New Westminster’s Steel & Oak Brewing and TransLink released Rolling Stock Mark I West Coast IPA on Friday, Nov. 13, a limited-edition beer that marks 40 years of SkyTrain and pays tribute to the original Mark I cars as they gradually retire after four decades of service, from Expo 86 onward.
According to TransLink’s official release, issued from New Westminster, B.C., Steel & Oak will produce approximately 5,000 litres, including a limited run of approximately 1,250 four-packs. The four-packs will be sold at Steel & Oak and select Metro Vancouver liquor stores while supplies last, and the beer will also be on tap at participating restaurants across the region. TransLink’s Buzzer blog adds that it is available at the brewery’s tasting room, about a 20-minute walk from New Westminster Station.
What we know about Rolling Stock Mark I so far
Neither the official release, the Buzzer, nor Steel & Oak’s own beer page, which still lists core brands such as Cold Lager and The Breaks Modern West Coast IPA, has posted an official ABV, IBU, or hop and malt bill for Rolling Stock Mark I. The absence from that list is not evidence the beer is not on sale; it simply has not been confirmed there. Taste notes come from the Buzzer, not from the formal media release or the brewery’s beer page: the blog describes it as “crisp and hoppy with bright citrus notes, a clean finish, and a golden colour.” The tall cans use vintage-inspired artwork in the familiar red, white, and blue of the original Mark I livery.
A vintage West Coast IPA for an old-school train
In an interview with Freshet News, Steel & Oak founder Jorden Foss said the collaboration had been in the works for about a year. He chose a “vintage style” West Coast IPA for Rolling Stock Mark I because that was the most popular type of craft beer when the industry first exploded in the 2010s, calling it “an old school brew to honour an old school SkyTrain car.” Foss told Freshet the plan for future Rolling Stock beers is for them to become progressively more modern as they honour newer SkyTrain car models, and he associates the red and blue of the original cars with growing up in the city.
TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn is quoted in the official release: “There’s something special about the original SkyTrain cars. They’ve been part of Metro Vancouver for 40 years, and people still love them. As we gradually retire these iconic trains, our collaboration with Steel & Oak is a fun way to celebrate their legacy with a locally brewed beer, while generating additional revenue to support transit.”
TransLink will receive a share of beer and merchandise sales to help fund transit services, roads, and bridges. No percentage was disclosed in the official release, the Buzzer, or other coverage of Rolling Stock Mark I. This is the agency’s second official transit-themed beer. In 2025 it partnered with Port Coquitlam’s Patina Brewing Co. to launch Platform Pilsner, described in the official release as its first official transit-themed beer. The Buzzer says that pilsner celebrated 30 years of the West Coast Express.
Merch at the tasting room, and other West Coast IPAs
Limited-edition hats, tote bags, T-shirts, pins, and stickers tied to Rolling Stock Mark I, produced by New Westminster-based PBJ Merch Co., are available at Steel & Oak’s tasting room. The Buzzer says the merchandise is available exclusively there and is designed by Steel & Oak. The tasting room at 1319 Third Ave., New Westminster, is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m., and it is the place to start if you want a pour of Rolling Stock Mark I on the way home from the Expo Line.
If West Coast IPA is your style, we have also looked at Vector Brewing’s Carnage Committee for a GWAR tour stop in Dallas, Coronado Brewing’s Swellbound collab with Madewest, and Deschutes’ Hoptimist West Coast IPA. Rolling Stock Mark I is a smaller, local run, so if you want a four-pack, don’t wait on a restock announcement that has not been promised.
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