Nitrogen?
Nitrogen produces smaller bubbles that CO2. Guiness uses only nitrogen so this has become pretty popular for stouts now. There is also a product called Beer Gas that is also endorsed by Guiness. I believe that a lot pubs that serve Guiness and other beers will use Beer Gas for all their beers.
Anyone who pours a nitro beer is also using a BeerGas type blend to push it. I don't think you can serve a beer with just nitro, it would become flat. BeerGas is a 60/40 blend that gives the properties of nitro but lets the keg retain optimum carbonation levels.
I guessed on the 60/40, BerrGas is actually 30% CO2 and 70% Nitro, I apologize to anyone who has been forever damaged by this mistake.
Not to hijack the thread, but since it was my topic to begin with I will. Have you ever heard of anybody who may be allergic to BeerGas? I know someone who swears he is allergic to draft beers. This seems odd to me since for the most part the gas used for carbonating beer in a keg is the same a bottle conditioning.
If you were allergic to BeerGas, you'd be having a reaction to the nitrogen, because that's the only difference. I don't know if it's even possible, but wouldn't be surprised.
Well, I don't necessarily know it is BeerGas he is having a reaction to. I am just making an assumption that the pubs he frequents may be using BeerGas instead of CO2, because I can't see that CO2 would cause a problem in draft beer and not in bottled. I haven't spent enough time behing a bar to know what kind of gas most places use, though.
Plus if CO2 were the problem then you would think they would also have a reaction when drinking soda and other carbonated beverages.
A lot of people are allergic to beer in general though.
I am pretty certain this guy isn't allergic to beer. I haven't seen anybody who could drink as much beer as him since I left college, and I am not even sure I saw someone do it then.
As always guys, thanks for the info. 