Simcoe hops, an 8.7% ABV, and a clean finish that does not overstay its welcome - that is the beer part of this, and it would be a perfectly good double IPA on those merits alone. What makes it worth a second look is the other half of the label.
Nearly 70 years ago, at a sock hop in Fredericksburg, Link Wray reportedly unleashed the riff that would become "Rumble," a song so ominous-sounding it got banned from some radio stations despite having no lyrics at all. Strangeways is using the anniversary as the occasion for this release, naming the beer directly after the event and leaning on notes of orange and gooseberry crashing into that bold hop character. Local music history is a deeper well than most breweries bother drawing from, and it is a more interesting hook than another vague nod to "the vibe."
It is out now at the Fredericksburg location. Whether or not the riff itself still holds up 70 years later is a matter for music historians, but a brewery willing to build a release around a genuinely obscure piece of hometown trivia deserves a little credit for digging past the easy story.