This Beer Is Designed To Taste Its Best At 35,000 Feet

Cathay Pacific

Remember when we investigated why tomato juice tastes so good on a plane? In short, our taste buds are all dulled by air travel (plus the noise of hurtling through the sky). The exception is with our ability to perceive umami, the taste of something that is pleasantly savory — particularly noticeable with fermented foods or meaty broths.

Now, one airline is taking those same principles of in-flight taste to launch a beer that is specifically brewed for consumption at $35,000 feet. Enter Cathay Pacific’s Betsy beer, named after the international airline’s very first aircraft. The beverage will be available to first- and business-class passengers on flights from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom, from now through the end of April. Betsy beer will also be sold on the ground, at the airline’s lounges in both countries, as well as in a selection of restaurants in Hong Kong.

The beer, brewed in partnership with Hong Kong Beer Co. and using ingredients sourced from Hong Kong and the U.K. like dragon-eye fruit, local honey and “Fuggle, a revered hop and a mainstay of traditional British craft ales [which] lends it a pleasingly earthy and full-bodied flavor.”

In a statement, Julian Lyden, Cathay Pacific’s general manager of marketing said, “We know that when you fly, your sense of taste changes. Airlines address this for food in certain ways. But nobody has ever tried to improve the taste of beer at altitude. That seemed like a great opportunity for us to help our beer-loving passengers travel well.”