Drink This Weekend Edition: The Mission Paloma, featuring Stiegl Radler at Mission Taco Joint

The first radler I ever drank was poured into a humongous one-liter glass and passed across the table to me at a biergarten in Bavaria by my late cousin Otto. He spoke sparse English and had cycled some 40 kilometers from Munich to sit with me in his Lycra jersey and graying, mussed-up helmet hair. I mention this last part because “radler” – a half-half mix of beer and German lemonade, not unlike a shandy – actually means “cyclist,” owing doubtlessly to the beer’s aptness as a thirst quencher after long rides. I was there on a get-to-know-the-family visit, exhibiting my clumsy German and trying to keep the conversation fluid. Mostly we just sipped in silence. But weltering there in the August heat, contending with the discomfort of all things lost in translation, there was no better refreshment for us.

Here in St. Louis, Stiegl’s Radler (Goldbrau and grapefruit soda) now has a tap handle at Mission Taco Joint on the Loop, and with a $5 price tag, is an easy way to squelch the impending oppression of summer. You might also try it in the Mission Paloma, one addition to the new summer cocktail menu the bar program is rolling out Tuesday, June 2. (A few change-ups to the food menu are also in store.)

Replacing pure grapefruit soda for sweet, citrus-inflected beer, Mission’s twist on the familiar cocktail is subtle, and a bit revelatory.  The recipe combines two ounces of Sauza Blue Reposado tequila and half-ounce of agave simple syrup over ice in a salt-rimmed pint glass, which is then filled with Stiegl Radler. The result is a pale yellow, frothy libation that begins with a trace of smoke and skims onward to its bright, citrusy denouement – a little like a margarita, only cheerier.

“This was almost a gimme from our distributor (of Stiegl),” said Jimmy Menousek, bar manager at Mission. “We heard ‘grapefruit’ and ‘beer’ and instantly thought, Paloma!“

The Mission Paloma is quick to assemble and a worthy antidote to muggy afternoons in June, so don’t be shy about ordering a sneak peek for yourself this weekend, before the official unveiling. We’ve got it on good authority that the bartenders will happily oblige.

“Radler’s taking baby steps here (in St. Louis),” Menousek said. “But I’m confident once people start trying it, it will catch on.” I’ll raise my glass to that, and to Otto, peace be with him.

This article appears in May 2014.