Budweiser is all set to brew beer on Mars
Imagine how it would be if you can enjoy a chilled beer on Mars? US-based brewing company Anheuser-Busch is all set to make “Budweiser” the first brand of beer on the Red Planet. Budweiser is upholding its commitment, announced earlier this year at an event “South by Southwest” that “it would create a beer suitable for drinking in space… and when people get there they will toast on Budweiser…”, the company said in a statement this week.
“Budweiser is always pushing the boundaries of innovation and we are inspired by the collective American Dream to get to Mars,” said Ricardo Marques, Vice President, Budweiser. “We are excited to begin our research to brew beer for the red planet,” Marques added.
The company also plans to send 20 barley seeds — a core ingredient in Budweiser’s recipe — into space. Twenty Budweiser barley seeds will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS), packaged in two Space Tango CubeLabs — shoebox-sized facilities that host small-scale experiments.
They will be sent to space on the upcoming cargo supply mission SpaceX’s CRS-13 scheduled to be launched on December 4 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The seeds will be in orbit for approximately 30 days to see how they react in a microgravity environment, before being brought back to earth for Budweiser’s innovation team to analyse.
The two barley experiments will focus on barley seed exposure and barley germination. Not only will the research offer insights on steps to creating beer on the Red Planet, but it could also provide valuable information on the production of barley and the larger agricultural community here on earth. These experiments on the ISS are the first of many steps Budweiser will take to reach its larger goal of creating a microgravity beer for Mars, the statement said.
Settlers could arrive on Mars as soon as 2024, if SpaceX gets its way. And, those newcomers to the red planet are going to need supplies, like...beer. While Elon Musk and co. are aspiring to send (useful) cargo to Mars two years ahead of the first visitors, Budweiser is planning for the inevitable celebrations. The company previously said it wanted to be the first beer on Mars, and it's moving ahead with its publicity-stunt-cum-science-experiment, with plans to send barley into space in December. Cue (disastrous) micro-gravity beer pong and drunk astronauts joyriding in Mars rovers (Engadget does not condone intergalactic drink-driving).
Before then, Budweiser needs to crack how to brew beer in space, and barley will form the basis of its initial tests on the International Space Station (ISS). The grain will be blasted to the giant orbiting spacecraft aboard SpaceX's supply rocket on December 4th. Once on the ISS, scientists will examine Bud's barley seeds (a core beer ingredient, in case you didn't know) to see how they react to microgravity exposure and germination. The seedlings will be in orbit for 30 days before returning back to earth, for Budweiser to further analyze.
You may recall that Scottish distiller Ardbeg sent some actual booze to the ISS in 2011, later finding that the stay altered the ratio of its whisky's chemicals. Does that mean 'Bud Mars' will be different than earth beer? Well, that remains to be seen.
Aside from providing good times on Mars, Budweiser claims the research could also proffer valuable insights for agriculture on our planet. If only Matt Damon hadn't been too busy growing potatoes for survival, he could've caught some downtime with a cold brew.
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