There is something poetic, almost romantic, about a freshly-poured pint of stout from a nitro tap. The cascading effect is mesmerizing; the waterfall of tiny bubbles slowly yielding to a dark brew with a fluffy, white head thick enough to float a bottle cap.
While nitro is normally associated with a certain brewery of Irish heritage hailing from Dublin, more and more craft breweries are embracing the nitrogenated method and adding such beers to their lineups. The number of bars adding independent (non-branded) nitro taps is growing as more establishments embrace craft beer and buck the traditions of larger breweries.
There is no official tally on the number of craft breweries that are producing nitrogenated beers, but because of the complex science (and secrecy) that goes into the canned or bottle offerings, most are sticking to draft.
One exception is Left Hand Brewing Company in Longmont, Colo., which has a Milk Stout as part of their regular lineup. Since the standard CO2 version of the stout hit shelves more than a decade ago, the brewery was working to figure out how to nitrogenize bottles.
The brewery first released a bottled nitro version of Milk Stout to the public at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival. Sullivan and others pointed out that many breweries offer the same beer on both types of taps side by side. The difference between the two is vast, with the nitro beer taking on a creamy texture and more evenly distributed flavors while the CO2 beer is more aggressive on the tongue and aroma forward.
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