Morning Beers: Airport Ritual or an Indulgence for All Settings?

The fact that we roll out the cliché “It’s five o’clock somewhere!” when indulging in something alcoholic earlier in the day speaks volumes when it comes to long-standing societal norms around booze consumption, at least in the United States. A drink is for the evening, with Mimosas and Bloody Marys getting the brunchtime pass. Anything not commonly paired with eggs Benedict tends to elicit an eyebrow raise when sipped too early. Beer occupies a bit of a gray area, as it’s widely acceptable to leisurely day-drink — in moderation — in family-friendly taprooms. But crank the clock all the way back to before noon, and you might have a slight taboo on your hands.

There tends to be one major caveat: traveling. Airports are like parallel universes where the rules of our everyday lives don’t exist. We’re stressed out, and we might be toasting the kick-off of a vacation. Everyone is on a different time zone, so you don’t worry about judgmental glances when sipping a lager at 9 a.m. — for all they know, it’s 3 p.m. for you.

Just how many people are actually enjoying a beer before noon when they’re traveling, and why? Are there reasons not to? And, is the fact that conversations like this — is everybody doing this? Is it just me? Is this okay? Is this common? —make the rounds a sign we might be too uptight about morning beers in general?

Morning Beers: A Popular Air Travel Ritual

The best evidence of beer’s normalcy around the clock in airports is airport bars’ operating hours, especially spots where beer is the main attraction. The United Kingdom-based Big Smoke Brew Co.’s satellite taproom in the London Luton Airport opens at 3 a.m. At Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, Goose Island’s brewpub runs from 5:30 a.m. until 9 p.m., making more of a case for early beers than late-night ones. Flying Dog’s Baltimore/Washington Internal Thurgood Marshall Airport is open from 5 a.m. to 12 a.m.; Terrapin Tap House at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Tivoli Brewing Company at Denver International Airport from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Tailgate Brewery opens up at Nashville International Airport 90 minutes before the first flight of the day departs.

But is anyone actually drinking in those wee hours? Apparently. Big Smoke head of sales Billy Bussicott says, “Beers are ordered and poured from opening.” Shana Solarte, marketing communications manager for hop supplier John I. Haas, says she once saw two guys ordering up beers at O’Hare’s Tortas Frontera right after the 5 a.m. opening time.

“When traveling, especially across time zones or on redeyes, it’s hard to make sense of where and when I am, anyway,” says Hawaii-based beer writer and judge Alexander Gates. “On planes themselves, they often serve meals with drink service at times that make sense for the flight, not your internal clock, so I usually have a beer then, too.”

Executive editor of Brewer Magazine Jon Sicotte agrees, seeing AM airport beers as not a priority to plan around, but a perk of spare terminal time. “If I know I have a good 30 minutes or more to track down a local beer in the terminal, I definitely make plans to do so,” he says. “Sometimes, TSA is a breeze and you get that extra time to enjoy some spoils of your effort in getting there early.”

Finding those local offerings seems to be a motivation for beer fans. Copywriting manager for Yakima Chief Hops Cat Wiest says, “If I am on a layover in a city I don’t visit often or have never been to, I want to try what local or regional beers are available.” If you’ve got an hour or two on a connection and you’re curious about the city’s beer, you won’t have time to leave the airport for a taproom — an airport beer is the next best thing.

These airport beers are also a mini celebration when you’re traveling for pleasure rather than business — you’re off the clock, cheers to that. “I’m definitely more inclined to order a morning beer if I’m traveling for fun as opposed to work travel,” Solarte says. “Maybe that morning pre-flight beer signals that it’s officially vacation time.”

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Of course, not every traveler is a morning beer advocate. There are downsides, not least of which is the ever-soaring price tag. A study by Finance Buzz found New York City’s LaGuardia Airport to be leading the charge with $12.33 domestic beers; the average cost across 50 of the country’s busiest airports is $7.42, but that’s not for craft.

Others simply don’t enjoy the experience of imbibing on a plane or in an airport, because they’re disappointed in the options available or simply feel the vibes are off. Plus, beer dehydrates you unless you balance it with plenty of water, not a great feeling when you’re strapped in that stuffy tin can in the sky; simultaneously, it can cause you extra, inconvenient bathroom trips.

“On planes, the beer is usually crap and I don’t want to be getting up to pee a ton,” says beer writer and brewer Ryan Pachmayer. “And I avoid long layovers usually because airports are not my favorite environment.”

The situation can become more urgent than frequent restroom visits or boring beer choices. As senior content editor for Hop Culture Grace Weitz notes, if you have fear around flying, having any alcohol — or caffeine, for that matter — can exacerbate that anxiety.

“As someone scared to fly, I cannot imagine being tipsy or inebriated on a plane, especially in the morning,” Weitz says. “I’ve never understood folks who can have a glass of wine or a can of beer while flying because any alcohol…just makes my nerves jangle 10 times more.” Once Weitz lands, though, she does appreciate a relaxing post-travel pint.

Beer Before Noon Even When Not Jetsetting?

From cost to flight anxiety to personal preferences, there are plenty of reasons some won’t engage in the travel ritual that is a morning beer, and for those that do, moderation is key — you don’t want to end up as one of the passengers causing airports to currently consider restricting terminal-bar consumption. But for many, just one or two beers can be a treat to relish. For all the perks of a morning beer, though, do those travel-based rules have to apply?

“My first thought on beer before noon is that it’s not normal, and it shouldn’t be normal, and we shouldn’t want it to be normal, because then it would be a lot less fun,” says Joe Stange, managing editor of Craft Beer & Brewing. “It’s rare and naughty, and it has the power to set your day down a whole different path — the kind of path we can’t take in our daily working lives.” In addition to the airport, Stange cites occasions like destination reunions with friends, or “maybe it’s just a Sunday and [you] miraculously have no plans…and your brunch spot is pouring coffee stouts into ceramic coffee mugs.”

Wiest calls out camping as a prime morning-beer situation. “There’s something about a nice, crispy PBR the morning after staying up too late with your friends, while you prod around the campfire for coals to reignite for breakfast,” she says. Gates names festivals, parties, and barbecues — essentially, special occasions, which the pre-noon beer indeed helps define as special.

There’s also the whole brunch category, which requires the occasion to be a bit less rare, but certainly still celebratory. “Mimosas are commonly accepted, why not have a bright floral pils with brunch?” Gates points out. After all, a lager has less of a boozy punch than that Bloody Mary. It’s a wonder beer isn’t in fact a more popular 11 a.m. choice.

Yet another niche morning-beer setting is the sports bar when big games in different regions are showing, again calling on that time-zone card. Gates says bars in Hawaii will open at 6 a.m. or even earlier for some events, and people don’t wait on getting beers. When then’s a World Cup on, it seems every city erupts with rowdy bar crowds at times you’d normally be heading into work.

Speaking of other regions, travel to certain places and you’ll find morning meals that include beer. A well-known example is Weißwurstfrühstück (meaning “white-sausage breakfast” in Bavaria: weißwurst, soft pretzels and weißbier.

“The weißbier is sweeter in the taste compared to a lager or pilsner,” says Maximilian Berger, media relations for Simply Munich. “Also, you would serve some sweetened mustard with it. So it’s more or less a combination between salty, hearty brezn [pretzels] and hearty sausages but sweet mustard and a sweeter beer.”

Berger says Weißwurstfrühstück might have been more of a regular meal in decades past, but today, Munich residents tend to indulge once a month or so as a “Bavarian Sunday brunch.”

“Coziness is…highly appreciated in Bavaria, so to start the day with a beer and a good chat with your friends and family is just a great way to express the ‘live and let live’ lifestyle we like so much here,” he says. “Importantly, it’s not about getting drunk in the morning. It’s just enjoying one or two beers to set the mood right.”

Customs from or inspired by different countries’ cuisine can help inform your own morning beer decisions. Stange recommends the Belgian tradition of lambic with “a huge slice of rye bread, funky white cheese, green onions, radishes, and a healthy sprinkling of salt and pepper,” as well as chilaquiles and coffee stout. When it comes to the more general question of what beer styles are more suited for such an early hour, Gates suggests wheat and fruit-forward beers, and Wiest recommends “a big, chewy stout.” Morning beers are less about hop bombs, and you don’t want anything too high in alcohol.

As Stange points out, morning beers aren’t normal, and shouldn’t be. There are in fact many reasons why we do normally wait until evening to imbibe, and practice moderation, from health and wellness to being able to work and handle our responsibilities. That’s exactly what makes a morning beer so special.

“Life is about balance,” says Sam Nellis, head bartender at Washington D.C.’s Silver Lyan. “Every day cannot start with a beer. That’s not a healthy habit, and it makes the morning beer into something mundane and pedestrian when it should be a special experience…[A morning beer] is the ultimate self-indulgence because it says, ‘a whole day reserved just for me!’”

If you’re having a beer before noon, you’re setting off on a vacation, or already on one, or seeing friends for the first time in a while, or taking in a music festival, or just about to enjoy a really good Saturday. Considering how commonplace other brunch beverages are, and how beer is a staple in certain, often celebratory meals in other countries, maybe we shouldn’t be so judge-y about AM beers, or even just reserve them to airport bars. With a little mindfulness, morning beers can make any day a festive one — plus, an earlier start means an earlier end and a less likely hangover.