Tapping the Draft Beverage Trend

Put cold brew, kombucha, wine, and cocktails on the spigot, along with beer, to answer the demand for fresh, artisanal beverages—and the need for low-labor service solutions.

TREND 9: BEVERAGE MARKETING

Tapping the Draft Beverage Trend

Beer isn’t the only beverage that can be served on draft—everything from kombucha and cold brew to wine and cocktails are now coming out of the tap.

IT’S A TAP TAKEOVER

Beer is the ultimate draft beverage, with fans lauding not only its fresh flavor and more pleasing mouthfeel but also the way having beer on tap saves storage space and eliminates the waste and time of cans and bottles. It’s also more profitable.

It’s not just beer that comes off the tap. Thanks to growing interest in fresh, artisanal beverages—and to a need for low-labor service solutions and limited storage space—more products are now served on draft.

Draft is on 22.6% of U.S. menus, having advanced 4.9% over the previous year, and is mostly associated with beer, as well as nitro cold brew.¹

The craft and small-batch beer movement made tap service more prevalent. Now other beverages are flowing from the spigot, including housemade sodas, tonics, coffee and tea, kombucha, cold brew, wine, and cocktails. The presentation of beverages on tap is eye-catching and on-trend, and can set an operation apart and create buzz. Dedicated taps for these specialties can also be integrated into a Millennial- and Gen Z-friendly self-service concept.

Coffee and Tea
Anything that can be put in a keg can be served on tap, and that includes iced coffee, cold brew, and iced tea. Receiving these beverages already pressurized and ready-to-serve saves time because they don’t have to be brewed and chilled. Premixed specialties like iced lattes and matcha lattes work particularly well on tap, making it easier for staff to serve these ready-to-drink and eliminating the need for a barista.

Nitro-Infused Beverages
Adding nitrogen elevates the flavor profile of a beverage, emulates sweetness, and adds a creamy, luxurious mouthfeel without adding calories. Although nitro cold brew is fairly familiar, craft beers, milk (for cold brew or iced coffee), and tea can also be nitrogen-infused at the tap. Many coffee chains, in particular, have added nitro cold brew, including flavor enhancements like chocolate, vanilla, and mocha.

Nitro has 4.8% penetration on U.S. menus, a 130.6% four-year growth pop.²

Kombucha
This fermented, sweetened tea beverage has experienced significant growth in recent years—Datassential reports a four-year increase of 387.2% on U.S. menus—thanks to increased consumer interest in unique specialty beverages, as well as kombucha’s place in the health and wellness trend. Its tartness pairs well with flavors like ginger, apple, pineapple, and blueberry. Tap versions heighten kombucha’s fresh flavor and natural effervescence, making it a popular draft option. Many operations encourage customers to bring in their own drinking container, doubling down on the green benefits of not using bottles and cans.³

Draft Choice: Cocktails
As anyone who’s waited several minutes for a handmade cocktail to arrive, the craft cocktail boom had service consequences. Putting a cocktail on draft is basically an effective way to prebatch it. By allowing bartenders to serve multiple drinks in a fraction of the time, the result is faster service, more consistent quality, and bigger profits. Spirit-forward classics like the Manhattan and Negroni are easily tappable, but tap service is also great for specials and house signatures, which can be priced a little lower to encourage sales. Cocktails can be barrel-aged before being dispensed, servers can access the tap, and patrons can even be given a sample before having to commit.

Wine
Traditional wine service can be tricky, requiring special tools and trained staff to open bottles. Storage space and correct temperature are important, bottles are subject to breakage, and even with proper care, the final product can taste “off.” Wine on tap offers an appealing alternative to these operational issues. More wines are now being released in keg format, making wine on tap perfect for enhanced wine-by-the-glass sales, obviating the need to reseal individual bottles and keeping the product fresher. Carafes and quartinos can also be filled from the spout.

^{Sources: [1] Datassential SNAP! Draft (2019). [2] Datassential SNAP! Nitro (2019). [3] Datassential SNAP! Kombucha.}