BEVERAGE TREND GUIDE 2016

UNCORKD

WHAT CONSUMERS WILL BE DRINKING IN 2016:WE COMPILED A L IST OF BEVERAGE TRENDS FOR CONSUMERS AND PRODUCERS IN 4 KEY AREAS: BEER , WINE, COCKTAILS AND TECHNOLOGY.

THIS L IST WILL HELP RESTAURANT OWNERS AND OPERATORS KEEP UP WITH CHANGING CONSUMER PREFERENCES.

HOP REDUCTION

IPA’S ARE ST ILL THE MOST CONSUMED CRAFT BEERS , BUT MANY DRINKERS WANT BREWS WITHOUT THE PREREQUIS ITE

B IT TER HOPS. CRAFT BREWERS WILL EXPAND THE IR PRODUCTS TO INCLUDE LAGERS AND ALES THAT HONOR BEER TRADIT IONS

OF EUROPE. KÖLSCHS, P ILSNERS, SOURS, ESBS , BERLINER WEISSES , ARE

STYLES THAT WILL CREATE MORE D IVERS ITY IN THE IPA DOMINANT CRAFT MARKET. LOWER ABV AND COST FOR

NEW DOMESTIC PRODUCTION WILL ADD APPEAL FOR MANY

CONSUMERS.

BEER GETS COZY WITH COFFEE AND INNOVATIVE BARREL- AGING

• Barrel-aged beers will continue to get see expansion. As beer festivals like the Festival of Barrel-aged Beers gain attendees, look for craft brewers to work with craft distillers to age beer in barrels from every spirit imaginable. From beers aged in rum and gin barrels, to niche spirits like absinthe. Craft beers will be influenced from the growth of craft spirits.

• Coffee will find it’s way into more styles and become more familiar of a flavor year-round. Coffee used to be regulated to dark stouts and porters, creating warm beers with roasted notes for a winter drink. Brewers will work closely with coffee producers to create hybrid styles like coffee pale ales and lagers, expanding the season for coffee beers to year round.

• Wine producers will be able to promote lesser known styles and regions as consumers continue to be influenced by factors other than a wines taste or legacy. This is an opportunity to expand your wine selection. Wine drinkers should still hold quality above all else, but will become more adventurous in their wine selections. As wine by-the-glass lists become better representations of restaurant’s style, restaurateurs can match their guests taste for something new.

• Wine tech advances like the Coravin system and draft wine lists will influence menus. Mainly by expanding what restaurant’s can offer guest for the by-the-glass pours.

I N N OVAT I O N M E E T S Q U A L I T Y

Regional wine lists will grow as restaurants explore regional cuisines. Wine lists will celebrate the regions and styles cultivated by their kitchen. Examples will be tapas bars promoting Spanish wine. Italian restaurants focusing on Northern Italian cuisine will offer wine lists dominated by regions like Piedmont. Wine and food will better reflect each other as restaurants take a stylized approach to wine.

COC KTA I L AND SP I R I T T RE NDS FOR 20 1 6• Like wine, cocktails will continue to

take cues from the kitchen. Dining trends like fermented foods will crossover to cocktails in the form of ingredients like fruit shrubs, a vinegar-based preservation method, and using high quality ingredients like herbs, vegetables, and spices find their way into cocktails.

• Premium categories for spirits will continue to grow. The tiki craze brought rum back into the American drinker’s repertoire. Rum will benefit as a category with it’s premium offerings. Gin and tequila will also have continued growth in premium categories as drinkers become more amenable to sipping these spirits neat or on the rocks. Don’t rest your restaurant’s concept any one niche spirit, but do offer some select premium options for discerning drinkers.

RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGY WILL GROW AS A WHOLE IN 2016

• Full Service Restaurants will adopt more technology overall in 2016. Both back of house systems to improve operations and administration, as well as customer facing technology on the floor.

• Back of house growth will be found in better inventory apps, communication tools for employees, management teams, and distributors.

• Front of house will see more digital menus, tablet based ordering systems, and integration with Point of Sales Systems.

• THE B IGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM OUR RESEARCH SHOWS THAT BEVERAGE PROGRAMS WILL TAKE MORE INFLUENCE FROM VARIOUS CONSUMER TRENDS. WINE L ISTS INFLUENCED BY D IN ING TRENDS, BREWERS RESPONDING TO A WIDER CONSUMER BASE AND TAKING INFLUENCE FROM OTHER BEVERAGE AREAS L IKE SP IR ITS . BEVERAGE PROGRAMS AND OTHER D INING EXPERIENCES WILL BE MORE CLOSELY L INKED IN 2016.

THAT SAME TREND WILL AFFECT RESTAURANT TECH SPHERE, TOO. RESTAURANTS WILL BEGIN TO ADOPT NEW PLATFORMS FOR DOING BUSINESS.FULL SERVICE RESTAURANTS WILL TAKE CUES FROM QUICK SERVICE AND CASUAL D IN ING CHAINS TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS AND CUSTOMER INTERFACE.

DRINKING TREND SUMMARY

• FOR OUR FULL ARTICLES ON EACH CATEGORY, CHECK OUT OUR BLOG WITH THE FOLLOWING L INKS:

• BEER

• WINE

• COCKTAILS AND SPIR ITS

• TECHNOLOGY