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Germany’s top refreshing summer drinks

Just like countries all over Europe, there's no shortage of multinational cola and other global thirst quenchers to be had in German shops. But what do you sip when you want a little local flavour? Read on to find out...

Published: 4 August 2015 15:24 CEST

A man enjoys a refreshing gulp of apfelschorle. Photo: DPA

From regional delights to national treasures, Germany has a wealth of traditions and innovations on offer when it comes to quenching your summer thirst – whether you prefer your drink with alcohol or not. Here's a few of our favourites…

1. Radler/Alsterwasser

Various brands of Radler on a shop shelf. Photo: Boonekamp/ Wikimedia Commons

While the concept isn't exactly unique to Germany, the high quality and wide variety of beer on offer makes a shandy with lemonade, cola, juice or something else a favourite pick.

The mixture has different names around Germany, with Berliners preferring “Potsdamer” or “Radler” and north Germans ordering an “Alsterwasser” – after the river Alster – mixed with Pils.

“Radler” is the most common name, and is in fact the word for “cyclist” – the people who originally popularized the mixed drink.

Bavarians might ask for a “dunkles Radler” made with dark beer, or a “Russe” made with wheat beer.

And Rhinelanders use “Radler” and “Alsterwasser” to distinguish between mixes with lemonade or orangeade, while in the Munsterland you can ask for a beer/orangeade mix known as “Wurstwasser” – sausage water – so-called because it looks like water that's been used to cook sausages.

If you're feeling particularly adventurous, you could even ask for a “Diesel” – beer mixed with cola.

2. Weinschorle

Weinschorle Photo: Birke/ Wikimedia Commons

Mixing wine with fizzy water is hardly a German-exclusive invention either. But Germans prefer using their own country's wine, such as Riesling, Blauer Portugieser, Weißherbst, Müller-Thurgau or Silvaner.

Wine mixes can be “sour” with carbonated water or “sweet” with lemonade. And depending on the region, you might get a different ratio of wine to mixer – with grape-loving Rhineland-Pfalz preferring to add just a dash of water to an almost-full glass of wine.

3. Bowle

Bowle Photo: Politikaner /Wikimedia Commons

Bowle is the Germans' way of describing a punch containing chunks of aromatic, refreshing fruit. It's usually served in a large glass punch bowl which goes by the same name.

Most German punches include juice, lemonade or sparkling wine as well as white wine, and there might be a dash of rum or other spirits added. Of course, there are always the non-alcoholic versions for kids or teetotallers too.

In the Rhineland, the chunks of fruit are known as “Möppchen” and soaked in the alcohol for a day, absorbing most of it and allowing the effects of the punch to be enjoyed without drinking a drop.

4. Fassbrause

Bottles of Fassbrause. Photo: obs/Brauerei C. & A. Veltins GmbH

Fassbrause was originally invented in Berlin in 1908 as a mixture of fruit (apples), herbs and malt to serve as an alcohol-free substitute for beer. But since then, the word has come to mean a wide range of alcohol-free products or beer mixes like Radler.

In Berlin original-style Fassbrause made by Rixdorfer or Spreequell can still be bought on tap in some bars and is known as “Sportmolle” (sport beer) in the capital's dialect. It's often also mixed with beer.

5. Sekt

Two ladies pour out a huge glass of Sekt in the Rotkäppchen-Mumm Sekt cellar in Freyburg, Saxony-Anhalt. Photo: DPA

The French love champagne, but the Germans call it Sekt and have a long tradition of producing their own. The sweet sparkling white wine was inspired by Germans returning from working in French vineyards around the turn of the 19th Century and became a booming business by the 1830s – with many of the same producers still in operation today.

There was a second wave of foundings in the 1980s after market regulations were loosened and now Germany boasts more than 1,000 producers, compared with fewer than 100 in 1985.

Germany is the world's biggest market for champagne and Sekt, with around 423 million bottles sold in the country in 2009 – one quarter of the world's entire consumption of bubbly. Of those, only 80 million were imported. So organize a garden party and start enjoying those bubbles!

6. Ebbelwoi/Äbbelwoi

Ebbelwein being poured out in Frankfurt-am-Main. Photo: DPA

Germany's most famous apple wine is made in the state of Hesse and is a protected geographic designation. It's often also called “Schoppen” in Hessisch. In the Eifel, Saarland and Luxembourg it's still called “Viez”, after the Roman name for the brew, “vice vinum” – the backup or replacement wine.

7. Eiswein

Frosty eiswein grapes at a vineyard in Freyburg, Saxony-Anhalt. Photo: DPA

Made from grapes harvested during a sharp winter frost, Eiswein is sweeter and thicker than normal wine as much of the water is frozen out. It's served chilled, making it a fine drink to enjoy during the summer, especially as an aperitif or dessert wine.

Ice wines made from German Riesling grapes are particularly prized and are among the most sought-after sweet wines worldwide.

8. Apfelschorle

A man enjoys a refreshing gulp of apfelschorle. Photo: DPA

A German classic, apple juice mixed with sparkling water is often brought along as a sports drink thanks to its high mineral and sugar content that make it close to isotonic (of a similar concentration to blood).

Make sure you get the version with a high fruit content rather than a cheap one from concentrate!

9. Club Mate

A bottle of Club Mate in Nuremberg, a city in the drink's native region of Franconia. Photo: DPA

While most visitors to Germany might associate Club Mate with Berlin's up-all-night club culture, it's actually been produced in Franconia, Bavaria since 1924.

Club Mate's (and its many competitors') high caffeine content comes from its main ingredient, Yerba Mate – a plant found in South America that has been made into tea for hundreds of years.

As well as being widely available in big-city clubs and festivals to keep music fans bouncing around the floor for hours, it's highly prized by hackers and often ordered in large quantities by enthusiastic programmers outside Germany for special events.

For the biggest of fans, there's even a more herbal “winter edition” available for a few months of the year. And for an alcoholic version, ordering a vodka-mate in bars will often see the bar staff hand you the bottle so you can quaff enough for a shot of vodka to fit inside.

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Essential guide for travelling with allergies in Sweden

EU allergy laws

“Sweden is covered by EU laws on the 14 most common dangerous food allergens,” Liselott Florén, head of communications at Sweden’s Asthma and Allergy Association, told The Local. “When you eat out in restaurants, cafés, hotels, or similar places, they are legally obliged to be able to explain what the food contains.”

When buying prepackaged food, you’ll usually see any ingredients containing one of these allergens highlighted in bold or capital letters. Here’s a list of the 14 most common food allergens with their Swedish translations.

Cereals containing gluten – spannmål, som innehåller gluten
Crustaceans – kräftdjur
Eggs – ägg
Fish – fisk
Peanuts – jordnötter
Soy beans – sojabönor
Milk – mjölk
Nuts/tree nuts – nötter
Celery – selleri
Mustard – senap
Sesame – sesam/sesamfrön
Sulphur dioxide and sulphites – svaveldioxid och sulfit
Lupin – lupin
Molluscs – blötdjur

Depending on your allergy, it can be a good idea to learn the Swedish words for common food items that may contain your allergen, like ost, grädde or vasslepulver (cheese, cream or whey powder) for milk allergies, although these will often be followed by the name of the allergen in question, too. For example, you might see whey powder listed on an ingredients list as vasslepulver (av MJÖLK) [whey powder (from MILK)].

Common cereals you should look out for on Swedish ingredient lists are vete (wheat), råg (rye), havre (oats) and korn (barley), and tree nuts include hasselnöt (hazelnut), valnöt (walnut), cashewnöt (cashew nut), pekannöt (pecan nut), paranöt (brazil nut), pistage (pistachio) and makadamianöt (macadamia nut).

Be aware that this is not an exhaustive list, so double check any ingredient highlighted in bold on an ingredient list before eating to make sure it’s not something you’re allergic to.

Note that many Swedish words are compounds, so these words might crop up as part of other words too, for example matvete (wheat berries, often served as an alternative to rice) or havredryck/mjölk (oat drink/milk). These are usually highlighted in ingredient lists with the allergen in bold, for example matvete or havredryck.

Some more important phrases are kan innehålla (may contain), kan innehålla spår av (may contain traces of) and fri från (free from). People with egg or milk allergies should also be aware of the Swedish words used to mark vegan food – vegansk or växtbaserad (plant based). Don’t confuse this with vego, which can also mean vegetarian.

Be aware of common Swedish foods which may contain allergens. Some foods described as a salad (sallad) often contain mayonnaise, and eggs, fish and shellfish are all popular ingredients. Those with fish or crustacean allergies should watch out for prawns (räkor), crayfish (kräftor) and herring (sill), especially around Swedish holidays.

Sauces and gravys often contain cream, butter or milk, so make sure to check these, and there are a number of traditional Swedish cakes which contain almond (mandel) such as the mazarin and mandelmussla.

Always have a dialogue with staff in restaurants

Knowing the EU allergens can be useful for reading menus and ingredient lists in the supermarket, but Florén from the Asthma and Allergy Association warns people with allergies not to rely on written information alone when ordering in restaurants.

“In our experience, Swedes are better when it comes to oral information than written information,” she said. This is partly due to the fact that menus often change with the seasons, and may not always have the most up-to-date information.

“Swedish restaurants have come a long way when it comes to sustainability, creating new dishes based on the available ingredients. That’s why it’s always better to have a dialogue with the serving staff, or even better, the kitchen staff.”

In most restaurants, you’ll see the words ‘Allergi? Prata med personalen!’ (Allergy? Talk to staff!) displayed somewhere, and staff should be happy to help you.

Decide whether to make or buy an allergy card

Swedes are famously good at English, but for people with allergies it’s important that you’re completely confident that the person you’re talking to has understood what you’re trying to tell them.

It can be a good idea to write up some sort of message or card with information of your allergies included in Swedish which you can show to staff (you can also buy one of these online with information in multiple languages), but Florén said you should be wary of relying too much on this, and always discuss your allergies with staff directly.

“You can do that, but it’s really important that you don’t end up thinking ‘I’ve shown a card, I assume you can understand this information’, without some sort of dialogue,” she said.

It can also be a good idea to let the restaurant know about your allergies in advance, if possible, whether that’s by phone or online.

If you do choose to create a card or written message to show to staff, here are some useful phrases in Swedish which you can include:

Jag har en allvarlig/livshotande matallergi. – I have a serious/life-threatening food allergy.

Jag är allergisk mot… – I am allergic to…

Det är inte en [gluten/laktos]intolerans. – It is not a [gluten/lactose] intolerance.

You may also want to list some common foods that often include your allergen. For someone with a milk allergy, for example, you could write the following:

Det betyder att jag inte kan äta mjölk eller mjölkprodukter, som smör, grädde, gräddfil eller ost, till exempel.

(That means that I cannot eat milk or dairy products, like butter, cream, sour cream or cheese, for example.)

If you have an allergy to tree nuts, you may want to explain which nuts are included.

Jag är allergisk mot nötter, det vill säga hasselnöt, valnöt, cashewnöt, pekannöt, paranöt, pistage och makadamianöt.

(I am allergic to nuts, that means hazelnut, walnut, cashew nut, pecan nut, Brazil nut, pistachio and macadamia nut.)

You may also want to explain what you can eat. Things like pine nuts (pinjenötter), peanuts (jordnötter) and coconuts (kokos) are not tree nuts, for example, and those with milk allergies may need to explain that they can eat things like eggs (ägg) or mayonnaise (majonnäs), or traces of (spår av) certain foods.

Jag tål… – I can eat…

What to do if you have a reaction

You always have the right to acute healthcare in Sweden, no matter where you come from. This includes treatment for serious allergic reactions. The emergency number in Sweden is 112.

Depending on where you come from, the price of this healthcare varies.

Residents of Nordic and EU/EEA countries pay the same as someone living in Sweden if they need acute healthcare in other countries.

A Swede visiting the emergency room would pay around 400 kronor (35 euros), depending on the region, and around 130 kronor (12 euros) per day spent in hospital. You’d also need to pay extra for any medicine used in treatment, although this usually heavily discounted, and cannot exceed 2,850 kronor (250 euros) in a twelve month period.

Nordic residents will need to show ID and give their home address, while EU residents must show their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). It’s a good idea to always carry this with you while you’re in Sweden.

As a general rule, non-EU residents will need to pay the full price of any treatment themselves (which is why it’s a good idea to get travel insurance before your trip). The cost of a visit to the emergency room for this group is anywhere from around 3,800 to 6,000 kronor (330-520 euros). That doesn’t include any extra costs, such as medicine or an overnight hospital stay.

There are some exceptions for residents of certain countries, for example residents of Australia, Algeria, Israel, Turkey and the state of Québec in Canada can access certain healthcare at the same cost as Swedish residents.

UK residents can no longer get an EHIC card, unless they have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, but they can show a GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card) instead to access healthcare at the same costs as Swedish residents.

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