UK/USA: BrewDog starts the world’s first craft beer airline

BrewDog, the nonconformist brewery from Scotland which has started to conquer the world, has announced plans to launch the world’s first craft beer airline. BrewDog Airlines takes off in February 2019 with a round-trip between London and Columbus, the capital of Ohio State and home of the Aberdeenshire brewery’s US headquarter and its craft beer hotel, The DogHouse.

Passengers aboard the chartered Boeing 767 will partake in a unique beer tasting experience as they sample a limited-edition BrewDog beer that has been specifically brewed to adapt to the reduction of taste and smell sensitivity in high altitudes. The beer will be presented by Cicerone-trained cabin crew, offering expertise in beer 35,000ft in the air.

A food and beer pairing menu will replace the usual fare on board, and inflight flight boards will provide a range of beers to sample whilst cruising to Columbus.

The round trip includes a four-night stay in Columbus, where guests will tour BrewDog’s state-of-the-art brewery, visit The DogHouse Hotel, and explore BrewDog’s dedicated beer museum. Guests will also enjoy a tour of Columbus’ many breweries, bars and restaurants as well as take a day trip to Cincinnati for more brewery tours.

Tickets are exclusively available to BrewDog’s community of 90,000 Equity Punks, and are priced at £1,250 (US$1,600) per person, including all flights, excursions and accommodation. BrewDog will also be running a prize draw for five lucky winners, each with a plus one, to secure a place on the trip via social media. Prospective high-flying craft beer fans should visit BrewDog’s Facebook, Instagram or twitter to be in with a chance of winning one of these limited pairs of places.

It needs to be seen if the experiment proves to be successful since other airlines experienced in the past problems with drunken passengers and restricted the drinking of alcohol on board.

So far, the inaugural flight in February is the only trip planned but it is very likely that BrewDog will offer more trips in the future if the first one proves to be successful.  It is also conceivable that the brewery will offer trips in the opposite direction from Ohio to Scotland, to let people know where the founders James Watt and Martin Dickie started the beer miracle in 2007.

James Watt commented on the brewery’s newest initiative: “BrewDog Airlines will be an experience like no other, we’ve redesigned the flight experience for optimum beer enjoyment - from the food, to the entertainment, the cabin crew and most of all, the specially brewed high-altitude beer.”

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