Of Dark Beer and Fried Chicken: The Latest News in Fast-Food

The fast-food industry isn’t as stale as many people think it is. Due to the stiff competition, the major fast-food chains have to constantly innovate on their brand, especially their food and drinks. Such innovation can be seen in the likes of Dunkin’ Donuts and KFC, as evidenced by their latest releases.  

Dunkin’ Donuts’ Beer

The chain is known for its coffee and donuts, a combination that nearly everybody from students to cops on the beat love to enjoy. But the brand appears to be branching into the alcoholic beverage niche with its latest release – DDark Roasted Brew, a dark beer released during the darkest day of the year, the winter solstice (December 21).  

Dunkin’ Donuts partnered with Wormtown Brewery in the development of the boozy beverage, a stout beer. The decadent beer is described as having a full-roasted coffee taste with a rich, creamy mouth-feel that even young adults can appreciate.  This isn’t surprising as the beverage is made with dark roast beans, the chain’s preferred type for its coffee.  

But there’s a sad catch to the release: DDark Roasted Brew is only available at the tap room of Wormtown Brewery in Worcester, Massachusetts. We can only hope that it may find its way to more outlets.  

If you can’t get DDark Roasted Brew, then perhaps you can get Dunkin’ Punkin brown ale. It’s the chain’s first beer, which was developed in partnership with Catawba Brewing and which has a pumpkin flavor.  

KFC’s Low-Aroma Fried Chicken

One of the reasons for KFC’s success worldwide is the chain’s willingness to adapt its American food and drinks to the local palate. In Japan, it’s a culinary institution, of a sort, since the Japanese like to celebrate Christmas Day with buckets of its finger-lickin’ good fried chicken.

But there’s a small issue about fried chicken: It has a pronounced scent that may or may not appeal to others, especially in confined spaces like a commuter train. So KFC Japan created a low-aroma fried chicken that is just as its name implies – its scent is less pronounced than regular fried chicken!

While that doesn’t sound like a big deal, it is in Japanese culture. Think about it: When you’re on a commuter train, you don’t want to smell fried chicken for an hour or so and then go home to a healthy salad.  You also don’t want to annoy your fellow passengers since not everybody appreciates fried chicken in any form.  

The solution by KFC Japan: Fried Chicken Home Type, a special version of its regular fried chicken because it doesn’t smell like it unless you bring your nose right to the skin.  But it’s only available at a KFC booth in Tokyo’s Shinjuku subway station so there’s the issue of place.  

But if you’re in Tokyo, you might want to check it out just for kicks.