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Author Topic: Nitro Cans  (Read 1782 times)

Offline Wilbur

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Nitro Cans
« on: April 06, 2018, 09:03:55 am »
Not sure when this has come out, but I need to find this. I'm not even really a nitro fan, but this is awesome. Liquid nitrogen? Check. Beer? Check.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwH78O7cJE8

Offline ethinson

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Re: Nitro Cans
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2018, 08:00:37 am »
Guinness and Boddingtons Pub Ale have had this for a while(9-10 years), with a round plastic "widget" (I cut a can open one time to find out).  I always wondered how it worked.

Ironically the next video in the queue was also the Left Hand Nitro in a bottle, demonstrating the "hard pour" to get the nitro cascade effect and the bottles don't use the widget, so I wonder if they're already moving away from that technology. I think several people now have debuted nitro cans and bottles without the widget.
SE Portland - AKA Beervana
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Offline Robert

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Re: Nitro Cans
« Reply #2 on: April 07, 2018, 10:35:27 am »
Guinness and Boddingtons Pub Ale have had this for a while(9-10 years), with a round plastic "widget" (I cut a can open one time to find out).  I always wondered how it worked.

Ironically the next video in the queue was also the Left Hand Nitro in a bottle, demonstrating the "hard pour" to get the nitro cascade effect and the bottles don't use the widget, so I wonder if they're already moving away from that technology. I think several people now have debuted nitro cans and bottles without the widget.
The widget is nothing more than a plastic container with a small hole, and it goes into the can empty.  After filling and seaming, beer seeps into the widget.  When you open the can pressure tries to equalize, but the higher pressure gas and beer can't get through the small hole in the widget easily, so it squirts out as a stream and the agitation encourages foaming.  So a hard pour does in fact do exactly the same thing, but without the Rube Goldberg quality or job security for patent lawyers.
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Offline ethinson

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Re: Nitro Cans
« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2018, 04:56:54 am »
Guinness and Boddingtons Pub Ale have had this for a while(9-10 years), with a round plastic "widget" (I cut a can open one time to find out).  I always wondered how it worked.

Ironically the next video in the queue was also the Left Hand Nitro in a bottle, demonstrating the "hard pour" to get the nitro cascade effect and the bottles don't use the widget, so I wonder if they're already moving away from that technology. I think several people now have debuted nitro cans and bottles without the widget.
The widget is nothing more than a plastic container with a small hole, and it goes into the can empty.  After filling and seaming, beer seeps into the widget.  When you open the can pressure tries to equalize, but the higher pressure gas and beer can't get through the small hole in the widget easily, so it squirts out as a stream and the agitation encourages foaming.  So a hard pour does in fact do exactly the same thing, but without the Rube Goldberg quality or job security for patent lawyers.

Interesting! So the liquid nitrogen filled one is a different mechanism... that's cool.
SE Portland - AKA Beervana
Captain and Chief Deck Swabber - River Pirate Brewing Co.
Certified BJCP Beer Judge
2015 Oregon Brew Crew Member of the Year

Offline Adam

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Re: Nitro Cans
« Reply #4 on: April 20, 2018, 05:29:25 pm »
A brewery I was working for was throwing the idea of cold brew coffee canned on nitro.  The mobile canning company we were working with had a device that dropped a measured amount of liquid nitrogen in the can right before seaming.  The theory was that the nitrogen would then work through the coffee and would pour with the Nitro effect. 

We never did go this direction but it is a super cool concept. 
Fermentation at Elevation

Offline ethinson

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Re: Nitro Cans
« Reply #5 on: April 21, 2018, 07:53:46 am »
A brewery I was working for was throwing the idea of cold brew coffee canned on nitro.  The mobile canning company we were working with had a device that dropped a measured amount of liquid nitrogen in the can right before seaming.  The theory was that the nitrogen would then work through the coffee and would pour with the Nitro effect. 

We never did go this direction but it is a super cool concept.

Modern Times cans their cold brew coffee.  I don't know for sure if it's nitro or not, but I think it might be.  The cold brew coffee you can buy on draft at their pub is nitro, which makes more sense for coffee than CO2.
SE Portland - AKA Beervana
Captain and Chief Deck Swabber - River Pirate Brewing Co.
Certified BJCP Beer Judge
2015 Oregon Brew Crew Member of the Year