How to pour it
a radler in
Rinse a tall beer glass with cold water and leave it wet. Then add the ice, four cubes or two long sticks, so the glass cools from the inside while you open the bottles. Use genuinely cold bottles, because ice that has to work hard dilutes the radler.
First pour in the lemon lemonade, filling the glass to about halfway. Keep the glass upright, as lemonade hardly foams. This lets you see exactly how much room is left for the beer and ensures the ratio is right.
Now hold the glass at an angle of about forty-five degrees and slowly pour the lager down the inside. Set the glass upright when it is almost full, giving you a thin head that holds the lemon aroma. There’s no need to stir: the beer and lemonade mix by themselves.
Taste it and adjust the ratio. Half and half is the starting point, but with one-third lemonade, the hops remain easier to recognize, while two-thirds makes it sweeter and smoother. Then cut a slice of lemon, place it on the rim, and serve the radler immediately.
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The story
Radler means cyclist in German and the word comes from Bavaria. The best-known story tells of an innkeeper near Munich who had too many cyclists and too little beer in 1922, so he diluted his stock with lemon soda. It’s an anecdote that is often repeated, not an established fact: mixing beer with lemonade was already common in Germany and England. What is certain is that a roughly half-and-half ratio developed into its own category in Germany and Austria, with ready-made bottles alongside the homemade version.
The right glass
A radler needs space: half beer, half lemonade and ice on top. A tall beer glass of forty centilitres or more is therefore more practical than a flute, otherwise you’ll have to top it up halfway through. A waisted profile or inward-curving rim keeps the thin head compact and prevents the lemonade from spilling over. Tempered hospitality glass can withstand ice being added with a scoop. Lower, wider models can be found among the tumbler glasses.
Arcoroc Willi Becher beer glass 40 cl (12 pieces)
Mammoet Budgetline Amsterdam beer glass / vase 34 cl (12 pieces)
Both sets together € 48,90.
The right tools
For a radler, in addition to the glass, use a citrus juicer if you’re working with fresh lemon juice, and a mould for long ice sticks that melt slowly. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you’ll find them all in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glassware set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools together € 46,85.
Which spirit goes with this?
In a radler, the beer takes centre stage and all the alcohol is already in the lager. If you want to taste the lemon in a glass with spirits, you’ll find that under liqueur, limoncello and Pallini. On each drinks page, you can read the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it works well in and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
Using fresh lemon juice and a little syrup instead of lemonade lets you decide how sweet and sour it will be; allow about two centilitres of juice and half a centilitre of syrup per glass. Grapefruit soda makes for a more bitter drink, and using wheat beer instead of lager makes it more herbal. With alcohol-free lager, the proportions remain exactly the same and the drink comes to 0.0. A sprig of mint or a slice of cucumber changes the aroma without making it sweeter. Want to read more? View all drinks and brands.
Serving tip
Everything should be cold: the bottles straight from the fridge, the glass rinsed with cold water, and plenty of ice in the glass. Pour in the soda first and the beer afterwards, so you do not need to stir and the fizz stays in. Put the bottles on the table so everyone can adjust their own ratio.
Good to know
The ratio and what it does
Half lager and half lemon soda is the starting point. Because the soda contains no alcohol, that ratio halves the beer's alcohol percentage: a lager of roughly 5 percent becomes a glass of around 2 percent. If you use one-third soda, the hop bitterness remains more pronounced; with two-thirds, the drink becomes sweeter and softer. The precise figure is stated on the label of a ready-made radler.
Where the name comes from
Radler is German for cyclist. The word is associated with Bavaria, where beer with lemonade has long been commonplace. The story about an innkeeper who ran short of beer for a group of cyclists in 1922 and diluted his supply with lemon soda is often told along with it, but that is an anecdote, not proven history. The name itself is genuinely German and genuinely Bavarian.
Radler, shandy and panaché
All three are beers diluted with something fizzy, but the country and mixer differ. Radler is the German and Austrian name and is almost always made with lemon soda, usually half and half. Shandy is the British name and is also made with ginger ale or bitter lemon, often with less soda than beer. Panaché is the French and Belgian name for beer with clear lemonade. In practice, the ratios vary from one café to another.
Make it yourself or buy a bottle
Ready-made radler is usually around 2 percent or 0.0, making its flavor consistent and predictable. Mixing it yourself takes a minute and puts you in control: how much soda, which lemon, how much ice. Making it yourself is also cheaper per glass, because you simply use pilsner and regular lemonade.
Ice that does not water down your drink
Radler is best served ice-cold, and plenty of ice is essential. Large cubes and long sticks have less surface area per amount of ice than small cubes, so they melt more slowly and dilute the drink less. That is why you should start with chilled bottles and fill the glass generously with ice, rather than using too little ice that melts quickly.
Frequently asked questions
How much alcohol is in a radler?
A radler made with half pilsner and half lemon soda contains approximately half the alcohol percentage of the beer, so around 2 percent if you start with a pilsner of roughly 5 percent. Ready-made bottles are usually around 2 percent or 0.0. The exact figure is always stated on the label.
How do you make radler yourself?
Rinse a tall beer glass with cold water and fill it with ice. First pour in lemon soda until halfway, then tilt the glass and slowly top it up with ice-cold pilsner. There is no need to stir. Taste and adjust: less soda for more hops, more soda for a sweeter glass. A lemon slice on the rim completes it.
What is the difference between radler, shandy and panaché?
These are three names for beer mixed with something refreshing. Radler is German and Austrian and is almost always made with lemon soda, usually half and half. Shandy is British and is also made with ginger soda or bitter lemon, often with less soda than beer. Panaché is the French and Belgian name for beer with clear lemonade.
Which glass do you drink radler from?
Use a tall beer glass of forty centilitres or more, because it will hold beer, lemonade and ice. A tapered profile or inward-curving rim keeps the thin head compact. A flute is too small: you would have to top it up halfway through.
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