Buffalo Wild Wings’ Latest Menu Item is 50% Mountain Dew, 50% Beer

(Photo: Mountain Dew)

In the immortal words of “The Twilight Zone” host Rod Serling: “Imagination… its limits are only those of the mind itself.” Though we can neither confirm nor deny if Buffalo Wild Wings is a fan of existential horror, the quote feels like a particularly apt description for what’s launching at the fast food chain later this month.

On Tuesday, the chicken wing giant teamed up with PepsiCo to unveil Mountain Dew Radler, a Buffalo Wild Wings-exclusive beverage made up of 50% beer and 50% Mountain Dew. An intriguing, lime-green premise if there ever was one. The drink will be available to customers now through Aug. 19, though the brand has yet to disclose an official price.

Buffalo Wild Wings  — or, as it’s often called, “B-Dubs” — has also refrained from dropping hints about which beer the recipe uses. The chain’s tap list is pretty vast, so it could theoretically range anything from Bud Light to Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA — or perhaps it’s up to the orderer to choose.

The drink serves as a 21st-century reimagining of the Radler, a classic half-and-half concoction of beer and fruit soda. Sometimes confused for the shandy (50% beer, 50% lemonade, if you’re sticking to the technical definition), the Radler is thought to have been invented in Bavaria as a refreshing treat for bikers stopping by the Franz Xaver Kugler beer garden.

“Whether you’re on the lake sipping Mountain Dew or cheering on your team at Buffalo Wild Wings, our brands are best enjoyed with good company,” Scott Finlow, CMO of PepsiCo Away From Home, remarked in a news release. “The Mountain Dew Radler captures the spirit of outdoor adventure and brings it right to your friends’ B-Dubs table.”

It isn’t the first time that Mountain Dew has forayed into the alcohol category. In 2022, the soda brand joined forces with the makers of Twisted Tea to launch Hard Mtn Dew, a range of 5%-ABV malt-based drinks that are now widely available across the country. The lineup has since expanded to nearly a dozen flavors, including not one but four twists on Baja Blast.