Craft beers will always be one of those where the right answer = YMMV. I love hoppy beers, and I don't think Goose IPA is hoppy enough! :D

It's no Dogfish 90 ;) but it gets the job done on a plane, especially if you're in Y sitting in slimlines

I really don't care for hoppy beers and don't like Heineken. I really wish UA would get a good amber Ale or better yet a dark ale or even better a stout or porter. So I just don't drink beer on planes.

For big labels, they could do Guinness and/or Dos Equis to satisfy that requirement. I don't think Goose Island really does either style as a 'standard' beer, so it's unlikely to get added.

Correct, all of their stouts or darker ales are seasonal.

The goose island IPA is "just hoppy" enough to be good, and much better than the other swill, but not so far out on the bell curve to be completely shunned by the prb/corona/bud drinking masses. It's an awesome addition to UA.

A lot of flights still have 312 either instead of the IPA or in addition to it. I've found flights ex-hub to always have the IPA, flights ex-spoke to be hit or miss.

Personally I'd love a range of beers. Maybe 5 cans of Bud/Heineken in the cart, and 2 each IPA, stout/porter, wheat. Maybe throw in a seasonal beer from certain stations, take customer service up a notch or two and allow the local stations to mix/match their catering a little bit.

This would be a change I like. Though the GI IPA isn't anywhere near to a great craft beer, I think it is better than 312. IMHO.

I'm a great advocate for airlines carrying craft brews but also recognize those who appreciate these beers will also have their particular favourite style and it will be impossible to stock a range to satisfy everyone. Nor can a single brewery and its particular styling of a type satisfy us. However, I do applaud UA in taking this initiative and going beyond the ordinary bland mass market beers with its home town Goose Island. (Yes, there may be more independent and interesting craft breweries in the city now, but can they meet the requirement UA would have to keep every flight stocked with a couple of cans...if they even put their brews in cans? There are lots of constraints to be considered.)

That said, my own tastes are towards hoppy ales of the IPA/APA ilk, but not to the extreme Imprerial which go to carmel flavorings. I recognize UA won't give me a Southern Tier or Racer, but the Goose Island is an acceptable compromise and certainly much superior to Bud or Miller or even Heineken. I am not a great fan of weissen but found the 312 quite different from the style I don't like, and thus quite acceptable to my palate (in lieu of an IPA). Since it appears UA is rotating the styles over the course of the year, I expect we'll see an Amber Ale later this year.

Given the horrid choice we have in whiskey -- can't say, even after doing the Kentucky Bourbon Trail last month I'm a fan of NAmerican whiskeys -- on UA, as well as wines in the back cabin, these beers have become a welcome upgrade...one of the few things I can actually complement UA on doing in the past few years!

Honkers is pretty much on tap at most UCs, though I recall the IAD lounges had a local VA/DC area craft beer on tap. Wish these weren't considered premium for payment beers though.

BTW given the takeover of Goose Island, its reach has now expanded across the border into Ontario where there's a heavy push with Honkers added to a number of taps in Toronto, as has Sierra Nevada Pale. We've had Sam Adams in both draft and bottles up here for years. (Yes, I know technically both these are no longer considered true craft breweries but they were at the forefront of the US "real beer" revolution east of the Mississippi.)

Would be cool to have Harpoon IPA out of BOS!

I like a porter but I don't think porters or stouts would be popular enough to justify carrying them on the plane. I wouldn't mind a Yuengling.

I'd dig that, but I don't recall ever seeing Harpoon in a can (I don't think I can recall bottles being served on a plane).

Just got a Goose IPA in F on SEA-EWR. It would be sweet if they could get Elysian (which has been bought out by InBev) to cater SEA flights. Maybe for DL passengers, perhaps...

Enjoy your flight!

I would really like to know what you thought of the Goose IPA.

As I've mentioned here before - better than your big-label beers, but merely average for a craft-brew IPA. Not very hoppy, and I think they changed the brewing formula for mass distribution.