Seattle brewer and Alaska Airlines create airline’s first custom beer

SEATTLE — As of Feb. 20, passengers flying Alaska Airlines and visiting any Alaska Airlines lounge will get to sip on an exclusive Fremont Brewing beer called Cloud Cruiser.

The custom IPA will only be available through Alaska Airlines and is the first co-branded beer collaboration the airline has done. The two companies have been working on the brew since last September, tasting hop blends and tweaking flavors until they arrived at the final flavor profile that drinks like a “middle-of-the-road” IPA, similar to a hazy-style with citrus and melon notes, according to Todd Traynor-Corey, Alaska Airlines managing director of guest products.

Traynor-Corey says Alaska Airlines approached Seattle-based Fremont Brewing partially because of the similar values of “quality and sustainability” the two companies share but also because of the consistent guest feedback the airline has gotten with requests to bring back Fremont’s Lush IPA since it was removed from the airline’s onboard lineup over 1 1/2 years ago. They settled on an IPA because “more than half of the beer consumption onboard” consists of IPAs, he says.

The vibrant Pacific Northwest-inspired can features an Alaskan Airlines 737-8 MAX flying over a sunset mountain scene complete with a lake and evergreens.

The brew will be complimentary in first and premium classes and will be available for purchase in the main cabin and in Alaska Airlines airport lounges for the rest of 2024.

Traynor-Corey hints that specialty seasonal brews with Sierra Nevada are on the horizon for later this year as well as additional opportunities for co-branded products in the future.

“We have big operations in California, Oregon and Alaska. We want to represent all the amazing beer the West Coast has to offer — and there’s a lot of it,” he says.