Now served on airlines: Microbrew trend is flying high

Regular readers of WikiTrend, along with regulars at bars, know that we are living in the Golden Age of beer. When it comes to choice, there is now an embarrassment of riches with the number of brands and brews seemingly almost limitless. Walk into most bars in North America or Europe and you will likely see a number of taps dedicated to smaller-batch beers, and often created by local breweries. It's a powerful trend that has not gone unnoticed by people who are in the business of selling. In the past few months we have seen several consumer brands put their names on beer in order to embrace this trend and better connect with their core customers. The outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia is producing a private-label beer, as is the too cute Japanese brand Hello Kitty, for example. It makes sense then that Alaska Airlines is attracting attention for their decision to augment their inflight beverage cart with cans of Silver Gulch Old 55 Pale Ale, a high-end microbrew made in Fairbanks, Alaska. And once on the ground, passengers can fill take-home growlers with beer from the brewery's own restaurant in Anchorage International Airport.