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Grown-up sodas
Restaurant chains have been experimenting with “hand-crafted” sodas that often have more sophisticated flavors and are slightly less sweet than traditional soft drinks. Starbucks this summer debuted a line of Fizzio sodas carbonated to order, available in three flavors: Spiced Root Beer, Golden Ginger Ale and Lemon Ale. Sonic Drive-In also rolled out a line of lower-calorie sodas in five fruit flavors. The Sonic Splash line is made by adding flavoring, and in some cases real fruit, to carbonated water.
“For a QSR to go to a product like this says that it’s more than a fad; it’s a trend,” Sonic spokesman Patrick Lenow told NRN earlier this year.
“For a QSR to go to a product like this says that it’s more than a fad; it’s a trend,” Sonic spokesman Patrick Lenow told NRN earlier this year.
Craft spirits
Local craft beer is a well-established trend now, but local distilled spirits have been coming on strong in the past couple of years. The Atlantic magazine reports that the number of small distilleries has jumped from 70 in 2003 to more than 600 today, and the American Craft Spirits Association reported a 27 percent growth in craft spirit consumption between the first half of 2012 and the first half of 2013, the most recent period for which information was available. During that same period, mainstream spirits fell by 1.3 percent.
This past summer Red Robin used craft vodka in its Wildbeer-y Can-Crafted Cocktail, and Brick House Tavern + Tap used craft blackberry moonshine in its Summerthyme Moonshine cocktail.
This past summer Red Robin used craft vodka in its Wildbeer-y Can-Crafted Cocktail, and Brick House Tavern + Tap used craft blackberry moonshine in its Summerthyme Moonshine cocktail.
Premium coffee
Independent restaurants across the country upgraded their coffee offerings this year as customers became more accustomed to the higher-end brews of specialists such as Portland, Ore.-base Stumptown Coffee Roasters and Oakland, Calif.-based Blue Bottle Coffee. Exhibitors at Coffee Fest in New York City in March reported a marked increase in attendees sampling straight-up black coffee instead of the sweetened, flavored varieties that were in demand just a year earlier.
Perhaps most tellingly, Chick-fil-A became the first mainstream quick-service chain that didn’t specialize in coffee to introduce a brew that meets the standards of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. The Atlanta-based chicken specialist is now sourcing coffee directly from farmers, and that coffee is then being custom-blended to go with the chain’s food.
Perhaps most tellingly, Chick-fil-A became the first mainstream quick-service chain that didn’t specialize in coffee to introduce a brew that meets the standards of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. The Atlanta-based chicken specialist is now sourcing coffee directly from farmers, and that coffee is then being custom-blended to go with the chain’s food.
Classic cocktails with a twist
High-concept cocktails that take 10 minutes to make took a backseat to simpler cocktails made well this year. Small flourishes helped attract customers, such as the mole bitters that the Omni Hotels & Resorts added to its Old Fashioned cocktails in Texas or the black walnut bitters they added to it in the Northeast. Brazilian churrascaria chain Fogo de Chão put its own twist on two classics with the White Cranberry Cosmopolitan and the Black Cherry Manhattan.
India pale ale
Once prized only by craft beer aficionados with unusual predilections for bitter flavors, IPAs took the mainstream market by storm this year. Nearly one quarter of craft beers in supermarkets are IPAs, according to Mark Vidano of beverage consulting firm MarkeTeam. And it’s still growing.
Research firm GuestMetrics, reviewing point of sale data from more than 6,000 bars and restaurants in the United States, reports that IPAs accounted for 7.5 percent of all beer sales in the first 10 months of 2014, a large increase from its 5.9 percent share during 2013. Overall, IPA sales at GuestMetrics’ clients grew by 27 percent in the first 10 months of the year.
Restaurateurs have found an appreciation for the food-friendliness of many IPAs. For example, at Your Pie, a 19-unit fast-casual chain based in Atlanta, the hop-forward beer style is paired with the Lineage pizza, topped with mozzarella, olives, bell peppers, onions, Italian sausage and pepperoni.
Publik Draft House, also in Atlanta, pairs an IPA with its short-rib sliders.
Research firm GuestMetrics, reviewing point of sale data from more than 6,000 bars and restaurants in the United States, reports that IPAs accounted for 7.5 percent of all beer sales in the first 10 months of 2014, a large increase from its 5.9 percent share during 2013. Overall, IPA sales at GuestMetrics’ clients grew by 27 percent in the first 10 months of the year.
Restaurateurs have found an appreciation for the food-friendliness of many IPAs. For example, at Your Pie, a 19-unit fast-casual chain based in Atlanta, the hop-forward beer style is paired with the Lineage pizza, topped with mozzarella, olives, bell peppers, onions, Italian sausage and pepperoni.
Publik Draft House, also in Atlanta, pairs an IPA with its short-rib sliders.
