BEER ONBOARD
herald it for tempting casual beer
drinkers into a world of different beer styles. Its presence on five airlines (with two more pending) is testament to its widespread popularity. “Blue Moon is the biggest craft beer
on airlines by a long shot, and it continues to expand,” says Schroeder. “It costs more but it’s a quality beer and you get the craft experience.” Another brand under the MillerCoors
umbrella is Leinenkugel’s, whose Summer Shandy is being lined up for an assault on the travel market. “We’ve created a transportation package for it and it will be available next summer to airlines,” says Schroeder. Delta Air Lines is among those
serving Blue Moon onboard, which it includes on North American flights. Its ‘core’ beers are Heineken, Corona and Miller Light, while it also serves Sam Adams on Shuttle services, and regional beers on routes to Asia – Asahi and Kirin to and from Japan, for example. Delta cites cost, brand, flavour profile
and consumer popularity among the factors influencing its beer selection, as well as the intricacies of loading its aircraft. “The logistics of getting food and beverage on our planes is a lot more complex than most people realise,” says a spokesperson. “We have to coordinate with over 150 catering locations worldwide and over 20 different aircraft galley configurations. It’s a little like building a puzzle for each airplane and galley type.” The airline says it has witnessed an
interest in speciality beers and “tried to respond by offering regional beers in locations where it makes sense”.
THE CRAFT BEER MOVEMENT
Craft beer defined The craft beer industry has huge momentum, particularly in the US, where it benefits from the efforts of the high-profile Brewers Association. As of March this year, it says over 2,300 craft breweries were in operation across the US, almost three-quarters of which it counts among its members. According to the association, craft beer sales in the US totalled around $10billion in 2012 – ten per cent of total beer sales across the country – but just how is 'craft' defined? ‘Small, independent and traditional’ are the three key words
according to the Brewers Association. Small: annual production of six million barrels or less; Independent: less than 25 per cent owned by another company that is not a craft brewer; Traditional: a brewer who has either an all-malt flagship beer or at least half its total volume in all-malt beers. Other characteristics typically associated with craft brewers – both in the US and UK – include innovation, strong branding, integrity and collaboration. As for the beer itself, there are few limits, but you can expect bold
flavours, exotic aromas and a degree of experimentation among brewers. The 'hoppier the better' is a popular ethos among drinkers.
"We celebrate our home town by boarding locally produced products, which extends to other beverage and food products too"
Craft beer and cans In order to find its way on to airlines, craft beer generally needs to be available in a can. Although beer is served in glass bottles on some airlines, cans are lighter, safer and easier to store. According to
craftcans.com, over 300 US brewers from 48 states currently offer over 1,000 different beers in cans. But some of the big names in craft beer are relative newcomers to cans, with ‘can snobbery’ putting some breweries off the idea. North America’s best-selling craft brewery is the Boston Beer
Company whose flagship beer, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, was first made available in cans earlier this year and is now offered on Jet Blue flights. Other airlines have expressed interest too, it reports. The continent’s second best-selling craft brewery is California-
based Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, whose flagship Pale Ale has been available in 12oz cans since 2012. It has recently been signed up by Delta Air Lines for its new Shuttle service between San Francisco and Los Angeles. “Drinkers continue to encourage craft beer variety in numerous venues, so we’ll be curious to watch the market evolve,” says a spokesperson for Sierra Nevada.
Another airline tailoring its beer
selection to the route flown is Qantas. As well as offering the likes of Heineken and Australian favourite Victoria Bitter in all cabins, it augments its selection with Crown Lager and Little Creatures Pale Ale in premium cabins, and on routes to China and Japan it adds Tsing Tao and Asahi Super Dry respectively. Air New Zealand, meanwhile, serves Heineken, Amstel Light, Steinlager Pure and Speights – the latter two being native brands. The line-up offered by the Kiwi airline is perhaps the typical onboard selection: a big international brand and a ‘light’ option popular with North American passengers, offered together with popular brands from back home. Likewise, British Airways – which
served more than two million cans of beer in 2012 – offers Heineken, London Pride and Tiger on eastbound flights from London, and Heineken, London Pride and Amstel Light on westbound flights from London. The airline changed its selection in
Pictured left: California-based Sierra Nevada's brewhouse
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March, dropping Grolsch from its line- up and adding Tiger and Amstel Light, as “we weren’t previously providing for our customers’ regional preferences,” says Susan Stevens, product and
service, beverage change man- agement at British Airways. Amstel Light and Tiger are both Heineken brands, with strength in depth appealing to large airlines, according to the group's McNaughten. He says Heineken meets airlines' needs by “providing a versatile range of options to meet consumer preferences culturally and the needs of the specific passenger profile onboard each airline”. When it comes to the absence of
craft beer in BA galleys, Stevens cites both the bottles/weight issue and the inability of smaller brewers to deliver the necessary volumes. “We need to be careful that we don’t take over all of their production, or that they become too reliant on our custom,” she adds. As Delta’s spokesperson surmises,
“Most airlines offer beer from their homeland. Local customers appreciate something from home and foreign travellers like to try something new.” Drill down even further, beyond the
national level, and – in North America, at least – there are airlines small enough and sufficiently flexible to source local craft beers that add diversity and enhance identity. “Those airlines where the revenue management departments don’t have full domination – which usually are
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