One Airport’s Air Conditioning Condensate Is Another Person’s… Beer?

Air conditioners and beers both seem perfect in helping one keep cool on a hot summer’s day. But one would hardly think they are one and the same. The San Diego International Airport and The East Village Brewing Company are here to tell you differently.

Yes, that’s right, condensation collected from the air conditioning units in San Diego’s airport is getting a second shot as… beer.

How this works is that the water that air conditioners pull out of indoor spaces to reduce humidity often drips down the side of the buildings. Now the companies are channeling all that wasted condensation to a purpose to toast to.

And what better place to start with than an airport with air conditioning constantly switched on? The beer company went to the jet bridges in the airport and collected the dripping condensate. Initially, the idea might sound a little odd. Still, the company purified the water through reverse osmosis before transforming it into ‘Hoppy Travels’, a West Coast-style IPA and a German-influenced pilsner called ‘Pre-Flight Pils’.
 
Hoppy Travels sports a pleasantly dry finish thanks to the “soft and clean” water it was brewed with. The beer company states that it has citrus and tropical fruit notes, with grapefruit and guava as the dominant flavors. On the other hand, the Pre-Flight Pils is a lager with a sharp and crisp edge.
 
 
 
[via Boing Boing and Cooling Post, images via The East Village Brewing Company]