Beer or oxygen for Germans

Yes, it's really is that important. It's so important that each area of Germany/city brews its own. And it's actually good in Germany. Really good. Especially one called Radler which is a beer mixed with lemonade. If your freaking out because of my scandalous new taste in alcohol, don't. Radler is the beer that sports men drink so it has almost no alcohol (2.5% or less). Radler actually is the German word for Cyclist. And it is sooooo good. The water here is carbonated and hard to drink fast. It's also normally warm.. Radler in its sweet glory lives in the fridge. It's also less than water or 19 cents a can. I understand these Germans and their beer, especially Radler. It's really sweet so girls usually like it. Or me.. I am not sure which yet. I have probably drunk over ten since I have been here or 1-3 a week.
   
"Radler Bier

Monteith’s Radler® is a refreshing, fruity, lemon and lime-flavoured lager inspired by a drink first served up in Bavaria in the 1920’s by Franz Xaver Kugler, the owner of an Austrian Gasthaus. In search of an invigorating brew, he developed an easy drinking lager bier with a citrus twist “” flavoured with lemon and lime ““ which was the perfect treat for the many cyclists (“radler” in German) and mountain hikers who visited his alpine guesthouse.

Radler® recreates the experience; it’s a lager beer, brewed to full strength at 5% alcohol by volume, with distinctive hoppy notes. The beer is brewed with a small amount of natural lemon juice, giving it its refreshing zesty citrus finish.
Monteith’s Radler® has a level of residual sweetness to complement the added lemon juice. This combination provides balance and a degree of complexity to the flavour mix. Radler® is only lightly hopped to ensure the bitterness character does not dominate the flavour.
After a hard day’s work (or a hike on the mountains), the refreshing citrus taste of Radler® will go well with fresh crayfish or a nice light spring salad. Or you could match it the German way, with spicy sausages, cheeses and fresh bread.
Monteith’s Radler® has an original gravity (OG) of 1049, alcohol content of 5% and a final gravity of 1010+. Radler® is only lightly bittered but this, along with the citrus tang, provides the beer with a finish that is clean, crisp, slightly drying yet totally refreshing.
RADLER® is a registered trade mark of DB Breweries Ltd in New Zealand."

There is also Pilsner. That is a very common and good German beer. It has hops in it but it's not very bitter. It's better than Heineken which is the closet thing to German beer that can be purchased in the states. 

 "A True King Among Beer Styles
Jul 18 '01 (Updated Oct 28 '06)
The Bottom Line Pilsners are refreshing, clean- tasting lagers that are balanced in taste, and acceptable to most any palate.
Pilsner is one of the world’s best- known styles of beer. Pilsner has inspired many other types of beer over the ages, like Oktoberfest, Vienna Lager, and many of the lagers brewed in the United States. It’s the most imitated of all the world’s beer styles, with many brewers placing the pilsner label on most any lager they produce. History of Pilsner: The origins of this style of beer can be traced to 1842 when the first pilsner was brewed in Pilsen, Bohemia (the Czech Republic today). This original pilsner was the product of the Mestansky Pivovar (meaning “citizen’s brewery) brewery, which would later change its name to the Plzensky Prazdroj (meaning “original source of pilsner”) brewery. The head of the operation was brewmaster Josef Groll, a young brewer of lager from Bavaria. His new product was later given the name “Pilsner Urquell”, which means “original source”. With this new beer, the pilsner style had been born. The popularity of this new beer spread quickly throughout Europe. It was exported to the United States for the first time in 1871. To protect this new venture in malt beverage creation, the brewery made “pilsner beer” a registered trademark. This protective measure didn’t last long. With the popularity of this type of beer growing so fast and being imitated so frequently, the term pilsner eventually became a generic word that was used to describe most any light lager, even if the beer wasn’t that similar to the original pilsner. Characteristics of Pilsner: Pilsners are made with bottom- fermenting lager yeast. The original gravity of pilsner is typically around 1.048 (12 degrees Plato) and the alcohol level is usually in the 4 to 5 percent range, by volume. Pilsners are light golden in color and a true pilsner should have a moderate amount of malt taste, and a substantial flavor of hops. The original pilsner, Pilsner Urquell, has a hop bitterness rating of 40 I.B.U. Other characteristics of pilsner include a pale body, and crisp, dry finish. Many American made, mass- produced beers try to claim that they are pilsners, even though they really don’t fit the definition at all. For the most part, these beers are just light American- style lagers, not pilsners. When a true lover of beer hears Miller Lite proclaim that it’s a “fine pilsner beer”, we just roll our eyes and chuckle. The only similarity between Miller Lite and Pilsner Urquell is that they are both light colored. Good Examples of Pilsner: Pilsner Urquell is the original and best example of a pilsner. This golden- colored beer has just the right balance of hops and malt, a crystal- clear body, and a taste of grain, hops, and a touch of butter. If I had to choose one pilsner to drink, this is the one I would choose."

And a very good grapefruit beer. It tastes sweet instead of bitter like grapefruit normally is. It's also about the color of Sunkist. 


"This is one of the furtherest fluids from beer that I think I have ever had the occasion to sit near. It is only 2.5%. It appears to include about 60% stuff other than hefeweizen and it is pinkish orange. The LCBO has brought in a boat load of this stuff as a cool summer drink from the wonderful to pronounce Schoefferhofer line from Binding-Brauerei AG and, I have to admit, I am pretty pleased with it on first sip even if the BAers cry "Shame!"
You have to like ruby red grapefruit juice. Fine for me - love it. But, now that I have a look, you also have to not be disconcerted by foods that have a list of ingredients. Not so fine for me as the fine print says there is added water, sugar, extracts, acids, flavours and...errr... that old family favorite Dye E 120. Yum. But at almost two bucks for what is really 150 ml of hefeweizen plus juice, wouldn't it be better to just get some hefeweizen (at maybe $2.50 for 500 ml locally) and start blending? Add a vitamin C pill if you really need more acidic bite. I think this drink does a service in introducing the idea but needs to be taken to the next level by some economizing experimentation. No award winner but in no way as foul as some of the cloying sweetened lambics being foisted on the unsuspecting these days."



Beer is a staple of German culture. Here are some photos taken in Mainz about the beverage: 

This is a about the funniest thing I have seen in Germany. The gold kart is a mobile beer hall. The bartender serves the beers and steers. The men drinking power the vehicle and its music by pedaling. How they manage that and not falling off the vehicle at the same time when they are drunk remains a mystery..

 This is Jelly Beer. The Haribo gummy bear store in Mainz had this in their window. 

Beirkrugs that are special to Mainz. Most of them had a picture of an area of the city on them. The store wasn't open so the cost of these beauties remains unknown.