By the Year 2000 Gas blenders started to become more prevalent in beer system design due to their accuracy of blend percentages. The pre-mix HP cylinder had flaws of not delivering accurate blend percentages, and were costly to the end user. The quality of draft beer in the US was beginning to improve substantially. With the rise of Bulk Co2 in the US since the 1980’s and the influx of McDantim gas blenders now coming to the market, there was now a bigger need for Nitrogen supply to complete the beverage package in most Bar and Restaurant applications.
Over the next two decades there were numerous advancements in technology as well as food standards that would demand a higher quality in the beer dispensing industry. Education through equipment manufacturers, and Breweries, as well as the Food Modernization act brought the industry together to strive to deliver a better end product to the consumer. This in itself began to pave the way for Beverage grade gases, and inadvertently raised a demand for on-site Nitrogen generation.
Blended gas as it pertains to beer has had quite the history. So the next time you take a sip from your favorite IPA, or bourbon barrel aged stout, or you are finding yourself admiring the fireworks in a glass as your Nitro beer cascades, raise your glass and send a cheers to the science that made it so!