Wednesday 3 December 2008

Beer in Space

Barley cultivated on the International Space Station has been used to brew beer, in a joint project between Sapporo, Okayama University and the Russian Academy of Science. Only 100 liters of the 5.5% abv beer have been brewed, and they will be meted out "a few milliliters" at a time to lucky lottery-selected Japanese. A telling remark from the brewer:

Junichi Ichikawa a Managing Director at Sapporo Breweries says, "There's really no beer like it because it uses 100% barley. Our top seller is the Black Label brand, using additional ingredients such as rice. This one doesn't and is really a special beer."

That's what they focus on? This beer is made from space barley and yet the key point is that it has no adjuncts? American craft brewers, German Reinheitsgebot-compliant brewers - your beer is just as special as space beer!

Regardless, I'd love to try it, though I think I'd need more than a few milliliters to form an informed opinion.

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