2022 is upon us and we’re looking forward to some crisp, refreshing, anything-but-bland beer to share with friends and loved ones. Out in the open. Yes, please.
We here at The Session (and no doubt the rest of the thirsty craft beer community) are ready to hit the beer bars again with our masks and our socially distant clinking of glasses. What better way to support economic recovery than through our appetite for great beer.
Here are some of the new trends you should expect heading back to your local brewpub in this new year:
1. A focus on wellness
Craft brewers and brewery owners will join the millennial push for wellness in all they eat, drink, and enjoy. Expect to see some new, trendy options on the big menu board at your local pub.
- Alcohol free beer
- Low alcohol, low calorie options
- Gluten-free beer
Many venues will use these different styles of beer to open the doors to new customers. The taste may be a bit different than a traditional, strong, high alcohol content brew, but this trend is coming in hard with lots of big names in brewing releasing 0% and low alcohol beers recently.
2. Beer with benefits
We can’t think of a trendier trend than CBD. From cosmetics, to candies, to personal lubricants, if you can add CBD to it, it will sell. While it may seem like a “jumping on the bandwagon”, CBD-infused beer is a natural pairing appealing to its native audience. With all signs pointing towards a relaxation of cannabis regulations around the world, we are keeping an eye on how high this trend can go.
3. A taste for variety
Perhaps its being stuck in never ending-lock downs, ordering the 12 pack of the same mass beers for all those months. People are hungry for variety, excited to discover new tastes, new styles, new ideas when it comes to the breweries they visit. Expect re-energized bars, restaurants, and other venues to have a variety of unique flavors on their brew menu. Sour beer, craft malts, new lagers, hard seltzers, and more will join the alcohol free, gluten-free, CBD infused to vie for your drinking dollar in 2022.
Most of all we hope the trend this year is the return to lively bars, flowing taps and good health for our F&B friends.
CHEERS!!
