The D.C. United Drink your enemy series is a weekly look/scouting mission into what other supporters might be drinking on a United game. Have another beer that we should have tried please tweet Sean Maslin @SeanMaslin and let us know!
It seems to be the summer of the Grapefruit beer. Although Lambicks and Cherry Wheats have always had their fans, the field of fruity beers has been rather limited because of a.) America’s very narrow drinking tastes and b.) fruit being associated with wine. Thanks goodness we have entered the modern age of drinking!
Spoetzl brewing company might not be that widely known but chances are you have heard of one of their beers: Shiner Bock. Spoetzl is the name of the brewing company whose origins actually date back to 1909 while Shiner is actually the name of the city that Spoetzl makes all of their beer in. Shiner is also the name of the line of beers that Spoetzl makes including tonight’s Ruby Redbird. The company was founded originally by Czech and German immigrants which makes sense considering the company sells bocks, schwartzbiers, German-style lagers, and dunkelweizen (their American-style lager, the Kosmos is also quite tasty).
For this edition we are going to look at one of their newest beers: the Ruby Redbird. Created in 2011, it combines Texas red grapefruit and ginger to give it a fruity, but refreshing taste. Obviously when one thinks of fruity beer and ginger they think of Steigl. But the Ruby Redbird also has a German malt extract in it that gives brownish ale color.
The ginger is also not as prevalent as you would find in other grapefruit beers. For someone that is not used to drinking fruity beers that is not necessarily a bad thing. Transitioning from say an india pale ale to lambick does require a beer that is somewhere in between. The Ruby Red fits in perfectly here.
Of course what also makes this beer so great is that it is perfect for the summer season. Even the most hearty fan of stouts, bocks, and double india pale ales need something a bit lighter when it is 100 plus degrees outside, as I am sure tonight’s match at Toyota Park in Frisco, Texas will be. It has a great taste, a good body, and would go well with any type of barbecue that one is serving.
