Nitro Cold Brew
What nitro cold brew is and how it’s made: cold brew kegged with nitrogen and poured through a stout tap for a creamy, cascading pour. Its 2012 origins and nitro at home.
Contents
What is nitro cold brew?
Nitro cold brew is cold brew coffee infused with nitrogen in a keg and poured from a tap, like a stout. The nitrogen is pushed through a tap with a small perforated disc, which makes tiny bubbles, so the coffee pours with a cascading head and tastes creamy without any milk. Cuvée Coffee in Austin is usually credited with first serving it, in 2012.
At a glance
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Method
Brew cold brew
Make a batch of cold brew and strain it well, so no fine sediment reaches the keg or tap.
Keg it
Pour the cold brew into a clean keg and seal it.
Add nitrogen
Connect the keg to a nitrogen supply and infuse the cold brew with nitrogen, following the keg system's instructions.
Chill
Keep the keg cold in a kegerator or fridge.
Pour through a stout tap
Pour through a stout-style tap, which forces the coffee through a small perforated disc, into a glass without ice. Let the cascade settle into a head.
Nitro cold brew is cold brew poured from a tap like a stout. The coffee is kegged and infused with nitrogen, then pushed out through a stout-style tap that forces it through a small perforated disc. That creates millions of tiny bubbles: the coffee cascades in the glass, settles under a thick creamy head, and feels smooth and rich in the mouth, though there’s no milk in it at all. It started in American cafés in 2012. Here’s how it’s made.
The short version
- Cold brew, kegged with nitrogen, poured from a tap.
- A stout-style tap forces it through a perforated disc, making tiny bubbles.
- Creamy and smooth, with a cascading head, and no milk.
- Served without ice, usually black.
- First served by Cuvée Coffee in Austin, Texas, in 2012.
How is nitro cold brew made?
- Brew a batch of cold brew and strain it well. Fine sediment can block the tap.
- Keg it, as you would beer.
- Add nitrogen. The nitrogen is infused into the coffee in the keg.
- Pour it through a stout tap. The coffee is pushed at high pressure through a small disc with tiny holes, called a restrictor: Stumptown told Paste Magazine its taps use a five-holed disc. That releases the nitrogen as tiny bubbles. It’s the same idea as a nitro stout, though a Guinness tap uses a 75/25 mix of nitrogen and CO2, which Good Beer Hunting says doesn’t work in coffee.
What does nitro cold brew taste like?
Unlike CO2, nitrogen doesn’t dissolve easily, so instead of tasting sharp and fizzy, the coffee feels smooth, creamy and heavy. A kegging supplier quoted by Good Beer Hunting says nitrogen softens the mouthfeel and gives a richer, creamier taste, even served black. The head and the cascade are part of the appeal. It’s served without ice, which would break up the head.
Why nitrogen and not CO2?
Cuvée’s founder, Mike McKim, tested carbonating his cold brew early on, and said “it just tasted plain awful.” Stumptown’s head brewer, Brent Wolczynski, told Good Beer Hunting that CO2 strips sweetness from black coffee, which has no sugars to balance it the way beer does, so Stumptown uses 100% nitrogen. Nitrogen gives a smooth texture rather than fizz. Kegs also made serving easier: Stumptown told Barista Magazine the keg gives it a more efficient way to serve en masse, and that wholesale accounts were catching on.
Who invented nitro cold brew?
Cuvée Coffee in Austin, Texas, is usually credited with serving it first. Its founder, Mike McKim, says the idea of coffee on tap came to him in 2005. He returned to it in 2011 with several months of cold brew experiments, and the nitro idea came from drinking a Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro. Cuvée first served its nitro cold brew, Black & Blue, at a Slow Food Austin event in summer 2012, and launched it in cans in autumn 2014. Stumptown released its own nitro cold brew in 2013.
The story is disputed. Lorenzo Perkins, who worked at Cuvée in 2012, told Good Beer Hunting that he was the first to make it and serve it publicly, at the same event. Most accounts come from the companies and the trade press, so treat “first” with a little caution.
Can you make nitro cold brew at home?
You can get close:
- A home keg with a nitrogen setup and a stout tap gives the real thing, but it’s an investment and needs the gas, the regulator and the right tap.
- A cream whipper with chargers gives a creamy, foamy coffee. It uses nitrous oxide rather than pure nitrogen, so the result is similar but not identical.
Either way, start with well-strained cold brew so nothing blocks the valve.
Nitro cold brew vs other cold coffee
| Nitro cold brew | Cold brew | Snap-chilled | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it’s made | Cold brew kegged with nitrogen | Steeped in cold water | Brewed hot, chilled fast |
| Texture | Creamy, with a head | Smooth | Like the hot coffee, cold |
| Served | From a tap, no ice | Over ice | Cold, from a can or bottle |
| Equipment | Keg, gas and stout tap | A jar and a filter | Commercial chillers |
General guidance only. Kegs, gas cylinders and cream whippers are pressurised: use equipment made for the purpose, follow the maker’s instructions exactly, and never improvise fittings.
Nitro cold brew vs other methods
- Cold brew: the coffee nitro starts with.
- Toddy cold brew system: big-batch cold brew concentrate.
- Kyoto drip: cold coffee dripped drop by drop.
- Snap-chilled coffee: hot coffee chilled fast, without ice.
Explore every cold method in the cold chapter.
Words in this guide
- Nitro coffee
- Nitro coffee is cold brew infused with nitrogen gas and poured from a tap, much like a stout beer.
- Fines
- Fines are the very small, dust-like particles that every grinder produces alongside the main grind.
- Body
- Body is how heavy and textured coffee feels in your mouth, from light and tea-like to thick and syrupy.
- Steeping
- Steeping is leaving ground coffee to sit in water so its flavour dissolves out, as in a French press or cold brew.
- Coffee concentrate
- A coffee concentrate is coffee brewed much stronger than you would drink it, using less water, and then diluted with water, milk or ice to serve.
Questions & answers
How is nitro cold brew made?
Cold brew is put in a keg, nitrogen is added, much as it is for a nitro stout, and it's poured through a tap at high pressure through a small perforated disc. That creates the tiny bubbles, the cascading pour and the creamy head.
Does nitro cold brew have milk in it?
No. The creamy texture comes from the nitrogen bubbles, not milk. It's usually served black and without ice, so the head isn't disturbed.
Who invented nitro cold brew?
Cuvée Coffee in Austin, Texas, is usually credited with serving it first, at a Slow Food Austin event in summer 2012. Its founder, Mike McKim, got the idea from Left Hand's nitro milk stout. A former Cuvée employee, Lorenzo Perkins, says he made it first, so the story is disputed. Stumptown released its own in 2013.
Why nitrogen and not CO2?
Cuvée's founder tested carbonating cold brew and said it tasted awful. Stumptown's head brewer says CO2 strips sweetness from black coffee, so it uses 100% nitrogen, which gives a softer, creamier texture without the fizz.
Can I make nitro cold brew at home?
You can make something similar. A home keg with a nitrogen setup gives the real thing, and a cream whipper with chargers gives a creamy, foamy result. Follow the maker's instructions closely for any pressurised equipment.
Sources
- The origins of nitro coffee. Cuvée Coffee
- Rising to the top: how nitro transformed beer and coffee. Good Beer Hunting
- Cold brew meets keg, not to mention nitrogen. Barista Magazine
- Cuvée Coffee’s nitro cold brew is kind of exploding right now. Daily Coffee News
- Coffee goes nitro. Paste Magazine
General guidance only. Not medical, food-safety or professional advice. Always follow your equipment's own instructions.