Pfungstadter Weizen Radler

Pfungstadter Weizen Radler is a canned radler and is being evaluated as a Fruit Beer (2015 BJCP Category 29A) according to the BJCP guidelines. But, the BJCP guidelines do not specifically include radler as a style and none of the BJCP categories are very applicable to this type of beer. Therefore, in reviewing this offering, I will take a few liberties with the style guidelines to appropriately review this beer style.

The beer was poured from a can and the high carbonation was quickly noticed by the effervescence. The aroma reveals a lemon soda as the diluent with just a hint of wheat behind the citrus. The mouthfeel is quite thin and effervescent; the body is no thicker than a typical can of soda. The flavor reflects similar qualities as the aroma - primarily lemon with a hint of wheat; no hops are to be found. The finish is very lightly bitter and quite thirst quenching leaving a tingle of carbonation along with the hint of citrus. The thirst-quenching qualities of this beer are outstanding from the combination of light body, high carbonation, low sugar/dextrin content, and low alcohol (at 2.7% abv). While this beer style is not what most serious craft beer connoisseurs would enjoy, it certainly does fulfill what the style is meant to do: quench thirst with a beer product.

Radler is a German style of beer that is typically a mixture of beer with lemonade or lemon-flavored soda. Radler is primarily meant to be a thirst quencher or a low alcohol alternative beverage to traditional German beer styles. Many European countries follow similar practices; in England, a similar mixture is called Shandy.