I’m not sure if this is a “German” thing or not, but Jeff and I had a random experience the other night at a local Thai joint.

Drink ordering time: I resort to my typical order — “Kolsch.” It’s the local beer (or bier), and everyone has it so it’s safe, and I (typically) don’t have to worry about my pronunciation. It might be Scion or Reissdorf, but every restaurant carries a Kolsch.

So you can understand my dismay when the waiter brings me a COKE (not Kolsch) and then scurries off. Jeff and I decide it’s probably an English-to-German-to-Thai mistake.

Waiter comes back — “Kolsch, not COKE, bitte,” I say. “Ah, entschuldigung,” he replies. He takes the Coke.

He then returns with a very dark looking bier in a Kolsch glass. Kolsch is always light.

First swig. “It’s sweet,” I tell Jeff. He tastes. “Oh yea.”

“Did they put coke in my Kolsch?”

“Mayyybe.”

I decide not to attempt another order, so I drink it.

When the waiter comes back, he asks, “Another coke bier?”

Mystery solved.