Funky food combinations always make some of the most popular culinary trends, and one of these dynamic duos that’s risen to fame over the past year is coffee beer. With a broad variety of styles, coffee beers attract both coffee and beer-lovers alike. But what makes this pairing so trendy right now?

As craft beer in general is gaining attention from fans who are looking for a drink with a little more personality, coffee beer makes a bold statement with its kick of flavor. It definitely has the surprise factor going for it as well, since most people wouldn’t think to combine their morning and night beverages. However, it does make sense, since many people note similarities between the two drinks. Studies have even suggested that coffee could actually protect the liver from damage caused by alcohol. So the two together potentially zero each other out, right?

Craft brewers haven’t stopped at just coffee – some coffee beers incorporate flavors of maple, bacon, oatmeal, chocolate, vanilla, chili, cinnamon, citrus, and nutmeg as well. A couple breweries have even used the strangely popular civet coffee beans (the ones that have been… um, digested… by the cat-like civets of Southeast Asia) in their brews.

While the rich flavor of coffee beer may feel like a meal all by itself, Craftbeer.com suggests pairing the drink with vanilla ice cream, pork tenderloin, or semi-hard aged cheese.

Another development in the coffee-beer partnership is a recent collaboration between Keurig and Anheuser-Busch to produce an “in-home alcohol drink system.” This project is still very much in the early stages, but it will be interesting to see how the worlds of coffee and alcohol continue to merge in the future.

From two favorite drinks comes one of 2017’s most unique craft beer trends. With each variation brewed with its own flair, this craze is reaching a wide audience – and certainly giving a new meaning to the term mixed drinks!

Need help keeping up with Food + Bev trends? Give us a shout!

Every year, brands around the world spend millions of dollars for 30 seconds in front of the largest audience television can provide. This year’s commercial spot is said to have cost a whopping $5 million. That’s a lot of pressure. As a marketer you have to decide what your messaging is going to be and how it is going to capture the attention of wing-eating, beer-guzzling viewers who are tuning into the sports event of the year.

Big brands Doritos and Pepsi, both opted out of hitting the screen during Super Bowl LI. Are more brands realizing reaching their audience digitally is more worth their dollars?

Read more

With the popularity of social media platforms influencing how we communicate and share experiences, we see many new foods that are satisfying to the eyes and taste buds. In influential cities across America, there are desserts with common ingredients remade into works of art. In New York, we see a dessert that follows the ever present ASMR (Autonomous sensory meridian response) community on the Internet specifically Instagram. Rolled ice cream is a Thai dessert that is served in an interesting fashion. The process of creating this Taiwanese edible art starts with liquid ice cream poured onto a cold metal surface. As the ice cream solidifies, mix-ins are added into the paste. After the mix-ins are distributed throughout the ice cream, it is scraped off the surface into the most satisfying spirals.

Read more

Every generation has its quirky sayings: slang, quotes from movies, songs, TV shows, and even slogans of well-known brands. It takes a truly special ad campaign to rise to the same level of memorability as favorite lyrics and quotes. Some companies have managed to create ads that actually become a source of entertainment themselves. These campaigns are always fun to look back at, so here are three of our favorites.

Read more

We have two new interns joining the Catalyst Crew: Noah Kilby and Emily Combs. Noah hails from Northrop High School and Emily is across town at Homestead High School. They are both finishing up their high school careers before venturing out into #adultlife, otherwise known as college.

We love partnering with local high school seniors and helping them explore careers that they are considering before they take the leap to declaring their college major. We value their dedication to education and most importantly adding skill sets outside of the classroom.

Read more