Yesterday, the National Restaurant Association released its annual restaurant industry forecast.  So what’s new for 2008?  Though the report covers a wide range of topics, I jumped straight to the food and beverage trends.  Here’s a clip from the news release posted at Restaurant.org:

“When it comes to beverage trends, specialty alcohol is trendy – both as an ingredient in cooking and on the drink menu. Craft beer, energy-drink cocktails, martinis/flavored martinis, mojitos, artisan liquors, organic wine and specialty beer are all among the top 20 hot items in the chef survey.”

Aha!  Just as I’d suspected… I’ve been reading quite a bit lately about craft beers and specialty beers.  (And they’re all you’ll find in my frosty mug.)  Even the “big name” breweries are trying to get in on the craft beer craze with some creative marketing campaigns.

Alcohol is usually a pretty solid money-maker, not just for bars, but for restaurants, too.  And craft beer is an up-and-coming trend that you shouldn’t miss out on.  A backbar cooler with glass doors will showcase your collection of unique brands.

And don’t underestimate the impact of a frosty mug on the experience of a drink.  I always keep mugs in my home freezer and appreciate receiving them at restaurants and bars.  A glass froster fits the bill for frosting mugs (or plates or whatever your restaurant needs chilled).

For the craft beer fans out there, here’s an interesting and well-done site -- Drink Craft Beer -- that isn’t afraid to recognize one of the giants in the industry that also happens to be one of my favorites at the moment (Sam Adams Winter Lager....mmmmm).

(Put your craft beer shout-outs in the comments below.  Cheers!)