It’s a pretty brave move to introduce a rare beer style to your core range. On the upside, it’s unique and exciting. On the down, you can spend half your time explaining it and the other half handing out samples at the bar (although admittedly, that conversation and education is part of the fun).
But if anyone can drop a deep cut, it’s beer icon Chuck Hahn and for core number four, he and head brewer Richard Van Grootel have conjured up a German radler just in time for spring. Similar to a shandy, traditionally it’s an old school blend of light lager and lemonade favoured by cyclists after a long ride (‘radler’ means cyclist in German).
For their Touring Radler, they’ve lost the lemonade and gone with more lager, so maybe don’t hand them round the peloton too early. In its place, they’ve infused German Lemondrop hops and a ‘secret citrus blend’ - I’m guessing is not Cottees lemon crush cordial since it's a top drop in its own right.
Pouring with a light blonde body and big fluffy head, for a moment the lager recalls a lemon meringue while on the nose there’s scents of fresh, effervescent citrus. On the tongue, it’s lithe and refreshing with an intriguing but not overpowering lemon edge. Given I drank it in two minutes, it’s fair to say smashable is an understatement.
Forget going for a pedal, this is my summer lawnmower beer.
Jason Treuen
Published September 24, 2024 2024-09-24 00:00:00
