Rusty Rail Brewing out of Mifflinburg, Pa. is a small operation that began brewing in 2013. It wasn’t until 2015 that they really began putting out barrels to meet demand. They are still a small operation, with about 8,000 barrels produced every year and they are sold only in Pennsylvania and New Jersey at the moment. One of their more popular offerings is their Train Wreck Imperial APA which is a cross between an India Pale Ale and an American Pale Ale.
Train Wreck Imperial IPA stood out because of the label at first. It’s a great label with two trains colliding and hops exploding from the wreck. Points for the art work there. The beer itself poured a light gold or honey color, almost burnt orange. There was a nice white head of about two fingers at its height. You don’t notice many bubbles through the haze of the beer. You can definitely notice the hops aroma with notes of citrus and grass.
The first sip offers you an interesting hop variety. You can tell there are some citra hops in there. The beer starts off with a little fruity tang followed by hoppy bitterness you would expect with a pale ale of any sort. The fruit has an orange, lemon, grapefruit fusion to it. It feels medium bodied in the mouth but kind of smooth with just the slightest tingle from the carbonation. There is some fine lacing to the glass that is light but clearly evident. The one inconsistency I noticed was that there were some sips that had a bit more of an alcohol aftertaste while others didn’t feature that at all. It does clock in at 7.7% ABV so you expect a slight alcohol taste at times but the fact that not every sip was like that was a little surprising. There is a dry, hoppy finish to it that makes you want another sip.
Overall, this was a pretty interesting and fun beer to drink. I bought a six pack of it last week and have slowly been giving it the run through. It has actually gotten better with each beer. The beer has a pleasant aroma as you drink with the hops slowly giving way to grassy notes. The flavor was nice and inviting and while it may not be the most spectacular APA ever made it is good and fun and the art gives you something to stare at as you drink. I would buy this one again.