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:
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.
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.
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.
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| 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.
Should be a 5/5 lets be real
ReplyDeleteThere are some nice beaches along the Great Lakes that are popular in the summer, but the water is still pretty chilly.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this beer is not sessionable (after one I was reaching for a Busch Lite), but feel it is closer to an Italian orange soda than Starburst.