Shiner Ruby Redbird

So far this is my favorite summer beer of 2012 and could be the standard that I compare all others to during the next few months.

Shiner beers produced by the Spoetzel Brewery of Shiner Texas have been a favorite of mine since I lived in Texas in the mid eighties.

Spoetzel was one of the few small independent brewers that survived prohibition. The current renaissance occurring among craft brewers owes a great deal to small regional brewers like Spoetzel that created unique beers as an alternative to the larger beer brands that dominated the beer marketplace during the second half of the 20th century.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this particular label at my local liquor store. I was not aware that Shiner was producing a summer beer and I was also surprised by the ingredient that distinguishes Ruby Redbird from every other summer beer.

Shiner uses Texas Rio Red Grapefruit, “the signature sweet citrus of the Rio Grande Valley” to give this beer a very pleasant citrus flavor without being too sweet.

Although many summer beers use some type of citrus I am not aware of any that use grapefruit. It doesn’t sound appealing at first but the result is very pleasing.

Tom likes this beer and
bets that you will too.