it will taste like Fanta.

But it doesn't.

It's not as sweet on the palette as the smell suggests. There is an element of fruit juice, yes, but the astringency of the citrus nicely balances that off. The finish is all citrus peel. It is very lightly carbonated, so if you're one of those people whose life ambition is to recite all the lyrics to "Dark Side Of the Moon" in a single belch, try another beverage.

This is not a complex or palette-challenging brew, but it is thoroughly enjoyable, especially on a hot patio or with spicy Mexican food. Also, at 2.5 apv, this is the kind of drink you can enjoy all night without worrying too much about being hungover for tomorrow's job interview or church service. Also, if you're drinking it at home, it's cheap. I paid less than $5.00 CDN for a 500 mL can of Austrian grapefruity goodness.

Yes, this beer certainly has an ardent following with young ladies who wear a lot of eye makeup and use the word "like" to excess in their conversation. And I would generally choose something a little more malt-forward over Steigl Radler, but I would choose this hands down over many pissy North American lagers.

3 hop cones out of 5.