Paper City Radler Bräu (MA)

If ever there's a time to drink this, it isn't in March. Radler is beer mixed with Sprite or sparkling lemonade or something. For all the respect Germany receives for its brewing tradition, they sure do know how to adulterate the stuff. I suppose if someone offered you Diet Sprite and then said "would you like beer in that?" it wouldn't seem so bad. But why not just take the beer?

Paper City's take on the style talks of "natural lemon flavor" rather than specifically mentioning soda (or "tawnic"... it's in Massachusetts). It's golden in color with a fairly decent head, and a mouthfeel that is light and spritzy. The lemon taste is subtle, and not tart at all, nor sweet. Instead, it's like a mixture of Corona and lemon Crystal Light. Watery and dull. In the heat, it could be refreshing, but even then there are better options.

Paper City Brewery seems to have an affinity for fruit beers: they have three fruit lagers listed on their site. I'd hope they're all better than Radler Brau.