Skip to main content

Researchers are looking at how to brew beer in space

We finally know if we can brew beer in space

brew beer in space study spacebeer 07a82f
istock/ValentynVolkov

If you only have a limited experience with beer, you likely still know that it’s made from simple ingredients that include water, grain (often barley, rice, or corn), hops, and yeast. While all of the ingredients are important, nothing happens without the yeast. If you never added yeast to the sugars in the barley, corn, rice, or whatever grain you’re using, it would never break down and create the alcohol we all want. You’d be left with an alcohol-free mess that sort of resembles beer.

You also might not realize that while all the ingredients are important, where you brew your beer can also impact that overall process and eventual flavor. Brew in higher elevations and you might have to tweak the recipe for the final product to taste the way you want. And while we can imagine brewing a pilsner or IPA on top of a mountain, how about in outer space?

Recommended Videos

The study on space beer

Beer close-up
YesMore Content / Unsplash

Well, thanks to a study by the University of Florida, we finally know how beer yeast is affected when brewing in outer space. Published in the journal Beverages, the study was a collaboration between the University of Florida’s Food Science and Human Nutrition Department and the Horticultural Sciences Department.

Who knows, maybe someday, if you live on the moon or at a Mars outpost, you’ll need this valuable information to brew a beer that tastes like the lagers you remember from back home. Either way, it’s also pretty fascinating to learn about the process of brewing beer in space.

You might be wondering why this study took place. It’s not because the folks at Florida have aspirations to brew cosmic beer. The study also centered on fermentation in general about things like yogurt, bread, drinks, and even for use in biofuels and in the pharmaceutical marketplace. The reason beer fermentation was picked was because of its long history and the fact that the science and processes behind it are fairly well-known.

What did they do?

Cheers beer bottles with sun in the background
Wil Stewart / Unsplash

In the study, researchers (led by undergraduate researcher Pedro Fernandez Mendoza) mashed barley that was grown in Live Oak, Florida, and created wort (a necessary step in creating beer on earth as well). The wort was then fermented using a lager yeast called Saccharomyces pastorianus. They divided the wort into six identical samples. Three were fermented using earth conditions and three were fermented using simulated microgravity.

Does it taste different?

Someone drinking a beer outside
engin akyurt / Unsplash

Surprisingly, the researchers realized that even when fermented in microgravity, the yeast cell viability didn’t reduce at all. In fact, not only did fermentation proceed as expected, it occurred at an increased speed. There were, however, less esters. This means that regardless of how it’s made, space beer will just taste a little different from your favorite earth-made beer. Remember this before you get on the shuttle bound for Jupiter.

Christopher Osburn
Christopher Osburn is a food and drinks writer located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. He's been writing professional
How I upgraded my De’Longhi Rivelia to make incredible cold espresso drinks
How to unlock six new cold foam recipes
De'Longhi Rivelia

I first started using the De'Longhi Rivelia espresso machine, the brand's newest fully automatic, innovative, and touchscreen espresso maker for home use. I was instantly impressed with how easy this espresso maker was to use and how quickly it made it possible to prepare all my favorite espresso-based beverages.

Ironically, I was so caught up in learning how to use the machine to make hot coffee drinks that I forgot it could also make cold coffee drinks. Once I upgraded with the De'Longhi LatteCrema Cool kit, I unlocked a whole new world of possibilities for cold coffee drinks, from an iced white flat to an iced cappuccino. This tiny upgrade changed the game, solidifying just how much I love this espresso machine.
De'Longhi Rivelia LatteCrema Cool

Read more
I tried the Kamado Joe Konnected Joe—here’s how it handled real recipes
Even if you make mistakes you can create crowd-pleasing meals with Kamado Joe Konnected Joe
Pre-heating the Kamado Joe Konnected Joe guarded by with Happy.

I jumped at the chance to test the Kamado Joe's Konnected Joe Digital Grill and Smoker. Like most members of our extended family of avid cooks and eager eaters, I enjoy grilling year-round. Still, my experience has been limited to conventional charcoal grills and three-burner propane grills. I was curious about what it would be like to cook with a ceramic grill, and grew even more excited by the prospect of precise temperature control promised by the Konnected Joe.
Why cook with a kamado-style grill

Kamado-style ovens, stoves, and grills use heated stone or ceramic to provide radiant heat that cooks the food. The Kamado Joe brand of kamado grills cooks with radiant heat, with thick ceramic sections in the cooker. It can take some time to reach the desired temperature, but the grill's heavy insulation retains the heat for a long time.

Read more
No greenwashing here: Sierra Nevada puts real sustainability on tap
The California craft leaders on sustainability
Sierra Nevada Hop Forward Ale.

Sustainability can mean a lot of things, as the term is thrown around pretty liberally at the moment. From the craft beer sector to fashion, businesses are getting in on the practice. But in a world where greenwashing is now prevalent, it's important to separate the pretenders from those really doing the work.

Sierra Nevada is a leading force in this regard. The West Coast brewery just released a report outlining its ongoing sustainability initiatives. It includes some impressive objectives that the brand hopes to lock down by 2030.

Read more