I got an invite to a beer launch in Oslo a few weeks ago, but I could not fit it in my schedule. I answered back that I’d be happy to try the beers anyway, and a week before Christmas I had two cans delivered at home.
The idea is simply to combine two Scandinavian brand names to get extra coverage for both. One of them has many decades of changing fortunes, the other a relative newcomer. Scandinavian Airlines used to be the pinnacle of sophistication ca 1963, while Mikkeller is a big worldwide hit ca 2015.
The airline asked the brewer to make two beers for the business class of their long distance flights. The result: Sky High Wit and Sky High Red Lager.
The beers are supposed to compensate for changes in how we experience food and drink on a plane. I cannot comment on that aspect, but I took the two cans along to our cabin in the mountains, 950 meters above sea level.
The wit is true to type, hazy yellow with a fluffy head. A refreshing beer with tones of citrus and flowers. Light body, easy to drink, should have a broad appeal.
The lager is more robust. It has a lovely deep red color and a beige head. A rich aroma with malt and spices. Full bodied, lots of flavor, including caramel, red currants and burned sugar. EVen if the flavor is a bit diminished in the air, there should be plenty left.
Very decent beers, I am not convinced that they should be reserved for the business class segment.
And if SAS were truly bold, they would throw out Carlsberg and ask Mikkeller to brew a house beer for all their flights.
Craft beer isn’t for ordinary people though! 😉
While you’re at it, why not ask them to select beers that are brewed in Scandinavia?
And, to avoid any misunderstanding, I don’t mean Carlsberg…
[…] Cathay Pacific just got creative and announced their new beer specially crafted for drinking at altitude, although Scandinavian airline SAS has been doing this for years. […]