Samuel Adams nitro beers launch across US
The ales from the Boston Beer Company brand are available across the US on draft, and 4-packs of 15 oz cans will hit shelves in February at a suggested retail price of $8.99-$10.99.
The three new ales are the result of three years of experimentation from the Samuel Adams Nitro Project.
‘Nitro’ refers to nitrogen gas. Nitro beers use a combination of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Because the nitrogen is mainly insoluble in beer, bubbles are smaller and create a rich, creamy texture.
A specially-designed nitro faucet is required when pouring a nitro beer on tap. In cans, a widget (nitrogenator) is used.
Nitro beers can “fundamentally transform the flavor profiles of a variety of beer styles,” says the company.
“Nitro beers are most commonly associated with stouts, but our brewers stretched the boundaries and started nitrogenating a variety of styles.”
The beers debuting in the Samuel Adams Nitro Project are:
Nitro White Ale: a 5.5% ABV ‘smooth, velvety, medium-bodied brew’ with orange peel, coriander, and grains of paradise.
Nitro IPA: a 7.5% ABV brew with ‘an initial cap of creaminess, which gives way to hop intensity gathered from Amarillo, Centennial, Galaxy, Polaris, Simcoe, and Zeus hops.’ The hop varieties lend resinous pine, citrus and floral notes to the amber-bodied brew, says Samuel Adams.
Nitro Coffee Stout: a 5.8% ABV ‘jet black brew with a rich, robust character,’ using dark roasted malts for notes of bittersweet chocolate with hints of dark fruit.
