Shiner Ruby Redbird - A Summertime Manifesto

Posted by Jamie

Okay, so maybe this isn't really a manifesto, but summertime is approaching, and I feel that I must mount a defense of my favorite summer beer.

Yes, the insufferable heat of New Orleans is ready to rear its ugly head.   I’m not looking forward to the next five months of heat and humidity. The only bright spot, for me at least, is that it is time for summer beer season.  Yes, it’s that time of year when beer makers decide to add fruit to beer.  I like fruit.  I like beer.  The two together is magic.  Okay, maybe not magic but I like it all the same.

This is the time of year that Abita Strawberry Ale makes its first appearance, as well as the lesser known Abita Satsuma Wit, a Belgian white, and the rather new Abita Lemmon Wheat of which I am suspicious.  But of course Abita is not the only brewery with fruit in its eyes.  You can find a dizzying array of fruit infused brews around the world such as:

Long Trail Blackberry Wheat -
Saranac Pomegranate Wheat
Southern Tier Cherry Saison
Sly Fox Raspberry wheat
Unibroue Ephemere
Banana Bread Ale
Dogfish Head Black & Blue

My favorite summer seasonal beer is Shiner Ruby Redbird.  Per its commercial, Shiner Ruby Redbird is brewed with genuine Texas Rio Red Grapefruit, the signature sweet citrus of the Rio Grande Valley, and ginger. This lager beer features grapefruit tartness and finishes with a ’lil kick of ginger. With Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit and Ginger, Shiner Ruby Redbird is a crisp and refreshing summer beer.

Ahhhhhh...Ruby Redbird, save me from the NOLA heat

Being a lover of Redbird, I assumed that others would love it as well, and I went online to find some helpful notes about how delectable this summertime libation is.  As it turns out, good ol’ Redbird has few fans among the armchair brewery experts that seem to thrive particularly well on the internet. A cursory search of the beer’s rating show that anyone who claims to know anything about beer rates my beloved Redbird somewhat low…or more like incredibly low.  Some have called it call it odd or gimmicky and others have described it as having the after taste of lemon-scented dish soap! 

Dish soap indeed.  I feel entirely confident that Redbird would stand the Pepsi challenge next to any lemon-scented dish soap out there!  Redbird is a fine enough beer, and I suspect that it only gets its bad rap because it is a fruit beer.  Snobbish, amateur brew-gurus seem to harbor a keen dislike for fruit beer of any kind.  The reason is beyond me.  I happen to quite enjoy a good fruit beer, and I would rather not confine myself to beers brewed solely with malt, hops, and yeast.

In all fairness, I may just be a victim of incredibly effective advertising

For me, nothing says summer like a Ruby Redbird, so despite what the critics say, I’m going to enjoy my favorite beer during the summer months and mourn its departure come fall.  Call me uncouth if you like.  Call me unsophisticated too.  At least I’m not drinking Coors!