What’s the ‘Buzz’ about Coffee Beer?
Have you ever combined two foods that an otherwise sane person would not think of putting together? In the 1950s and 60s we had milk combined with either Pepsi or Coke. The 1990s gave us peanut butter and hamburgers. And let’s not forget scrambled eggs and grape jelly, potato chips and Nutella, and ice cream and French fries. Oh, and how about coffee and beer?
Coffee experts generally agree that the combination of coffee and beer began back in the mid-1990s at a company known as New Glarus Brewing. It was popular enough – a number of companies even tried to copy the original – though there was concern about how much caffeine was being offered in a beverage that addressed both ends of the upper/downer spectrum. Thus, coffee beer was not a market hit right away.
Fast forward 10 years and you find a number of craft brewers who somehow came to a consensus about the caffeine and began making various iterations of coffee beer bearing their own labels. Now, some 10 years later, coffee beer is the latest big thing among both coffee and beer snobs.
What It’s All About
Prior to the introduction of the craft beer age, American consumers were limited to big corporate brands they could find at the local convenience store. But the craft beer revolution changed things. Not only did it give consumers more choices, it turned average beer drinkers into people who actually stepped back and paid attention to what they were drinking. Suddenly, everyone was a beer expert capable of discerning the finest notes and subtle hints of flavor.
A similar thing happened in the coffee industry back in the late 1980s and early 90s. Coffee became a drink with the same kind of high-class following as fine wine and artisan chocolates. People began choosing their coffees based on all sorts of flavor profile preferences instead of just picking up the cheapest can from the grocery store.
Somewhere along the way, someone discovered that both coffee and beer share a lot of intense flavors. The secret to producing great versions of both is roasting. Great coffee relies on great coffee beans roasted just right; great beer relies on how select grains are roasted.
Combining coffee and beer seemed like a no-brainer when the flavor discovery was finally made. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Plenty of Choices to Start With
If you have never tried coffee beer before, you really should give it a shot. There are plenty of great choices to start with. Don’t worry about the caffeine content either. On average, coffee beer contains less than 50 mg per 12 fluid ounces of caffeine. That’s about one-sixth the amount of caffeine in a typical cup of coffee.
Coffee beer is not something we deal in here at Galaxie Coffee. However, we do have a full selection of coffees, teas, and other brokerages for your break room. If you would like to know more, give us a shout anytime.