Back in 2019 San Diego International Airport (SAN) partnered with local brewery Ballast Point and an industrial water purification company to create a special beer called SAN Test Pilot.
The beer was a sellout. Even though (or perhaps because) the water for the beer came from condensate that was dripping from the bottom of air conditioning units attached to the airport jet bridges.
Now SAN is at it again. The East Village Brewing Compan has two beers made with purified condensate collected at the airport.
Hoppy Travels IPA is a West Coast IPA with flavors of grapefruit and guava. Pre-Flight Pils is a German-style pilsner with bready and lemon zest flavors.
Both beers are currently on tap at The East Village Brewing Company and will soon be available at San Diego International Airport’s Terminal 2.
We can’t wait to taste them.
Here’s a video that explains how air-conditioning drippings at San Diego International Airport (SAN) become great-tasting, good-for-the-planet beer.
We know that due to health concerns, some amenities we love may not currently be available. We’re confident they’ll be back.
5 Things We Love About San Diego International Airport (SAN)
1. The art at San Diego International Airport
San Diego International Airport has a robust art program with great permanent public art pieces and temporary exhibitions.
Above are some snaps of The Journey by Jim Campbell. The light ribbon is both the Airport Authority’s largest commission and largest scale artwork and is made up of 38,000 suspended LED pendants spanning six feet wide by 700 feet long. Located in Terminal 2, the artwork has images of people swimming, dancing and walking, and birds in flight, fluttering throughout the sculpture.
2. SAN is home to the California Least Tern
The San Diego International Airport is home to the California Least Tern (Sterna antillarum browni, “CLT”), a federally listed endangered seabird species. The airport provides the tern with a nesting habitat and easy access to foraging opportunities in nearby San Diego Bay.
3. SAN has its own beer
San Diego International Airport (SAN) partnered with local brewery Ballast Point and industrial water purification company, Water Works, Inc., to brew a beer – called SAN Test Pilot.
The water for SAN Test Pilot comes from condensate that drips from the bottom of air conditioning units attached to jet bridges. The Airport’s Environmental Affairs team began collecting the dripping condensate in 2014 and currently captures about 100,000 gallons per year from 18 of the most heavily used jet bridges at terminals 1 and 2.
In addition to making beer, the water is used to wash sidewalks, equipment, vehicles and building exteriors and in the cooling towers that control the temperature in the terminals.
4. SAN’s artist in residence program
In addition to a performing arts program, San Diego International Airport has a performing arts residency program that gives area groups space to develop new work and the opportunity to perform.
The program kicked off in 2016 with the Fern Street Circus and since then has hosted a wide variety of performance groups, including an aerial dance theater.
5. SAN’s Innovation Lab
SAN’s Airport Innovation Lab is a 16-week accelerator program that helps entrepreneurs, start-ups, and other businesses get a healthy foothold in the airport industry.
The program provides testing for the ideas and a one-year technology-intensive collaborative program.
Past Innovation Lab start-ups you may recognize include Fuel Rod and At Your Gate.
Did we miss your favorite amenity at San Diego International Airport (SAN)? If so, drop a note in the comments section below.
And please take a look at the other airports featured in the ‘5 Things We Love About..” series. Let us know which airports you’d like to see added.
Welcome to another installment of our new “5 Things We Love About…” series celebrating some of the services, amenities, and features we love about airports around the world.
To keep things moving along we are keeping this series to just five things we love about each airport.
If you want to nominate an airport for the series or add a note about a feature you love about an airport beyond the five items we here, please add it in the comment section below.
And if you want to sponsor one of the “5 Things We Love About..” entries in the series, get in touch.
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) is the first and, so far, the only airport in the United States to offer free live-streaming of ToonMobile, a compilation of kid-friendly content from Warner Media’s Cartoon Network.
GSP also a live stream of the CNN Airport Network that includes live sporting events such as NCAA March Madness Tournament games, professional football, and basketball.
2: Bespoke beer
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport partnered with local brewery RJ Rockers Brewing Company to create a special beer.
The Flight Line GSP craft brew is “infused with the energy and optimism of Upstate South Carolina and its namesake airport,” and is available only at GSP.
3: Airside Garden
GSP’s outdoor garden is located post-security and features a water and sculpture garden with benches and cafe tables surrounded by a grove of trees and hedges. The garden is an original feature at the airport and dates to 1962, with a refresh in 2016.
4: Art. Lots of art.
GSP has more than a dozen pieces of art throughout the terminal and most of it is inspired by and reflective of the region.
“Souvenir of a Mountain Garden” was inspired by early 20th century hand-painted postcards. Gently flowing water & lush rhododendron evoke the nearby mountains. “The idea was to create a memory of your experience to take with you as you are leaving,” says artist Michael Krondl. pic.twitter.com/KYCCZMK94l
Like beer? Like free beer? Ever fly through Denver International Airport?
Denver has a robust craft brewing scene and there are plenty of places to order a local or regionally brewed beer at Denver International Airport (DEN).
The airport even has a Beer Passport that can earn you a free pint.
Here’s how it works:
Order a beer at each of the four Colorado breweries in the airport.
Get your Beer Passport stamped at each brewery
Once you have all four stamps, redeem the passport for a free pint of beer at any of these participating breweries:
If you fly to, from or through Denver International Airport
regularly, getting four beer stamps shouldn’t be that difficult.
If you’re spending a long time at the airport before or between
flights, you can perhaps get all your beer stamps in one day.
To “play,” just pick up a Beer Passport card at any participating brewery or at any of the airport information booths, which are located pre-security and on each concourse.
After you purchase a beer at one of the participating breweries, be sure to get your Beer Passport stamp.
Once you’ve collected all four stamps, swap the passport for a free pint of beer at any of the breweries.
Jut be sure to drink those beers before April 1, 2020, when all beer passports expire.
Should we make this the Airport Amenity of the Week?
