Happy days for craft brewer

Kiwi beer available to up to 400,000 Singapore Airlines passengers a year

Singapore Airlines has teamed up with Wellington craft brewer Garage Project to put its beer on all flights to and from New Zealand.

The airline said that in response to growing demand for craft beer in the air, it would serve Hapi Daze throughout its planes from today.

Singapore operates 18 weekly services from New Zealand and the Pacific Pale Ale will be available to up to 400,000 passengers a year.

The airline’s general manager New Zealand, Simon Turcotte, said the brew showcased New Zealand ingredients, and had broad appeal as a “great ambassador” for New Zealand craft beer.

“In the past we’ve always had a strong emphasis on the quality of our wine programme and that will remain but there’s a growing demand for craft beer.”

There was demand from traditional markets such as New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Britain but growing interest from new markets in Asia.

Garage Project is a Wellingtonbased brewery that was started six years ago in an old car garage in Wellington’s Aro Valley.

Turcotte said his airline always tried to partner with local suppliers wherever it flew.

He said he was partial to the brew himself but the airline’s beverage experts in Singapore made the final call on the beer which sells for $3.50 a can through the Garage Project’s website. The beer would be served in addition to Steinlager and Tiger.

When Singapore Airlines launched its Wellington-Canberra-Singapore “Capital Express” service last year Garage Project brewed a limited edition, bespoke beer ‘SQ292’ to celebrate.

“This led to us looking more closely at New Zealanders’ love affair with craft beer and it’s growing popularity worldwide. We then started working with Garage Project to find a brew that would work well for our passengers in-flight,” Turcotte said.

Jos Ruffell, co-founder of Garage Project, said the most frequent request was to see its beer become available on flights out of New Zealand.

“Wine is often put forward as a special in-flight offer, but we also have world renowned breweries with unique offerings that deserve to also be showcased and enjoyed in flight and today is a critical step towards that.”

Passenger palates are dulled at altitude but he said he was confident the beer would perform well.

It had a strong malt body and was brewed with dry hops.

The beer has an alcohol content of 4.6 per cent so was “sessionable” and not too powerful. Hops (hapi in Maori) come from Motueka, Wai-iti, Riwaka and Nelson Sauvin.

Ruffell said his company struggled to keep up with demand for its beers but a new brewery that was being opened in Hawke’s Bay would help boost supplies.