Rail Ales

There’s always been a close relationship between the brewing industry and the railways, after all it was the development and rapid expansion of the railways in the mid-19th century that helped the brewing industry to expand as it became easier to transport beer to all parts of the country, which in turn boosted demand and production. So, it would come as no surprise when breweries got in the habit of naming their beers in tribute to the railways that made their nationwide industry possible. There are a number of beers produced in the UK that have been named or inspired by the railways, some of these beers are regulars in their ranges such as Little Sharpie (3.8%), an award-winning Golden Ale produced by Humpty Dumpty Brewery, or seasonal specials such as Going Loco (3.9%) by Tring Brewery, a bitter that is only sold in January and February. Some of these breweries have devoted their entire range (or a large part of it) to being named after the Railways, The Beer Engine, a microbrewery based in Newton St. Cyres has a number of Railway themed beers including Piston Bitter (4.3%), Sleeper Heavy (5.4%), Golden Arrow (4.5%), Luggage Porter (4.4%) and Pullman’s Progress (4.2%) for instance. Whilst, Bewdley Brewery based near the River Severn in Bewdley have a number of their beers named after classic locomotives of the steam age, including 2857 (5%), Sir Keith Park (4.3%) and Jubilee Ale (4.5%) for example.

Occasionally breweries have been commissioned by railway companies, museums and heritage railways to produce limited edition beers sold exclusively at their premises, for example Hop on Board (4%) by Rudgate Brewery which was originally brewed for Virgin Train’s east coast services, is currently only sold on LNER trains that took over from Virgin several years ago; the National Railway Museum in York sells two beers sold at their shop, including Flying Scotsman (3.8%) and Mallard (4%) both brewed by Half Moon Brewery respectively; whilst the Swanage Railway, a heritage railway based in the Isle of Purbeck, exclusively sells the appropriately named Swanage Railway Ales (3.6%), a blonde ale produced by Hobsons Brewery. Sometimes, breweries based near railway land have named their beers in tribute to the nearby industry, Five Points Brewery based in Hackney which is based near the Lea Valley rail lines, produced Railway Porter (4.8%) a smoky porter that is reminiscent of the steam hauled locomotives that used to traverse the very same rail routes a century before; or Hartlebury Brewing Co. based in a former railway yard at Hartlebury Railway Station near Kidderminster have produced a number of railway influenced beers including Off the Rails (4.2%) and the much missed Old Rusty (3.8%) respectively. Rail themed beers however a not limited to the UK, in places like the US, Canada, Brazil and Poland for instance, there have been beers inspired by the railroads such as Hooscac Tunnel (6.3%) and Steel Rail (5.3%) produced by the Berkshire Brewing Co. based in South Deerfield, MA; or the curiously named Rail Ale Nut Brown (5%) produced by Howe Sound Brewery based in Squamish, Canada. There are a vast number of railway themed beers that are currently available in cask, mini-keg, can or bottle that can be found in the UK, here's a comprehensive list:

Brewery	Name	Style	ABV
The Beer Engine	Rail Ale	Pale Ale	3.8%
The Beer Engine	Piston Bitter	Bitter	4.3%
The Beer Engine	Sleeper Heavy	Strong Ale	5.4%
The Beer Engine	Whistlemas	Strong Ale	6.5%
The Beer Engine	Golden Arrow	Golden Ale	4.5%
The Beer Engine	Leaves Online	Bitter	3.9%
The Beer Engine	Luggage Porter	Porter	4.4%
The Beer Engine	Old Iron Horse	Strong Ale	5.2%
The Beer Engine	Pullman’s Progress	Brown Ale	4.2%
The Beer Engine	Silver Bullet	Pale Ale	4.0%
The Beer Engine	Spring Return	Bitter	3.9%
The Beer Engine	Ace DPA	Session IPA	4.2%
The Beer Engine	Amber Warning	Bitter	5.0%
The Beer Engine	Request Stop	IPA	5.0%
Bewdley	2857	Golden Ale	5.0%
Bewdley	Jubilee Ale	Bitter	4.3%
Bewdley	Sir Keith Park	Pale Ale	4.5%
Brunswick Brewing Co	Railway Porter	Porter	4.3%
Buntingford	92 Squadron	Bitter	4.5%
Caledonian	Flying Scotsman	Bitter	3.5%
Delphic	Level Crossing	Best Bitter	4.2%
Donzonko	Train Beer	Pale Ale	4.5%
Five Points	Railway Porter	Porter	4.8%
Fourpure Brewing Co.	Last Train	Stout	5.1%
Half Moon	Flying Scotsman	Bitter	3.8%
Half Moon	Flying Scotsman Centenary Ale	Pale Ale	4.2%
Half Moon	Mallard	Golden Ale	4.0%
The Hartlebury Brewing Co.	Off the Rails	Golden Ale	4.2%
Hepworth	Iron Horse	Best Bitter	4.8%
Hepworth	Pullman	Bitter	4.2%
Hobsons	The Manor	Bitter	4.2%
Hobsons	Railway Sleeper	Brown Ale	5.0%
Hobsons	Swanage Railway Ales	Blonde Ale	3.6%
Humpty Dumpty	Branch Line Bitter	Bitter	3.9%
Humpty Dumpty	Cheltenham Flyer	Pale Ale	4.6%
Humpty Dumpty	Little Sharpie	Golden Ale	3.8%
Humpty Dumpty	Railway Sleeper	Brown Ale	5.0%
Irwell Works	Steam Plate	Best Bitter	4.3%
Isle of Purbeck	Full Steam Ahead	Session IPA	4.8%
Marstons	Saddle Tank	Bitter	3.8%
Papworth	The Whitfield Citrabolt	Golden Ale	3.8%
Purple Moose	Welsh Steam Ale	Golden Ale	3.6%
Rudgate	Hop on Board	Golden Ale	4.0%
Settle	Mainline Bitter	Bitter	3.8%
Stonehouse	Station Bitter	Bitter	3.9%
Stonehouse	Sunlander	Session IPA	3.7%
Tring	Going Loco	Bitter	3.9%