Review: Radeberger Pilsner, Clausthaler NA, and Schofferhofer Grapefruit (2015)
No fancy intro needed on this one. Here’s a collection of three semi-random beers from the U.S. distribution arm of Germany’s Radeberger Gruppe — including the company’s newly-available grapefruit-flavored hefeweizen and our first-ever review of a non-alcoholic beer! Can any of these be worthwhile? I smell a roundup brewing…
Radeberger Pilsner – Simple at first, Radeberger evolves its deep cereal and malt notes to reveal some surprising chocolate character, particularly on the back end. Slightly muddy, with some notes reminiscent of a brown ale, but not without ample charm. 4.8% abv. B / $9 per six-pack
Clausthaler Amber Non-Alcoholic – There’s no getting around the fact that this is a non-alcoholic beer (or, at less than 0.5% abv, almost non-alcoholic), but let’s try to look at this in the context of, say, a curiously-flavored soda. On that front, Clausthaler isn’t bad, offering a sort of malt-flavored sparkling water that offers the essence of beer without all the social problems. There’s not much to get excited about here, to be sure, but if you absolutely can’t drink — or can’t drink any more — I can think of worse things to put in your gullet. D+ / $8 per six-pack
Schofferhofer Grapefruit (2015) – Unfiltered wheat beer with grapefruit flavor (and cochineal color) added. It’s a super-fruity concoction not unlike a shandy or even a modern grapefruit-flavored malt beverage — with a bit of a vegetal tinge on the end. Not much in the way of “beer” flavor, but while the tart grapefruit character is quite sweet, it’s at least short of candylike. Harmless, and at 3.2% abv, I mean that in every sense of the word. B- / $7 per six-pack
Schofferhofer Grapefruit
$7
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