in 14.9 oz cans, featuring a nitrogen pocket that agitates the beer when you open it giving it a characteristic closer to a draught beer. Nitrogen is less soluble than carbon dioxide, which allows the beer to be put under high pressure without making it fizzy. The high pressure of dissolved gas is required to enable very small bubbles to be formed by forcing the draught beer through fine holes in a plate in the tap, which causes the characteristic "surge" (the widget in cans and bottles achieves the same effect). The perceived smoothness of Caffrey's is due to its low level of carbon dioxide and the creaminess of the head caused by the very fine bubbles that arise from the use of nitrogen and the dispensing method described above. Brewery Thomas Caffrey first established the Ulster Brewery in Queen Street, Belfast, in 1897. The brewery was sold to the Ulster Brewing Company in 1950. The last member of the family to have been active in the business, Nicholas James Caffrey, died in 1984, survived by two daughters, Virginia and Bridget (since deceased) and one son, Nicholas Philip Caffrey. The brewery was acquired by Charringtons (later Bass Charrington) in 1964 and then by Interbrew in 2000. On July 6, 2004, the owners of the former Caffrey's brewery, Interbrew, announced their intention to dispose of the site of the brewery. Having no takers, they closed the brewery in 2005. The Caffrey's Ulster Brewery, established in Belfast in 1897 and taken over by Bass in 1974, closed in 2004, so ending big company brewing in Northern Ireland. See also Coors Brewing Company Molson Coors Brewing Company References External links Official website Beer in Ireland Molson Coors brands