Super long term product review and a new summer beer from Shiner

A few days ago, while commuting home through a crummy spring rain, it occurred to me how great my cycling jacket has been for the last three years or so.

That's my Endura Luminite jacket hung on a hook, like usual. I've worn this thing in all kinds of weather, with all levels of layering underneath, and it has performed perfectly at every turn. Wind and rain at 55F? no problem, I stayed dry and comfortable. Snow and slop and horrible winter weather from 30F down to -30F windchill? Hell yeah, bring it on. With fully taped seams and well designed everything, when Endura says "waterproof" they mean it. In the winter I layer up significantly and wear this literally every day, and I've never had any issue. In the spring and fall, I don't use a lot of layers and the pit vents work pretty well to keep my temperature regulated. Generally in the summer, or any time the temp is above 70, it's way too warm, but that's no surprise given how sealed and sturdy the material is.
For this photo I left the flash on, and the large reflective sections reflected it back, just like when headlights hit it. After all this use the jacket works just like new, even if the crazy bright yellow color has dulled slightly in regular light. I really could not be more impressed with this jacket and how well it has held up to my abuse. If the weather isn't horrible it pretty much lives in the bottom of my messenger bag rubbing up against shoes, pumps, beers, multitools, etc etc, you know, whatever I happen to be carrying with me. Until a few days ago I hadn't even really thought much about it, but damn, I love this jacket.

Ya know what else I love? beer. (surprised right?) I also love interesting/unusual beers. Odd pairings and weird experiments are half the fun of brewing right? I love the brewmaster's creativity and minor bits of bravery to make weird beers. Sometimes they don't work, but hey, at least someone tried. And when they work well, the result can be better than anyone would have expected. My lust for these weird beers could also be considered morbid curiosity. I almost want to see horrible failure as much as I want to see success. A beer I noticed recently that set off all sorts of alarms in my head was Shiner's new summer beer: Rudy Redbird.
It is a lager brewed with ruby red grapefruit juice and ginger. The citrus is more subtle than you'd expect from the nose, but the ginger really comes through in the flavor and mouth feel. Shiner's website lists 4.2% abv and a scant 13 ibus, which in my mind makes this an excellent and refreshing summer beer that would pair really well with food. What food you ask? Sushi was my first thought. The second I mentioned sushi, maybe after my second sip, my friend Andrew heartily agreed. It would also work really well with citrusy chicken dishes, and damn near any grilled fish. Maybe that's what I should do this week sometime, get more of this, get some tuna steaks and some lemon pepper and go to town. If you like citrusy and refreshing beers, or just like interesting flavors in beer, definitely check this out.