Shiner Ruby Redbird Clone Recipe

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trmarkel

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Now, before anyone judges me, I loved Shiner Ruby Redbird. I know that it wasn't the most popular brew and that many people disliked it, but, I loved it. Everyone I know loves it. It is the beer that has been requested the most for me to make. I would like to make it so it is available to me and my friends year round... but alas it is a summer beer. Unless! someone can provide me with a clone recipe!

This is what I have to far: Ruby Redbird is a very light beer, easy to drink. It has red grapefruit juice in it, it has ginger in it, it is especially tasty on a hot summer night. So far I figure the best way to clone is to make a light body beer (maybe half 2 row half wheat?) infused with x amount of grapefruit juice and about 1 oz of ginger at 10 minutes.

So the questions I have: how much grapefruit juice? What grain bill would you suggest? Hops? The brew could definately use improvement, what would make this beer extra tasty? I appreciate any ideas you can throw my way!
 
Im thinking Try the Haus Pale Ale" but only us the 60 min hop addition "and add the ginger at 10 min. but add the grapefruit juice at Kegging (only if your kegging )
 
I just had some of this at a party. It was good. However my friend LOVES it and i would like to attempt a copy as well. Any luck on a clone?
 
Why is it so hard for people to just accept this a light and extremely refreshing beer???? It seems everyone on the web HATES it!:drunk:

So is there any new ground on a clone recipe????
Did anyone have thoughts on hops??

I've read on unrelated threads about adding juice to the primary fermenter with bad results because the acid level is too high for the yeast....


I would LOVE to experiment with this!:ban:
 
I want to make this pretty badly. I dont have anymore. So building a recipe is out of my league. I am going to try a small batch experiment sometime soon. Going with both candied and fresh ginger and grapefruit zest and concentrate.

If anyone would chime in on using these before that would be great. .
 
Try making a 4 gallon batch then adding the grapefuit juice when done fermenting

7 LBS - 2 ROW
2 LBS - RICE EXTRACT SYRUP
1/2 LBS -CARAPILS
3 OZ. - FRESH GROUND GINGER ROOT (BOIL FOR 10 MIN.)
.38OZ - MAGNUM HOPS AT 60 OR WHAT EVER YOU HAVE TO GET AROUND 20 IBU'S
1 GAL GRAPEFUIT JUICE ADDED TO KEG WHEN BEER IS DONE.
 
Don't have a keg yet...... Am I correct in thinking this will not work with bottle conditioning? I am assuming if I have yeast activity in the bottles it will maw on the juice and change the flavors and or bottle bomb me.....
 
i think a group (prob those of us in this thread) should collectively deduce 4 or so recipes that all seem likely clones, but each with something uniquely different...

then each of us tries one of the recipes all at the same time and report back with the results

that way, hopefully, we find a clone recipe in about ~1/4 the time, money,ingredients,resources, etc....

any takers?? i would be up for brewing in the next 2 weeks or so...

*edit: i replied before reading last 2 comments.... im only set up to bottle, and have no keg equipment -and that makes sense about adding the juice at the end (it definitely has a fresh juice flavor), so that option would be out for me...
 
Try making a 4 gallon batch then adding the grapefuit juice when done fermenting

7 LBS - 2 ROW
2 LBS - RICE EXTRACT SYRUP
1/2 LBS -CARAPILS
3 OZ. - FRESH GROUND GINGER ROOT (BOIL FOR 10 MIN.)
.38OZ - MAGNUM HOPS AT 60 OR WHAT EVER YOU HAVE TO GET AROUND 20 IBU'S
1 GAL GRAPEFUIT JUICE ADDED TO KEG WHEN BEER IS DONE.

is this your original recipe or did you find it somewhere? have you brewed it yet? what were the results????
sounds delicious:mug:
 
I think all of these ideas are great and would probably result in some great tasting beer....But what kind of yeast are we talking about here?
 
I am thinking of making a 5 gallon batch of golden ale in the next few days. i am planning on using 1 gallon after primary is complete and adding in fresh ginger and grapefruit & lemon zest. once i see where this gets me i will modify. since no one has a starting point for this i figure its as good as anywhere.
 
Sorry to start a thread and disapear, but glad to see there is other brewers interested in this topic! I just got through moving and have graduated from apartment brewing to garage brewing (how many more steps until I run a brewery :mug: ).

I didn't think about the acid problem with adding grapefruit juice to the secondary, but that does make sense. In my mind it would be just as easy as the apricot brew. Unfortunately my upgrade in brewery has not yet been blessed with kegging equipment, but soon, very soon. SWMBO appreciates the Ruby Redbird so this will be a good arguement for the expense.

hotammo, I like the grain bill, looks like something that would definately get the light, easy to drink quality that makes me love the brew. I'll have to give it a try as soon as I get new equipment.

doctorjupiter, I was thinking american ale would do the trick.

kickrjason, let us know how it turns out!
 
:ban:

My Ruby clone, which I'm going to call Spicy Rio is complete!
The best part? 3 out of 6 tasters couldn't tell the difference between mine, and Shiner's! The other 3 could definitely tell but said it was very, very close!
:mug:
 
Spicy Rio
(The idea is a Texas Blonde Ale brewed with ginger, and bottled with grapefruit juice.... of course)

1 3/4 lb 2 Row Malt
1 lb Vienna Malt

3 lb Extra Pale Extract
1 lb Brewers Corn Syrup

1 oz Brewers Gold
1 Whirlock tablet
1/2 tsp yeast fuel/yeast cake

11g Nottingham Ale yeast (wort starter)
1 oz dried ginger root
32 oz Grapefruit Juice -100% pure organic, no preservative, additive free - from a health food store

-45 min Boil @ 155 degrees, sparge @170 degrees
-add sugars, 60 mins boil
@60mins- hops
@45mins- yeast cake
@30mins-ginger *
@10mins- whirlock
Final vol 5.25 gals
OG 1.034 PA 4.5

3 days, racked, 1.014
3 days, bottled, 1.008, ~3.5%
4.5 oz corn sugar, and grapefruit juice to prime
aged 4 weeks, then 1 in the fridge
 
Spicy Rio
(The idea is a Texas Blonde Ale brewed with ginger, and bottled with grapefruit juice.... of course)

1 3/4 lb 2 Row Malt
1 lb Vienna Malt

3 lb Extra Pale Extract
1 lb Brewers Corn Syrup

1 oz Brewers Gold
1 Whirlock tablet
1/2 tsp yeast fuel/yeast cake

11g Nottingham Ale yeast (wort starter)
1 oz dried ginger root
32 oz Grapefruit Juice -100% pure organic, no preservative, additive free - from a health food store

-45 min Boil @ 155 degrees, sparge @170 degrees
-add sugars, 60 mins boil
@60mins- hops
@45mins- ginger, yeast cake
@10mins- whirlock
Final vol 5.25 gals
OG 1.034 PA 4.5

3 days, racked, 1.014
3 days, bottled, 1.008, ~3.5%
4.5 oz corn sugar, and grapefruit juice to prime
aged 4 weeks, then 1 in the fridge

This actually looks pretty good! Someone stole my brew pot... broke into my car, left my car stereo, left my $600 dollar golf clubs in my $150 bag and took my brew pot :mad: So I could rock out a partial mash and have this ready in time for a side by side tasting! I'm assuming you just accounted for the sugar in grapefruit juice in your priming calculations? Or was it negligible? Also can we get some pictures of the final product? :mug:
 
I'm assuming the juice will keep this thing from being able to sit around for a while? Or can you use something to pasteurize the juice so no bugs are in it? Just don't want it turning into a lambic 2 months down the road
 
lol, i'm sorry but thats just too funny not to laugh! it must have been a dis-loyal home brewer! :shame: You should sell your golf bag, and use the money to buy a nice brew pot with a false bottom :thumbup:

-with the sugar, no. it was already pretty dead at 1.008, i wasnt really worried about the sugar, esp bc the stronger ginger was going to need a little extra to take the edge off. ive yet to ever have a single bottle bomb (knock on a wooden paddle), so i just used the standard 4.5 corn sugar in additional to however much sugar was in the juice (prob not too much anyway, its pretty tart)

The only 3 differences that are noticeable:

1. Color- ehh, not that important (to me at least)

2. Body- The Shiner has a slightly heavier body (Im thinking maltodextrin, cutting into the corn syrup, but not too much)

3. Ginger- Mine is slightly more ginger-y, if you really like ginger, I would leave it alone, if not some much, maybe cut back to .75 oz, or less time in the boil)

2zp5yer.jpg

Ruby Redbird on the left, mine on the right
-it hard to tell bc of the color, but mine is just as fizzy as the shiner, poured at the same time, and slightly more head on mine, virtually none on the Shiner
 
I'm assuming the juice will keep this thing from being able to sit around for a while? Or can you use something to pasteurize the juice so no bugs are in it? Just don't want it turning into a lambic 2 months down the road

umm, i didnt really think about that (?)
the juice is pasteurized when its bottled, i assume something could have got in the mix while pouring, but i doubt it, im pretty sterile, but anything can happen...
i do intend to drink then all with in 3 months, so i guess its not too much of a concern for me personally, but i honestly dont know.
also, my beer fridge is big enough for several brews, so they are all kept at temp, so there shouldnt be any fermentation going on :)
 
Oh sweet! Ruby is a great beer! I texted a buddy just tonight about Shiner's Spring Ale and he brought up Ruby.

Will def try these recipes. I see ginger though. Kinda leery about that. I made a ginger beer that came out so ginger hot it's nearly undrinkable to most people. Give me heartburn. That recipe called for pounds of ginger though, not the small amount here.
 
Zuljin said:
it's nearly undrinkable to most people. Give me heartburn. That recipe called for pounds of ginger though, not the small amount here.

POUNDS?!?! Good lord that gives me heartburn just thinking about that.
 
Pounds would be if you were seeping fresh ginger for a short period and then pulling the ginger out before fermentation....
an 1 oz or so of dried is adequate for leaving in the carboy during primary fermentation.

i think dried is much easier and gives more of a ginger bite, instead of a heartburning tea, lol
 
lol, i'm sorry but thats just too funny not to laugh! it must have been a dis-loyal home brewer! :shame: You should sell your golf bag, and use the money to buy a nice brew pot with a false bottom :thumbup:

-with the sugar, no. it was already pretty dead at 1.008, i wasnt really worried about the sugar, esp bc the stronger ginger was going to need a little extra to take the edge off. ive yet to ever have a single bottle bomb (knock on a wooden paddle), so i just used the standard 4.5 corn sugar in additional to however much sugar was in the juice (prob not too much anyway, its pretty tart)

The only 3 differences that are noticeable:

1. Color- ehh, not that important (to me at least)

2. Body- The Shiner has a slightly heavier body (Im thinking maltodextrin, cutting into the corn syrup, but not too much)

3. Ginger- Mine is slightly more ginger-y, if you really like ginger, I would leave it alone, if not some much, maybe cut back to .75 oz, or less time in the boil)

2zp5yer.jpg

Ruby Redbird on the left, mine on the right
-it hard to tell bc of the color, but mine is just as fizzy as the shiner, poured at the same time, and slightly more head on mine, virtually none on the Shiner

Thanks for the pics, and yes it's a very shameful thing to steal someones brew pot.

I have had one bottle bomb (my first experiment with a very heavy beer, not sure exactly what happened, my guess winter and a downstairs neighbor with a very hot thermostat and my beer on the ground) so I'm pretty careful with sugar nowadays, but it does seem that there would be very little assuming no sugar was added. Who can resist a nice bubbly beer after mowing the yard though?

On the color/ginger: perhaps a bit of some crystal(maybe 8 oz 40L?) would both give it that caramel color and help with the bite of the ginger. Though I was recently in Jamaica and had the pleasure of trying a ginger beer(think extra strong ginger ale, the only available beer in jamaica was Red Stripe) and I love the taste of ginger.

I am envious now though, I shouldn't have been so lazy and I too would have a refreshing beer to drink while I wait for ruby redbird. BTW where did you get the Ruby Redbird for the comparison photos? Is it available in your area?

Zuljin:+1 to the pounds of ginger. I made a dish that involved fresh ginger. It was enough for 6 people and I used 2 oz, and that was plenty. I can only imagine the brew!
 
BTW where did you get the Ruby Redbird for the comparison photos? Is it available in your area?

I was recently in Jamaica and had the pleasure of trying a ginger beer

yeah, its been out for a few weeks now here in san marcos
if you dont have it yet you need to complain to your distributor!

-REED's is a Jamaican ginger beer thats available in the states, i just saw some at Home Goods a few days ago,
pretty good stuff!

have you though about making your own?
ive made some really good brews, some pretty strong at 9%, my last brew i turned into a ginger/pineapple liqueur, pretty tasty!
your close enough that I could ship you some true Ginger Beer Plant if you wanted to try it out
 
Completely unfair, I guess because San Marcos is closer you get it first. If I knew who the local distributor was, I would definitely complain(for some reason I can't figure out who is the distributor on Dallas.
Also I will definitely have to try reeds, if it's as good as the stuff i got in Jamaica I will definitely have to track it down
 
I also love this beer!Would definitely like to try my hand at brewing this sometime, especially with the hot TX summer coming quick =/
 
The label says: "It's deep gold color and full body come from pure Munich malt and Mt. Hood, Citra and Cascade hops balance the flavor well".
Any thoughts as to the quantities and hop schedule?
I found another description which states it's a lager so it's some sort of light bock, perhaps a Maibock.
The shiner site states: 4.2% ABV and 13 IBU's.
 
I'm only about 12 batches in and haven't really designed a recipe from scratch yet, but I'm thinking about brewing this in about 2 weeks when my primary is available. I'm going to use all munich malt as it is what the bottle says. I also do biab, if that matters regarding recipe formulation. My calculations are at 70% efficiency using beersmith. Any comments or suggestions are welcome and appreciated!

5.25 gallon batch size
8.5# munich (mash 60 mins @ 152)
90 minute boil
.5 oz Northern Brewer for 60 minutes (15.4 IBU)
1.5 oz fresh grated ginger for 15 minutes (suggestions as to quantity of fresh ginger or advantages to using the stuff from the spice isle at the grocery store welcome)
1056 with appropriate starter
32 oz fresh squeezed Texas grapefruit juice added at kegging.
Primary for 1 week. Rack to secondary for 2 weeks to help clear.

Beersmith tells me the OG should be 1.042, the color 8.3 SRM.

The keg will be kept in kegerator once filled and will be kept at 35-40 degrees. Should I pasteurize the grapefruit juice before adding?
 
Just had this and was glad to see a thread here. I also wondered about the munich as well. But do they mean they only used Munich? or used Munich in the bill. Thinking of taking Spicy Rio and changing the mash malts to Munich and using table sugar. I think Notty is the perfect yeast for this. I stopped using it for my pales since it was too tart and killed the hops
 
I've been drinking this beer for weeks and I am in love with it!! Really glad to have found this old post.

I am about to order the stuff right now, here is my idea:

7 lbs Munich
1.5 lbs corn sugar
4 oz Crystal 40L
Fresh Graded Ginger, about 1-2 tablespoons
1 quart of ruby red grapefruit juice, not made from concentrate
Yeast will probably be Notty but I am going to do a bit more research on the yeast and acid levels. I tested the PH of this beer and it was 4.21 out of the bottle.
As for the hops I'm going to order the Mount Hood, Citra and Cascade though I'm not sure how I'll use them. Probably add them citra and mount hood at the first of the boil and the cascade at the end. I have a few days left to ponder on this.

I don't keg so I'm going to add the grapefruit juice at the end of the boil.

We'll see what happens, I'll wait a few hours to order in case anyone has any advice for me.
 
I attempted using the recipe in post #30 and just got my first taste after two weeks in primary. I am very encouraged by the results. The ginger is there but not overpowering. I have not added the grapefruit juice, but I think I am on the right track here.
 
I'm not exactly sure how to fix it, but there was too much of a grapefruit flavor to the beer. I'm tossing around the idea of adding the grapefruit juice to the secondary next time. Anyone have thoughts on that? I realize it will dry out the beer, so maybe a higher mash temp? I could also add grapefruit peels to the boil instead of juice to the beer.
 
I have received my ingredients and am waiting until I have a chance to pick up the grapefruit juicer and ginger.

Also, I have written the Brewery a letter complimenting them on this great beer and asking for help cloning it, so I may wait until I get a reply...or don't.
 
I have received my ingredients and am waiting until I have a chance to pick up the grapefruit juicer and ginger.

Also, I have written the Brewery a letter complimenting them on this great beer and asking for help cloning it, so I may wait until I get a reply...or don't.

Sorry for double post.
 
I remember trying it last year and wasn't terribly impressed, but this year the ginger seemed to be more prevalent. I enjoyed it much more this year!
 
5 gallon batch.

I'm thinking 15 pounds of grain. 75% munich, because Shiner says they use munich, and 25% two-row. What type of munich will depend on what type I can get local. I'm going two-row for the diastic boost, even though munich has considerable power on it's own. Two-row instead of six because six may make it too malty sweet.

2 oz, at most, fresh grated ginger added at the start of boil.

Citra will be the predominate hop. 2 oz at flame out? 1/2 oz Mt Hood and Casscade mid boil. These are the hops Shiner says they use.

32 oz red grapefruit juice in the secondary. Shiner says they use red.

Yeast? Shiner calls this beer a lager. Not Wyeast. Personal preference.
 
I happen to have one in the fridge. On the back it says pure Munich malt with mt. Hood citrate and cascade hops hope this helps
 
I wait all year for this beer to come out. Without question the best summertime, thirst quenching beer I have ever had!
 
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