Houston, do we have a problem? Spaced out beer drinkers!

William Atkins
Monday, 07 December 2009 19:17

Science - Space

A Japanese brewer is using barley grown from seeds that was sent to the International Space Station to make beer. According to the Sapporo Breweries, the beer is called “Space Barley.” And, you have a chance to drink what humans have not drunk before.


The Japanese brewery brewing the hopped-out beer is Sapporo Breweries Ltd.

The company states that its new spaced-out beer is made from the fourth generation of barley seeds that orbited the Earth within the International Space Station for five months.

The barley seeds (“Haruna Nijo” beer barley) were a part of a joint project of the Japanese Sapporo Breweries and Okayama University (which has teamed up with a Russian space project) in order to find ways to grow plants in space.

They are looking forward to the time when astronauts and cosmonauts will spend months and even years in space.

Specifically, Dr. Sugimoto, associate professor of the Research Institute for Bioresources at Okayama University (Kurashiki City), Sapporo Breweries Ltd, and the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences participated in this out-of-this world beer venture.

Yuki Hattori, a spokesperson for Sapporo, stated, “We have received orders from 2,000 people by Sunday. We believe this shows people's interest is high, considering the rather high price for six bottles.” [AFP: "Japan's 'space beer' sparkles among drinkers”]

The special limited-edition beer comes in a six-pack for a price of about 10,000 yen, or $110 in U.S. dollars—that’s about $18.33 per bottle. The AFP article calls such a price “astronomical.”

The beer company made 250 of the limited-edition six-packs of “Space Barley.”

Page two provides the website of the Sapporo Breweries, along with further information on this far-out beer.