A couple of years ago, you could get Caffrey’s Irish Ale down at Old Town liquors in a growler for about $10. Caffrey’s is a remarkably drinkable beer — like Budweiser, except creamier and far more pleasing. Well, after a while, they got Guinness on tap, and all of the sudden the Caffrey’s started tasting like hell! Well, as it was explained to us, it was because the Guinness keg system required forced nitrogen instead of carbon dioxide. What? Nitrogen? Carbon dioxide? I thought beer was carbonated! Well, yes, it is, but many beer makers (most notably Guiness) use nitrogen because it gives a much nicer head and makes for a more pleasant “mouthfeel” (as they say in the beer world).

So — I went on a googlfari and found a good explanation of nitro’ed vs. carbonated beers. As it turns out our feeling about the nitrogen having compromised the great taste of the beer are felt among many beer drinkers.

More Caffrey’s reviews (according to this site Coors bought the rights to Caffrey’s and stopped selling it here in the US!)