There’s a New Beer…Made from Air Conditioning Condensation?!

Ever since the craft beer scene exploded, brewers have been adding fun new ingredients to beer . . . pretty much anything you can imagine.

But somehow, no one has ever thought to use the condensation from the air conditioning units at San Diego International Airport.  Until now!

San Diego’s East Village Brewing Company worked with the airport to put that precious “water” to use. They collected the condensate from all of the airport’s ACs . . . purified it . . . and then used that as the basis for two new beers.

For what it’s worth, the head brewer says the water they reclaimed is pretty dang clean to begin with! He did mention they still run it through a reverse osmosis system anyway, and ozoneate the water, which further detoxifies it.

They make a West Coast-style IPA called “Hoppy Travels,” and a German-style pilsner called “Preflight Pils.” Hoppy Travels has a grapefruit/guava flavor, and Preflight has notes of lemon zest, with a “bready” flavor.

The two brews were first announced a few weeks ago, but now they’re available at the airport, and the reviews are . . . pretty good. Hoppy Travels gets a 3.9 out of 5 on the beer app Untappd, and Preflight gets a 3.8.

With Chicagoland being one of the epicenters of brewing in the United States, my thoughts wander to who around here will try something similar. Start looking around, my friends, if you see water dripping from somewhere, it could be the base of your next craft brew!