US-based Rise Brewing Co. first launched onto the coffee scene in 2014 with its nitro-infused coffee—which simply means a cold brew coffee with nitrogen infusion.
Since the brand’s entry, the implementation of nitrogen into the brewing production process is moving its way into the mainstream coffee market, thanks to its favorable taste and texture profile capabilities.
Refreshing and great-tasting innovation
The coffee brand’s emergence onto the marketplace started when best friends, Justin Weinstein, Jarrett McGovern and Grant Gyesky, began brewing nitro cold brew coffee in Jarrett’s apartment in the east village of Manhattan. Born from the trio’s passion for coffee, in the beginning, their coffee endeavours were mere experimentation. They were looking for a refreshing and great-tasting coffee with clean organic ingredients with fewer calories.
The nitro-coffee brand, which set about bringing its craft-brewed and organic creation to life, saw its potential. “Once we realized we were on to something, we wanted to focus on one thing and one thing only: to create the best-tasting nitro cold brew coffee, using the best organic ingredients we could possibly source,” shares Rise Brewing Co.’s co-founder, Justin Weinstein.
Maximising taste and texture
“The added benefit of nitrogen was a game-changer,” highlights Weinstein. The brand wanted to embrace the nitro aspect of cold brewing and do it as best they could. “It would have been easy for us to still do cold brew or cold brew concentrate but we decided to focus on nitro and really own it,” adds Weinstein.
“The beauty of cold brewing coffee is that you can extract a lot of the true flavors from the bean—in our case, more of the sweeter chocolaty notes— without releasing a lot of the acidity that normal hot coffee or iced coffee have,” Weinstein explains. By then adding nitrogen, the formulators were able to give their coffee creation a sought-after creamy and frothy texture. The co-founders had discovered a way to offer a latte-like experience without the milk, sugar, or calories.
Attracting pop-up attention
Rise Brewing Co. has centred its efforts on crafting a unique coffee brand, Weinstein notes: “From the start, we have always pushed to innovate in the space, as we were the first organic nitro cold brew coffee in the US.”
When the trio first started Rise Brewing Co., the co-founders opened a pop-up shop on the lower east side of New York City. “It was just a little window on the street where we served nitro cold brew coffee only ,” Weinstein shares.
While, at first, the pop-up was used for brand-building, it soon became a test kitchen, where the coffee enthusiasts could try out new products and receive honest feedback from its customers.
Nitrogen in the brewing process
Rise Brewing Co. achieves nitro-infusion in its coffee through its brew process. The brand infuses its cold brew coffee with nitrogen while the grinds are sitting and brewing in cold filtered water. It uses custom tanks that allow the producers to infuse and condition the coffee with nitrogen throughout the brewing process. With the coffee’s taste a core priority, maintaining its much-loved aroma while using nitrogen is vital. “The process also helps with preserving the taste of our coffee by brewing in an oxygen-free environment,” says Weinstein.
During the canning process, the producers also add liquid nitrogen to the cans before they are sealed. In addition, the brand uses cans that have a nitrogen widget in them which helps to create the same draft-like experience out of the can as you would get from the draft.
All pictures: Rise Brewing Company