Radler means cyclist, and the most popular story credits a Munich area innkeeper, Franz Xaver Kugler, who in 1922 was overrun by thousands of thirsty cyclists and stretched his beer by cutting it with lemon soda. It is a charming tale, but mixes of beer and lemonade appear in Bavarian writing a decade or more earlier, so the cyclists may simply have given an existing drink its name. In northern Germany the same drink is called Alsterwasser, after a lake in Hamburg.

Whatever its origin, it is the sensible drink of a summer grandstand: about half the strength of beer, cold, sharp and refreshing. Supermarkets sell it ready mixed, but made at the table with a homemade lemonade it tastes brighter and less sweet, and the lemonade doubles as a drink for anyone who is driving home.

The lemon syrup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
• 3 unwaxed lemons

The Radler

Ingredients

• 2 cups (480 ml) very cold sparkling water
• 4 bottles (12 oz / 330 ml each) cold Helles or pale lager
• 4 slices lemon

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