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Stumptown Coffee Roasters (which sells nitro cold brew, a coffee infused with nitrogen so that it’s slightly fizzy, with the thick, creamy head of a good stout)

Stumptown Coffee Roasters (which sells nitro cold brew, a coffee infused with nitrogen so that it’s slightly fizzy, with the thick, creamy head of a good stout). Ugh. This is wrong. The whole reason you push cold brew with nitrogen (vs say carbon dioxide) is that nitrogen is nearly insoluble in aqueous solution, and can pressurize the coffee on draft without carbonizing it or changing the nature of the beverage. We had Stumptown cold brew on tap at the office, and I put together our draft system for us to dispense it. Maybe if you served it with a nitro faucet you might get a bit of head, but with a normal faucet it didn't have any foam on top, and it certainly wasn't slightly fizzy. Starbucks has bought into the nitro-infused marketing wank for their cold brew too, it's pretty silly. Wine draft systems (like Micromatic's) use nitrogen for the same reason, but you don't hear the same BS about giving the wine a smooth creamy texture because it's not appealing in that context. (And not factual.) Stumptown cold brew is delicious though - if its available in kegs in your area and you want to put it on tap, design the system for wine (stainless-steel everything and a nitro regulator) and you're in business.

kasey_junk 9y ago
I'm perfectly willing to believe that my own preference is informed by marketing/hokum but I very much prefer the Stumptown in the nitro can to the Stumptown in a bottle with no nitro dongle. If I were asked why, I'd say "mouthfeel" cause it does seem creamier. Is there an explanation for that other than "magic words on the side of the can?"
- oasisbob 9y ago
  Hmmm, good question. Looks like for the nitro can they're using a nitro widget, like canned Guinness uses. They're pretty controversial - were discussed to death when they first came out. I guess, hypothetically, when the can is opened you're releasing all the nitrogen at once, and it could result in a short-lived physical change. edit: I'm also seeing some reporting that some of Stumptown's products are pressurized with nitrous oxide, and may not be 100% coffee. (eg, have dairy or emulsifiers.)
stbtrax 9y ago
Nitrogenating definitely changes the taste--it flattens it out a bit, and it for sure does dissolve into the coffee. The wine systems probably use a low pressure so that they don't dissolve as much.

kasey_junk 9y ago

I'm perfectly willing to believe that my own preference is informed by marketing/hokum but I very much prefer the Stumptown in the nitro can to the Stumptown in a bottle with no nitro dongle. If I were asked why, I'd say "mouthfeel" cause it does seem creamier. Is there an explanation for that other than "magic words on the side of the can?"

oasisbob 9y ago
Hmmm, good question. Looks like for the nitro can they're using a nitro widget, like canned Guinness uses. They're pretty controversial - were discussed to death when they first came out. I guess, hypothetically, when the can is opened you're releasing all the nitrogen at once, and it could result in a short-lived physical change. edit: I'm also seeing some reporting that some of Stumptown's products are pressurized with nitrous oxide, and may not be 100% coffee. (eg, have dairy or emulsifiers.)

stbtrax 9y ago

Nitrogenating definitely changes the taste--it flattens it out a bit, and it for sure does dissolve into the coffee. The wine systems probably use a low pressure so that they don't dissolve as much.