Fassbrause

Fassbrause [ˈfasˌbʁaʊzə] , lit. draught sherbet or keg soda, is a non-alcoholic or alcoholic (depending on the brand) German drink made from fruit and malt extract, traditionally stored in a keg. The original Fassbrause also includes spices and is a speciality of Berlin, where it is sometimes called Sportmolle. (Molle used to be a term for beer in the Berlin dialect.) Fassbrause generally has a light golden colour and an apple flavour. The taste is strongly reminiscent of the Austrian drink Almdudler, except that Fassbrause is less sweet, and not quite as spicy. A variant of Fassbrause, the so-called Rote Fassbrause (red keg soda), which is available in some of the new states, but not in Berlin itself, appeared in the 1950s. This variant was available in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) prior to German Reunification and has a raspberry flavour. Another non-alcoholic variant has been produced in the United States since the 1960s under the name "Apple Beer". As the term Fassbrause is not protected, completely altered variants with no direct link to the original Berlin recipe have been created and marketed starting in the 2010s. Cologne brewery Gaffel Becker & Co was the first to start with Gaffel Fassbrause in April 2010, and many big breweries followed. Since then, the term Fassbrause has been perceived ambiguously in Western and Eastern Germany, because many people in Western Germany were not aware of the original specialty from Berlin.