Last night, being new in Berlin, and being British, I decided to go bar-hopping. The first thing I noticed was that people were openly smoking inside.
The second thing I noticed was that people were drinking beer mixed with Coke, which is something I'd never seen before, anywhere.
Now, I'm familiar with the Spanish concept of mixing red wine with Coke, and obviously I'm down with shandy – beer mixed with lemonade – but beer mixed with Coke? Really?
Aghast, I confronted my BuzzFeed Germany colleagues, who told me that, yes, people drink "Colabier" all over Germany, though it goes by different names depending on region, and the type of beer used.
You can also buy it in shops ready-mixed. Though Colabier is just one of many Biermischgetränke, or ready-mixed drinks, that are popular in Germany.
Turns out Germans just love putting weird shit in their beer. Like grapefruit juice.
Or mango juice.
Beer + banana juice = Bananaweizen.
There's also Altbierbowle, which is beer mixed with fruit syrup and actual fruit pieces, and served with a fork. What the fuck, Germany?
Anyway, back to Colabier. The more I learned, the more obsessed I became. I had to try it for myself.
And so I, a craft beer snob, found myself pouring Coca-Cola into a perfectly decent Pilsner-Urquell, in the BuzzFeed Germany office at 1:30pm.
And the result? It tastes...not revolting, to be honest.
Not particularly nice, either. Obviously very sweet. If you mix it 50/50 like I did, it doesn't taste of beer at all.
You can imagine it being refreshing on a hot day. It'd be a good entry-level alcopop, for young people who haven't yet developed a taste for beer.
But to drink it in a pub, as an adult? I'm sorry, Germany. I don't get that at all. I tried, but it's not for me.