If you see your barista serving fellow coffee drinkers what looks like pints of beer, don't panic. You may not have had your morning Joe just yet, but you're not seeing things — and your local coffee shop isn't attempting to get everyone tipsy on a Monday morning. Nitro cold-brew iced coffee is, in fact, the latest rapidly growing coffee trend (not to be confused with last year's bubbly iced coffee du jour, espresso tonic).
So, what exactly is nitro cold-brew iced coffee? It's regular cold-brew coffee, plus nitrogen, that is then pulled on a pressurized nitro tap (just like when you order beer on tap at a bar). The result is a bubbly coffee drink that has a head of foam, similar to a pint of brew.
Major high-end coffee chain and distributor Stumptown has been serving regular cold-brew coffee on tap since 2012, but started experimenting with a coffee experience that would mimic the texture of beer in 2013.
The nitrogen changes the mouthfeel and taste of the coffee completely. However, it doesn't taste like beer. Instead, you're left with a creamy flavor that finishes with notes of chocolate and coffee. Even people who typically take milk with their coffee tend to drink the nitro version black.
Stumptown serves nitro cold brew at all of its locations (on tap and in the cans pictured below), and also distributes the popular beverage to coffee shops around the country. In fact, Stumptown's director of cold brew, Diane Aylsworth, told us that demand for the latest take has tripled since last year.
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