NASA is interested in brewing beer in space. Now there’s a topic I never saw coming… I’ll avoid all the obvious frat house jokes and go right to the questions and—- well, maybe we’ll keep a few of the frat house jokes just to see if you’re paying attention. What genius came up with this study anyway and why? What are the benefits? How would the fermentation process differ in space? Does yeast sink or swim in zero gravity environments? Would the intoxication factor be less or greater in space? How many scientists volunteered to test the intoxication factors? What would you do for a hangover out there? Where do the bubbles go when a beer is uncapped in space? What happens to the gas in your stomach in a zero gravity environment? What would happen if you lit a match? Given the highly competitive nature of international politics today, is there a risk of a beer war in space? How long would a human being stranded in space live if their only source of nutrition was beer (liquid bread)? What would be the health implications of such a diet?
Vice President, Learning Experiences 7 Posts
Robert Corbin is VP, Learning Experiences at Discovery Place. Prior to joining Discovery Place in 2007, Robert spent 15 years in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system, teaching science and serving Science Academic Content Coach and mentor. Robert has developed science curricula for the Weather Channel, Paramount Pictures, the ASPCA, and the Environmental Literacy Council and he wrote curriculum to accompany Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth.
Robert holds an M.A. degree in Natural Science Teaching from the University of South Carolina and a B.S. in Science Education from Michigan State University and recently completed his doctoral degree at UNC-Charlotte.
Comments
Post a CommentCat,
You have brought up a really interesting question about what research our society should and should not be funding. Personally, I think we should fund research whether the application of such research is immediately apparent or not but that is a whole different discussion.
So now to your comments: Believe it or not pharmaceutical companies regularly use genetically-modified microbes -- to produce medicine. Antibiotics are usually a direct product of fermentation. So, if studying fermentation in space allows us to learn how to produce proteins more efficiently or to produce proteins that can help with disease then the research might have real pragmatic value. Scientists frequently introduce genes into fast growing organisms like bacteria. The bacteria is like a factory that replicates proteins (medicine) very quickly and therefore less expensively. Space research with beer fermentation might help improve our medicine making abilities. We might even be able to respond to things like H1V1 more quickly.
Robert Corbin, VP, Learning Experiences
Discovery Place - September 24, 2009
As much of a waste of time as this idea seems I also think it is very interesting. I wonder if the process would be easier in space? And it says above that the beer would just become foam. What would happen if the beer was brewed in space and then brought down to earth? Would it go back to its original consistency?
Amanda von Thron - September 22, 2009
So my question is, who exactly would be funding this "space beer" project? I think the last thing we need to spend money, time and good scientists on is brewing beer in space. Don't get me wrong, I do love my beer, but I have no complaints about the quality of ale I've been drinking here on Earth for many, many years. Thus bringing up the age old question, "What will they come up with next?" I'm actually afraid to hear the answer!
Cat Ross - September 19, 2009
Though not a scientist, I am a beer lover. Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. ? ? Ben Franklin. I remembered seeing gravity/plato listings on some beers and looked it up on Wikipedia: "Gravity (specific gravity) measurements are used to determine the "size" of the beer, its alcoholic strength and how much of the available sugar the yeast were able to consume." The higher the specific gravity (I think) the stronger the beer. I saw on a beer lovers web site where a beers strength had been enhanced by continually refreezing it and thus reducing volume: Hair of the Dog's Dave. Dave is an English Barley Wine with a whopping 29 percent alcohol by volume. It was made in 1994, winning first place at the 1998 Tornado Barley Wine Festival. This high alcohol content was achieved by taking 300 gallons of beer and freezing it two times, creating just 100 gallons! (http://www.beermonthclub.com/hotlinks.htm). Now, since there is little or no gravity in space does that mean beer is weaker and thus harder to get a hangover or.....since its cold in space does beer get stronger?
My advice? Study and experiment in the comfort of your own home or at a reputable beer pub with a designated driver. Sample high gravity beers; see if you can drink upside down; and produce a beer diet by careful and considered testing:
Stouts for the bread of life (some have less carbs than popular light beer offerings);
Wheat beers for breakfast and lunch;
"hard" lemonades and the like for vegetables and scurvy protection;
Choose beer for time of day by Hops content: flowery to citrus to herbal hops for daytime drinking and darker, bitterer ales and stouts for dinner. In the summer, nothing beats the heat like a ice cold porter! (so named because longshoremen liked it after a hot day on the docks).
Tom Brown - September 16, 2009
1. Scientists have discovered beer in space. Well, not beer exactly. But they did find alcohol: ethyl alcohol. Three British scientists, Drs. Tom Millar, Geoffrey MacDonald and Rolf Habing, discovered this interstellar Everclear floating in a gas cloud in the constellation of Aquila. The size of this gas cloud is approximately 1,000 times the diameter of our own solar system! That is enough to make 400 trillion trillion pints of beer.
2. Fermentation efficiency increases in space. Increased fermentation efficiency means a more alcoholic brew.
So these points make me wonder if we will have more fraternities studying astrophysics!
Robert Corbin - September 14, 2009
How will this "moon beer" taste different from the various types we have now? I wonder if people will be able to order a case or so in advance?
Andrae bergeron - September 14, 2009
Galen,
You taught me something about sediment falling to the bottom of your container. Thanks.
I learned also that a grad student actually did her thesis on how yeast which ferments would perform in orbital free fall. The yeast behavior was really, really interesting.
The total number of cells overall (living and dead) and the total number of living cells was lower in the free-fall beer solution. In addition one of the yeast?s proteins was actually found in higher concentrations.
Increasing protein is important because it could reduce costs to produce a higher alcohol content in the beer. (You would definitely want the pilot of your space craft to drink it in moderation! 8>) )
Another interesting consequence discovered is exactly what you predicted. Bubbles will not come out of a liquid when it is in free-fall or when it is in zero gravity. This means beer becomes a huge mass of foam. (Again a problem for the pilot and the whole crew on board the Beer Space Shuttle. 8>) )
Thanks again for the question.
Robert Corbin
Discovery Place - September 13, 2009
What a great study. Choosing beer isn't that novel when you think about the fermentation process. It is nothing more than a chemical reactions going on in a low oxygen environment. As a home brewer many years ago, I recall that yeasts are distributed throughout the beer, but the sediment or by-product goes to the bottom to be filtered off later. With no gravity, your fermentation process, which is counting on gas being released and sediment falling to the bottom would be difficult. I think zero-gravity would actually inhibit fermentation. Would it be possible?
Galen Luse - September 10, 2009