Creek Surfer
Rusty Rail Brewing Company

In cooler at Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. $ 3.00 (Including tax)/16 oz can ($ 0.188/oz). Reviewed 3/12/20.
Undated can. Stored at home at 42 degrees and served at 42 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Light yellow, slight chill haze.
Body – Light yellow, opaque. When held to direct light, same.
Head – Large (Maximum 6.5 cm, aggressive center pour), white, medium density, average retention, diminishing to a four to nine mm crown and rocky partial cap.
Lacing – Fair. A butte of tiny to medium bubbles rises above the crown.
Aroma – 4 – Tropical fruit with a bit of citrus.
Flavor – 3.5 – Lightly fruity with a slight lean toward tropical. Slight bitterness. No malt flavors. No alcohol (6.3% ABV as marked on the label) taste or aroma. No diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3 – Thin, watery, medium carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.25 (Lost 0.25 point for undated personal container) The shade of yellow and haze along with the aromas make one think of tropical juices. Unfortunately, the flavor and thin body fail to deliver. Overall, another average IPA. Fortunately, the price isn’t too out of line.

16 oz can from Beer Peddlers. Cloudy orange pour, thin white head, clumpy lacing. Fruity aroma, tropical , then citrus. Taste brings accents of stone fruit, a little tangy and barely there bitterness.

 

On tap at Swan Dive in Rochester, NY.

This one pours a fairly hazy golden orange color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This has a slightly metallic and astringent aroma to it, with grapefruit rind and a general tropical citrusy aroma.

The raw hop astringency on this one is tough to get by, and kind of gives off a metallic-esque feel here. It's just not super clean. It's only slightly tropical, with citrus rind - but nothing outstandingly juicy to merit that name.

This is chalky and very bitter on the back end, with not the greatest drinkability on it, due to that.

I can't really recommend this one all that highly. It needs to be fairly comprehensively retooled.

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty bad “tropical” IPA. Dishwater cloudy yellow, aroma is mostly flat with a sharp note of raw hop, taste is an off-putting bitter melon rind - but like old melon.

A thanks to the founding father of the canquest, woodychandler, for this beer. Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a golden color with a 1 inch head. Smell is of tropical fruits, citrus. Taste is the same as the aroma, light malts, juicy, mild bitterness. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a solid beer.

 

 

Poured into a grip shaped goblet: color is straw gold, very effervescent from a warmish can (~45F), head is bright white with fine to small bubbles, head presents 1/2 inch thick then dissipates pretty quickly to a thin top, ring on the glass and some lacing on the sides.

Smell is hops with neutral, fairly clean pale malt; hops are lemony, withe some light pine and earth.

Taste similar with a bit more malt with a light biscuit/toasty flavor; hops are similar to aroma with a more citrus rind with earthy and pine lingering with good bitter presence.

Mouthfeel is crisp, a bit strong in carbonation, with a dry finish and lingering light chalky like presence.

Overall a good IPA - great that its in a pounder can - though i don't get 'tropical' flavors from it other than some stronger citrus like hops.

I had heard good things about this brewery, so Creek Surfer was a bit of a letdown.

Look: Pale, light haze, small to moderate head. Light to no lacing.

Smell: Hop-forward, fruity, somewhat one-note.

Taste: Also hop-forward, sort of simple and not particularly balanced for my taste. Its strong grapefruit-rind flavor tasted like added flavorings, not hopping. From its label ("Tropical IPA"), the product gives the impression of trying to piggyback on the fruity bandwagon.

Mouthfeel: A bit thin.

Conclusion: Based on Rusty Rail's local reputation. I will try some of their other brews, but won't return to this one.