From the Portland Mercury‘s Craft Beer Issue!
This is going to offend some people, but: I think being a picky eater or drinker is childish as hell. Of course, we should all be thoughtful and specific about the things we put in our bodies, but science tells us that our sense of taste continuously changes as we age. Some flavors that may have been too intense when were kids become more manageable as we get older. That’s why I think it’s important and rewarding to push the boundaries of my palate and discover new things that I like (mushrooms, vinegar, hot sauce) and the things I still hate (olives, dill pickles, cottage cheese).
So although I’m a self-proclaimed “beer hater” (I’ve always despised the flavor and aftertaste of brewed hops), I’ve recently found myself regularly consuming cans of the popular Stiegl Radler, a flavorful mix of grapefruit juice and beer. For those unaware, a radler is a German-originated beverage made by combining beer with citrus juice or soda, similar to a shandy. Stiegl’s grapefruit radler, made in Austria, is naturally cloudy, fairly carbonated, sort of like an alcoholic grapefruit soda, and with a sour aftertaste that I dig, but it’s still a little hoppy for my sensitivities. So I set my sights on the Belmont Station beer shop to see if I could find anything in the radler department that I liked even better. And since summertime is radler-time, here are five to try beyond Stiegl’s ubiquitous grapefruit version.
