10 unusual drinks Germans think are absolutely normal
When a particular drink doesn't even have a name in another language, that may be a sign it's perhaps not as common as people living in Germany would think.
Apfelschorle
Sparkling water added to apple juice, or any other juice: All Germans know this as the "Schorle." It's a popular and widespread drink in the country, yet any translators' discussion forum will show there's not even an established term to describe it when abroad. You might say apple spritzer in the US, but you're better off calling it "apple juice mixed with sparkling water" to make things clear.
Berliner Weisse mit Schuss
Germany is the country of the Beer Purity Law, so you'd expect all Germans to be purists with their brew. Yet the Berliner Weisse, a cloudy, sour white beer with around three percent alcohol by volume, is traditionally served mixed with syrup — either raspberry ("Himbeer") or woodruff ("Waldmeister") — giving it a bright red or green color. The mix is now even available in bottles.
Radler
Beer-based mixed drinks are popular in Germany. A beer mixed with a lemon-lime soda is called a "Radler," which is also the word for a cyclist. Many bike riders prefer this beverage to a beer when they take a break on their Sunday afternoon bicycle tour. Different English-speaking countries know this mix as a shandy, but you'll probably get puzzled looks if you try to order one in the US.
Bananenweizen
This combination is definitely not as common as the Radler, but you won't get an "are you crazy?" reaction if you order it in Germany: Bananenweizen is made by topping a wheat beer with banana juice.
Diesel
The Urban Dictionary defines a diesel beer as a real "hardcore beer." In Germany, it's rather the name of another mix that sweetens a beer and lowers its alcohol percentage: half of it is cola. Depending on the region, other names for the coke-beer mix include Colabier, Mazout, Kalter Kaffee (cold coffee), Moorwasser (moor water), Schmutziges (dirty) or Krefelder (inhabitant of the city Krefeld).
Spezi
While we're on the case of cola, Germans will all agree on the name of this classic soft drink: the Spezi. It's a mix of cola and orange soda that appeared on the market shortly after World War II. While the brewery Brauhaus Riegele in Augsburg owns the "Spezi" trademark, hoping to monopolize the use of the name, Spezi has nevertheless remained the generic term to design any cola-orange mix.
Club-Mate
It became the iconic drink of Berlin clubbers and computer hackers over the last decades, but the caffeinated carbonated beverage was invented in 1924 by a Bavarian beverage producer. It was called Sekt-Bronte until the Loscher Brewery acquired the license in 1994 and started marketing it as Club-Mate. The caffeine comes from yerba mate, a plant traditionally used in South America for tea.
KiBa
KiBa? It's not uncommon to see the drink listed on a restaurant menu, but you won't find its definition in a German dictionary. Still, most people in the country will know that it's a mix of cherry ("Kirsche") and banana ("Banane") juice. Germans love to create abbreviations using the first syllable of each word.
Sauerkraut juice
The liquid that is removed from sauerkraut — fermented cabbage — and processed into a juice form is known as an ancient miracle cure. Even though it is not a massively popular drink among Germans, it is inexplicably available in all types of stores, not only in organic markets, but also in health and beauty retailers and discounter chains.
Muckefuck
It's the fantastic name of a coffee substitute made from barley malt. Different theories circulate to explain the origins of the word. One claimed that it derived from the French "mocca faux" (fake mocca) — but that has been meanwhile rejected. Another explanation comes from the Rhenish dialect, where "Mucken" means brown dusty earth and "fuck" is lazy. The term is also used for very weak coffee.