Beer! Beer! British Airways commissions its own brew.

1075
April 07, 2019
beer British Airways
British Airways' new centenary beer is called Speedbird 100. Photo: BA

British Airways has teamed up with a Scottish craft brewery to create a trans-Atlantic India Pale Ale called Speedbird 100 after the airline’s famous call sign.

Part of the airline’s centenary celebration, the IPA will be available exclusively to British Airways customers on all long- and short-haul flights as well as in some lounges from May 1.

BA teamed up with Scottish brewery BrewDog to produce the IPA and in an amusing marketing launch that gave new meaning to the word “small batch”,  started the brewing process in a  jug on board a Boeing 787 Dreamliner cruising at 40,000ft  over Scotland.

READ: Stunned British Airways passengers land in the wrong country

BrewDog founders Martin Dickie and James Watt mixed water, hops and barley in the “on-board beverage maker” to start the mashing part of the brewing process.

“The key thing is that the bitterness and fruit flavors aren’t really affected by the altitude, so we wanted to play on those two things and ramp up the sweetness,” Dickie said of the IPA. “We really hope British Airways customers love Speedbird 100 as much as we do.”

BrewDog will open its first bar in New York in the British Airways Club lounge opening this northern spring at JFK’s terminal 7 and completing the airline’s investment in the terminal.

BA Executive Club members will also get a 10 percent discount on food, drink and merchandise in BrewDog bars across the UK when they show their card.

The new beer is one of a number of “centenary editions’ British Airways is launching this year partnership with British brands, including a Bremont watch featuring metal from the Concorde.

British Airways also recently unveiled its much anticipated new business class seat, Club Suite, and it looks like it ticks all the boxes.

The seat will launch in the airline’s first Airbus A350 in July in a 56-seat Club World cabin with a 1-2-1 configuration that gives all passengers direct aisle access.

It is part of a  £6.5 billion investment program that is seeing changes to the British carrier’s lounges and inflight product as well as new aircraft and routes.

READ: British Airways opts for 42 Boeing 777X aircraft.

It comes with a suite door for greater privacy and  40 percent more storage that includes a vanity unit and mirror There is also WiFi, PC/USB power and a big 18.5-inch inflight entertainment screen with high definition gate-to-gate programming.