Shiner Ruby Redbird

Here at the Bitter Nib, we drink all the beers. Not just the hot, flashy, sexy ones, not just the whales, not merely old reliables and trusted favorites. If a beer comes our way, we drink it, and more often than not, report on it and share that with you. That's why I opened this bottle instead of something I was sure that I would enjoy.

Shiner Ruby Redbird. Beer brewed with Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice and with Natural and Ginger Flavors Added. 4.01% alc. by vol. Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner, TX. "For best results, serve ice cold." On the bottle cap: "A tart & delightful beer."

Clear, light amber color, slim white, soon gone.

In the nose: Yeah, that's grapefruit. And ginger, too. Whole lot of ginger.

In the mouth: Tart at first, then some bitterness, more grapefruit and a large payload of ginger. Thin, light, fairly drinkable, but not especially pleasurable. To some, perhaps, not to me. Tastes like a shandy, and there's very little beer here. You might be the type who enjoys this sort of thing, but if you are, you can't be a regular reader. Perhaps you might try some of the other beers I recommend here in the Nib. This one is best forgotten.