Space Bud - Budweiser's Plans to Send Beer into Space!

Budweiser announced earlier this year at "South by Southwest", in Austin, Texas, that they would create a beer suitable for drinking in space, and available to some of the first astronauts to reach mars. Well, Budweiser seems to have just made a small step for beer, to ensure the first to reach Mars can reach for a cold one. On December 4th, SpaceX's CRS-13 rocket will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying some 3500 seeds on board, in addition to two Cube Labs made by Space Tango, carrying an addition 20 seeds. The seeds are destined for the International Space Station.

“Anheuser-Busch pushes the boundaries of innovation in the beverage industry just as Space Tango is pushing the boundaries of innovation in microgravity research.” - Gentry Barnett, Space Tango Program Manager.

Image public domain due to being created by NASA.(source)

AB InBev hopes to determine if the conditions on the ISS are cool and dry enough for barley storage, and perhaps even growing. The two Cube Labs contain growth medium, which will be used to germinate the barley seeds. After germination, the seeds' growth will be monitored in real-time for approximately a month before being sent back to Earth for examination. They hope to evaluate the feasibility of growing barley in microgravity, as well as any growth abnormalities or genetic alterations caused by the environment on the ISS, and the radiation in space. It is also of interest if the seeds will grow at least 6-10 inches, in the first 2 weeks, as is common here on Earth.

"Sending our barley to the International Space Station is a big step towards our goal of creating a microgravity brew." - Richardo Marques, Vice President of Budweiser.

Is that the ISS's robotic arm opening a giant beer? No! That's it grappling HTV-5!
Image public domain due to being created by NASA.(source)

While it may or may not be possible to grow barley in space, it likely won't exactly be easy to brew it. Without gravity, the carbon dioxide produced by the yeast is likely to turn the beer into a "foamy slop", in Budweiser's words. If they were to attempt to brew beer in space, they may need to come up with a way to remove the carbon dioxide that is regularly produced by the yeast, or design a special container to brew it in. It also wouldn't have the same taste, as astronauts' noses tend to get plugged up without the gravity assist on their bodily fluids. So there may be a few hurdles to blast over if you were planning on enjoying a nice cold brew while zipping around the moon.

Image public domain due to being created by NASA.(source)

“We are excited to begin our research to brew beer for the red planet.” - Ricardo Marques, Vice President of Budweiser

Brewing beer on Mars might be quite a bit easier, though it still faces a few challenges compared to Earth. Mars has a lower gravity than Earth, a different atmosphere, and rather extreme temperature changes, any and all of which may pose issues with brewing. Additionally, water on the red planet is a bit scarce, and salty, meaning it would need to be filtered, unless you like bitter beer. Likely any brewing done on the red planet would have to be done in the controlled conditions of a mars habitat. At least you probably won't have to worry about Martian yeast spoiling your beer when it's being brewed in a near sterile environment.

While these experiments are only the initial first steps, and perhaps may seem a little bit like a PR stunt, one day Martians may thank us when they are growing barley on Mars, and enjoying their own Red Planet micro-brew. We've already had some successful signs we might be able to grow potatoes on the red planet. Why not barley?

Of course, the barley experiment is only one of many fascinating experiments regularly performed on the ISS. Please continue to support the sciences in any way you can.

--Geek Powered

Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2017/11/27/when-man-reaches-mars-budweiser-wants-to-make-sure-there-will-be-beer/?utm_term=.11b1280a9415
https://www.forbes.com/sites/taranurin/2017/11/21/beers-in-space-why-the-next-budweiser-you-drink-could-be-on-mars/#2aab265c5aaf
https://www.iol.co.za/thepost/us-company-all-set-to-brew-beer-on-mars-12165091
https://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2017/11/budweiser-plans-barley-experiments-iss-microgravity-goal-beer-mars