THE BEER BEAT: Beaumont's list of top-notch airport bars somehow prompts a Super Bock memory.

For some unknown reason, Stephen missed the Super Bock Lounge at Francisco Sa Carneiro International Airport in Porto, Portugal. Seeing as it will be the next "airport of call" for the Confidentials come February, I may have to heed the call of duty and investigate.

As for the port wine ... we'll get to it. Madeira, too. More later.

Just remember: Super Bock is neither "super" nor "bock," but the last time I visited Portugal -- 17 years and a whole different life ago -- it was a golden lager that worked just fine served cold. There are several varieties these days, including a Stout and a Pilsener, but still no Bock.

In 2014, when NABC needed a beer for modeling our special one-off World Cup Series USA vs. Portugal brew, Super Bock yet again volunteered for duty.

By the way, there'll be no special World Cup Series brewed at NABC in 2018, unless Josh and Ben adopt a different nation.

Meanwhile, it's intriguing to have the new bourbon bar at Louisville International listed here, although as you can imagine, the airport brewery in Munich is a must-see for me at some point in the future.

Airport bars you want to get stuck in, by Stephen Beaumont (The Globe and Mail)

You can drink in the atmosphere as well as top-notch libations at these delightfully out-of-the-ordinary travellers' oases, from Spinnakers on the Fly in Victoria to Book & Bourbon Southern Kitchen in Louisville to Wine & View in Helsinki

It's a sadly familiar scene: Waiting patiently at the gate for your approaching departure, absorbed reading the newspaper or scanning social media, you become vaguely aware of a slightly garbled announcement coming over the PA system, until the mention of your destination city and flight number snaps you to full attention. Flight delay. Of at least an hour and maybe – probably! – longer.

We've all been there, although that knowledge does little to mitigate the soul-sapping effect of lengthy and involuntary airport inhabitation. Fortunately, at a growing number of terminals around the globe, delays are becoming a little less irritating thanks to the arrival of a new generation of bars that are not only a cut above the airport norm, but good enough to rate as destinations in their own rights.