Stiegl Radler Grapefruit

Brewed By: Stiegl in Salzburg, Austria  

Purchased: 16.9oz CAN from a 4-pack bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Fruit Beer/German Radler, 2.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

Evidently, I'm a glutton for punishment. After trying the abysmal and CLOYINGLY SWEET Stiegl Radler Zitrone (Lemon), I decided to take a crack at their Grapefruit Radler. Here's to hoping this doesn't suck. About Stiegl: 

Stiegl is an Austrian brewery that has been making beer in Salzburg since 1942. They are the largest privately owend brewery in Austria, and boast some unique factoids (apparently Mozart drank their beer, the brewery burned down, same ol', same ol'). You can check out the full brewery history HERE.

Tonight's beer is a Radler. The Stiegl Radler Grapefruit is a blend of grapefruit soda, and Stiegl Goldbräu. The Goldbräu is a mildly hoppy pale lager. Let's glass this up and get our soda-pop drank on. 

Stiegl Radler Grapefruit

The Grapefruit Ralder pours a hazy, murky, pale-yellow color that looks like infected urine. Classy stuff. Given the bright orange pop of the can, you almost expect the beer to be a radioactive orange color. The beer kicks up a finger's worth of white head that rapidly dissolves into nothing. Credit to the soda, no doubt. The murky body obstructs any visible carbonation, but I promise you this is carbonated.

This smells a lot like its lemon counterpart...cloying sweetness, skunky lager...but then, the clouds part. You pull off HUGE orange juice from concentrate on this. I'm taken on a nostalgia ride to when I was in grade school, and my dad would make pancakes, sausage, and orange juice from concentrate on Saturday mornings. There is also unmistakable melted Starburt on the nose. This smells like melted lemon and orange Starburst candy. Maybe with some Lemonheads thrown in.

The taste is amazingly on point. You get some grapefruit soda, crappy Lager, and then BAM: tons of tart, tangy, candy sweetness. In particular, I'm pulling out big Skittles and Orange Starburst. There's some underlying grapefruit soda, and the lingering flavors definitely pop with citrus and grapefruit, and orange juice from concentrate. The inherent tang/tartness from the citrus provides a much needed counterpoint to the saccharine assault in this beer.

Pretty much this.

And that's pretty much it. For some reason, the lemon soda in the Stiegl Zitrone fails to provide that necessary tart/tang to ground the ridiculous sugar assault. The grapefruit soda in this beer has a zesty edge, with very mild tart/tang. The sweetness still keeps this beer from being sessionable, but you can definitely kill the 16.9oz can with ease. The mouthfeel is light-bodied, with soda-like carbonation. This isn't a complex ride, with grapefruit soda and ghetto Lager up front; tangy/tart candy sweetness in the middle; and fade to lingering grapefruit citrus. It's refreshing, but sugary.

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average on this. This is much, much, much, better than the Stiegl Zitrone. There are moments where this actually reminds me of a real grapefruit. But mostly, this reminds me of Orange Starburst. And there is nothing wrong with that. At 2.5% or 3.2% (on the can), or whatever, this is a beer that you can basically drink like a soda. So do that. This is great to drink out of the can at a barbecue, or on a hot summer day. You can pair this with lower-scale barbecue food: hotdogs, burgers with ketchup, your friend's overcooked grilled chicken. You know. This beer would also go remarkably well on the beach. Throw a few of these in a cooler and sip on them by the ocean. Shit, that's probably really the only good application for this beer. 

Random Thought: Being in the Midwest, I sort of understand why people go on vacation in the summer. You know, there really are no beaches for thousands of miles where I am. However, I still think you should save those vacation days for the Winter. But what do I know.

Leinenkugel's Lemon Berry Shandy

Brewed By: Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin  

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at some random liquor store in Urbana, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Fruit Beer/Shandy, 4.2%

Reported IBUs: ?

Oh Leinie's...I do occasionally run into Leinenkugel's beer at the ball park or when I go to cookouts, but I rarely buy the stuff. Saturday night was one of those nights when I found myself at a liquor store...I should emphasize that this was a liquor store. So they had cases of such fine delicacies like Steel Reserve. It's a small miracle that they even had Guinness and Sierra Nevada. Ambivalent but not defeated, I spotted some Leinenkugel's Lemon Berry Shandy and literally said, "alright, fuck it." And that's how this beer happened. About Leinenkugel: 

The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company is an interesting company. First...the company is owened by MillerCoors LLC, which is owned by SABMiller. That makes this company a micro-macro brewery, kind of like Goose Island. As I understand it, Leinenkugel still brews ther own shit (or at least some of it). But every time you buy a Leinenkugel beer, proceeds go to Miller. In fact, recently, MillerCoors LLC announced their new craft beer company, "Tenth and Black Beer Co," which was named after the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee that brews Leinenkugel and Blue Moon beers. 

I don't want to totally shaft Leinenkugel just because they are owned by SABMiller. There is a whole history of the brewery on their Heritage Page, and it's actually nicely done so I recommend checking it out. The brewery was founded in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, back in May 1867 by Jacob Leinenkugel and his business partner, John Miller (who, according to Wikipedia, sold his company shares in 1884). During prohibition, Leinenkugel brewed non-alcoholic "non-beer" called Leino. Unsurprisingly, the stuff wasn't popular, so the brewery started making and selling soda water instead. When prohibition ended, Leinenkugel was the largest bottler of soda water in the area. The brewery continued to expand, post-prohibition, and Leinenkugel expanded into Minnesota, Michigan, and Chicago. The brewery was purchased by the Miller Brewing Company in 1988. In 1995, the 10th Street Brewery was opened to help accommodate the growth and brew Leinenkugel beers. 

Leinenkugel has two breweries: the original one in Chippewa Falls, and the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. According to Wikipedia, 95% of the Leinenkugel's sales by volume are brewed in Chippewa Falls. The 10th Street Brewery brews the Leinenkugel's Auburn Ale, Berry Weiss, Creamy Dark, Hefeweizen, Honey Weiss and the Original pale lager.

The Lemon Berry Shandy isn't particularly fancy. The bottle states that this is a "Weiss beer with blackberry juice and natural flavors." The Leinenkugel website describes this as light and crisp. They state that this beer is brewed with blackberry juice, pale and wheat malt, and cluster hops. This is a great session and Summer beer.

Leinenkugel's Lemon Berry Shandy

For all the scorn, this beer actually pours pretty sexy, especially if you pour it into a wheat beer glass. In low light, the body of this beer is a hazy orange/brown color, with a swampy/murky look, and 3 to 4 fingers of big, pillowy, cloudy head. In bright light, this beer is a hazy orange color, and the pillowy white head not only is sticking around, but also leaving solid lacing. It's like your quintessential Summer wheat beer, only 9 out of 10 times you aren't pouring this into a wheat beer glass. 

The aroma here is pretty much lemon, wheat, and big, sugary, raspberry lemonade. I'm also getting some raspberry/grape Smucker's jam, fruit preservatives, iced tea and tea leaves, and some lemon soda. All-in-all, the nose is pretty inviting and reminds me of sweet tea and raspberry lemonade.

This beer is super creamy, carbonated, and smooth. You get a big mouthful of sweetness, sugar, lemon soda, lemonade, raspberry lemonade, and berry/herbal tea. There's some wheat and grain rounding this out, and I'm getting a nice finish of berries and lemonade. This is sweet, but it never becomes sickly sweet, unlike the pretty craptastic Stiegl Zitrone.   

At 4.2%, and being as sweet and refreshing as this is...you kind of pigeonhole this as a beer to drink at a cookout, baseball game, or while you're sitting around on a Summer evening shooting the shit with some friends. And that's how I utilized this beer this weekend, and it was great. This is a beer where you can have a couple of these without smelling or looking like that raging alcoholic who shows up to the little league game and starts yelling at everyone. Palate depth is great on this beer, with a light to medium-light mouthfeel. The mouthfeel is creamy, smooth, and makes great use of the wheat malt. This is supported by moderately high carbonation, and the back end rounds out with some really nice wheat. Obviously this isn't very complex....up front is sugary lemon, lemonade, raspberry lemonade, and sweet berry tea; mid palate rolls into more sweet raspberry lemonade and berry tea; back palate rounds out with some malt, lingering lemonade, and herbal berry freshness. 

Rating: Average (3.5/5 Untappd)

This one gets a Strong Average from me. In many ways, I almost prefer this to the Summer Shandy. But I don't know...they're both great beers with respect to what they intend to do. If you're drinking this expecting an IPA or Barrel-Aged Stout, you are not only a pretentious twat but you are a fucking idiot. This one is marketed pretty clearly: "Lemon Berry Shandy." Lemon + Berry + Beer + Soda. Put a lemon wedge in this, and go enjoy some John Mayer with your friends on the porch. And you know, John Mayer actually has chops outside the mainstream shit he releases to snag poontang and make money. Also, this shit is legit cheap at anywhere from 6-8 dollars for a 6-pack. Compared to some of the craft beer I buy, buying 6-packs of this is like me making money with each purchase. I digress...I'd pair this beer with warm weather, a cookout, family, friends, and baseball games. 

Random Thought: Beer is about taste, but "the feels" help too. Unless they're triggering....in which case get therapy and avoid said triggering beer. The Lemon Berry Shandy happens to taste okay, but it also reminds me of Summer. 

Stiegl Radler Zitrone

Brewed By: Stiegl in Salzburg, Austria  

Purchased: 16.9oz bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Fruit Beer/German Radler, 2.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

Tonight we are going to Austria, where Arnie does push-ups and something something Ze Germans. European History was always a little fuzzy for me. Speaking of fuzzy, who doesn't love the crackling carbonation of soda

Hey, Ladies. 

combined with beer. Tonight we have Stiegl to thank for the libations. Stiegl is an Austrian brewery that has been making beer in Salzburg since 1942. They are the largest privately owend brewery in Austria, and boast some unique factoids (apparently Mozart drank their beer, the brewery burned down, same ol', same ol'). You can check out the full brewery history HERE.

Tonight's beer is a Radler. The Stiegl Radler Zitrone (or Lemon) is a 50-50 blend of lemon soda, and Stiegl Goldbräu. The Goldbräu is a mildly hoppy pale lager. Let's glass this up and get our soda-pop drank on. 

Stiegl Radler Zitrone

The top pops off of this with a nice hiss. The beer pours with a pale yellow, piss-color, and kicks up a couple fingers of super white, soapy head. The head doesn't last very long, just like soda. There's some fat, lazy carbonation bubbles rising upwards, but most of the carbonation is waiting in the body. Waiting to assault your tongue. Boy, this friendly summer drink just got creepy.

The aroma is sickly-sweet, cloying lemon, with some saccharine Lager sweetness. You get various soda elements: club soda, ginger ale, and expired Sprite/7up that your grandma dug out of her garage 10 years after she bought it. There's a grainy component to the nose, and a dash of actual lemon juice and lemonade. This must be what summer is like if you crush up a Lemonhead and drop it in some Miller High Life. 

Zitrone is also a synonym for diabetes, which is what I'm going to have after drinking this. The front palate is loaded with soda carbonation, sweet soda ala the non-diet, saccharine-forward lime brands (7up/Sprite), tons of sugary lemon drank/drink, and a dash of grainy Lager sweetness to. Mid-palate continues with the sugary assault, only with more lemon. And the back fades to a sugary, burpy, lemon-soda finish. Basically lemon soda.

"This is sticky, finishes dry on the lips, and feels a bit forced." 
             -Things you might tell your Therapist, for 500

Maybe I'm not the target audience here? I like my lemons less sugary, with a dash of acidity and sourness. I also like my soda strictly in the diet variety. Seriously, people still drink soda with sugar? The fuck is wrong with you? This has soda-esque carbonation, and a light to medium-light body. Palate depth is soda, and complexity is soda sweetness with a hint of Lager kick. Evidently a 50-50 blend means you get trace hints of beer and a frontal, mid-palate, and back-palate assault of sweet lemony soda. Need I describe the palate any more? Okay, there's a hint of grainy Lager.

Rating:  Below-Average

I'm feeling a Light Below-Average on this. How is this not better than Leinenkugels' Summer Shandy? And that format wins everyday. You can buy that beer by the 6, 12, or 24-pack. This isn't bad per se, it's just lemon soda with saccharine assault! Hooray. Even as I try to justify this...like on a hot summer day by the beach...I feel like there are better lemony alternatives to what is going on here. Even in the beer world. I'd prefer the Stiegl Goldbräu straight up, or a toned down lemon kick, or a wheat beer. Or just give me some lemony spirits. This would pair well with your typical summer barbecue  or maybe a Jack Johnson concert. Seems apropos. Is that a subtle dig directed towards frat culture's blandest, most chill douche bag? Of course not. There's nothing subtle about it.

Random Thought: Lawdy, does the sweetness of this beer linger. It's like sweetness trauma. Throw me a bone, Stiegl. Switch this up to diet soda, or toss in a little acidity to provide some balancing refreshness. I want to feel like a kid again, but I don't want to relive painful memories of being curled up with a stomach ache from eating too much candy. 

Leinenkugels Summer Shandy

Brewed By: Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin 

Purchased: 12oz CAN (fuck yeah!) from a 12-pack bought at Jewel in IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Fruit Beer, 4.20% 

Continuing with the summer trend...tonight I'm reviewing a true summer beer. A summer shandy from the folks at Leinenkugels.

The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company is an interesting company. First...the company is owened by MillerCoors LLC, which is owned by SABMiller. That makes this company a micro-macro brewery, kind of like Goose Island. As I understand it, Leinenkugel still brews ther own shit (or at least some of it). But every time you buy a Leinenkugel beer, proceeds go to Miller. In fact, recently, MillerCoors LLC announced their new craft beer company, "Tenth and Black Beer Co," which was named after the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee that brews Leinenkugel and Blue Moon beers.

I don't want to totally shaft Leinenkugel just because they are owned by SABMiller. There is a whole history of the brewery on their Heritage Page, and it's actually nicely done so I recommend checking it out. The brewery was founded in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, back in May 1867 by Jacob Leinenkugel and his business partner, John Miller (who, according to Wikipedia, sold his company shares in 1884). During prohibition, Leinenkugel brewed non-alcoholic "non-beer" called Leino. Unsurprisingly, the stuff wasn't popular, so the brewery started making and selling soda water instead. When prohibition ended, Leinenkugel was the largest bottler of soda water in the area. The brewery continued to expand, post-prohibition, and Leinenkugel expanded into Minnesota, Michigan, and Chicago. The brewery was purchased by the Miller Brewing Company in 1988. In 1995, the 10th Street Brewery was opened to help accommodate the growth and brew Leinenkugel beers.

Leinenkugel has two breweries: the original one in Chippewa Falls, and the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. According to Wikipedia, 95% of the Leinenkugel's sales by volume are brewed in Chippewa Falls. The 10th Street Brewery brews the Leinenkugel's Auburn Ale, Berry Weiss, Creamy Dark, Hefeweizen, Honey Weiss and the Original pale lager.

If you check out the Summer Shandy page...you get some bare-bone info about this beer. The beer is described as a traditional take on the German radler. It is described as crisp, refreshing, and brewed with natural lemonade flavor. Clocking in at 13.5 IBUs, packing 130 calories per bottle, and punching 4.20% ABV...this is a mild beer. Brewed with Cluster hops, Pale and Wheat malt, this sort of sounds like a lighter beer. And that's exactly what a Shandy is. More specifically, a "German radler" is a Biermischgetränke ("beer-based mixed drinks") that consists of a 50:50 or 60:40 mixture of beer and sparkling lemon soda. So tonight's beer sounds about right. The can states that this is a Weiss beer brewed with honey and natural "lemonade flavor." With all that said, let's crack a can open and get on with this review.

Leinenkugels Summer Shandy

I'm actually really impressed by the pour (admittedly: I had low expectations, like a kid with an alcoholic dad waiting to play catch in the yard). This thing pours with 4 to 5 fingers of super foamy, cloudy, Hefeweizen-looking head. And the head is hanging around. In low-light, the beer has a super hazy, pale/yellow/lemonade/condensed juice/piss color. In bright light, this beer is a super hazy yellow color, with hints of orange coming off it. The head is super white, and as it is receding it is leaving some lacing. There is about a finger's worth of head sustaining, which is cool. I can't see the carbonation due to the haze, but this is soda and beer. Of course it's carbonated. I rarely give this beer glass treatment...but it doesn't look so bad in a glass.

As far as the aroma goes, there's not a lot to discuss here. I'm getting huge lemon, lemon soda, graininess, lemon drop candies, Lemon Heads, and sugary esters. You get a hint of adjunct in the nose as well: maybe corn?

The taste is like the nose. I'm getting lemon, grain, and a bit of an adjuncty note in the back. There's a hint of wheat in here as well. The lemon is nice, but maybe a touch subdued even. I'm getting lemon zest, fresh squeezed lemon, lemonade, 7up, sprite, lemon soda, and seltzer water.

This is super light with supportive, but moderate-high carbonation. At 4.20% ABV, this beer is drinkable, and refreshing like water on a hot summer day. You could seriously pound a 12-pack of this if you wanted to. Not that I advise that, wink, wink. Palate depth is okay, if not a touch watery. I wish there was more of that soda-lemon kick. But there's plenty of soda notes in here. Complexity is like broken dreams. Dad: why didn't you play catch with me? Why were you too busy drinking 12 Summer Shandys. Up front it's all like lemon and grain; the middle is phat lemon; and the back is lingering lemon with some adjuncty-malt notes. 

The dilemma: how the fuck do I rate this thing? This is basically soda beer, with some grain/malt notes. This shit is refreshing, and would make any hot day better. I actually like this a lot for what it is, so:

Rating: Average

This is a light Average for me. This drinks like soda with beer qualities, and that's how I would drink this beer. This is a beer meant to be consumed in the sun on a hot summer day. If you are looking for developed flavors, or a beer that can stand on its own, look somewhere else. What I think makes this beer worth checking out are the big lemon-soda notes, and the session-ability. You can drink 12 of these in an afternoon if you wanted to. And you'll feel like a champ doing it. This beer makes me wish I had a beach, or a pool. I'm going to go get my garden hose and pretend I'm not white trash. So until next time folks, don't drink and break the German beer purity laws.