Beer

Space beer due to the different behavior of the main components barley and yeast in microgravity.

Updated: 2025-09-07

Created: 2018-11-01

Status

Hops have been grown in space and yeast has been space-flown. Research into yeast growth and barley germination in microgravity environment. TRL 9 would be when drinkable (bottled) beer would be made in space. Starbase Brewing & Jaguar Space mission in 2025.

Applications

Unique novelty product to capture the interest of new population segments.
Research into yeast cells is applicable to human cells.

Why & Solution

Yeast and humans are about 70 percent similar in genetics, making these microbes ideal for studying how human cells adapt to space. Spaceflown yeast strains showed DNA and RNA damage and a variety of changes suggesting that microgravity affects core cellular processes. These findings can direct future investigations of environmental modifications to minimize these effects during long spaceflights and to identify drugs to help control harmful effects in humans. The experiments also demonstrate that full genome screening can be done during spaceflight using small-suitcase-sized hardware, significant for future studies in space and extreme environments on Earth. Addresses risks to biological integrity and life-based support systems for long-term occupation in space. Results from this study allow researchers to gain a global perspective to the genes that play a role in survival, in regards to microgravity conditions, and will allow for a more thorough understanding of the effects of microgravity on a model organism. The expectation is that what is observed in yeast is likely to have a comparable effect in mammalian cells. This is supported by the observation that regulatory mechanisms are largely conserved between yeast and mammalian cells. ²

Budweiser’s innovation team selected barley, one of its core ingredients, to be the focus of the first two experiments in space. Malting barley is a process that results in the high-quality malt used in the Budweiser enjoyed today and the research on the International Space Station will unveil how the barley seeds react in a unique microgravity environment. One of the experiments will focus on barley seed exposure with the second testing 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. ¹

Companies

This is the first beer fermentation study in space where yeast and wort are mixed in microgravity, enabling us to study the gravity-driven process of “top fermentation” and what implications this may have for future bioprocesses in space.

Suds and Soil: Two Brewing Experiments to Launch to ISS, 2025-07-31.

Jaguar Space has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Universidad de Costa Rica UCR (UCR) to collaborate on innovative agricultural research with a space-based perspective. This partnership will explore how microgravity affects culturally significant crops with the goal of unlocking new insights into crop resilience, genetics, and sustainable farming techniques both in space and on Earth.

PRESS RELEASE: SEEDS FROM 11 COUNTRIES GOING TO ISS FOR RESEARCH

MicroBrew-1 is now brewing aboard the ISS!
A Starbase Brewing and Jaguar Space payload, this cutting-edge experiment studies top fermentation in microgravity — paving the way for advances in biomanufacturing, sustainable food systems, and life support beyond Earth.

PRESS RELEASE: EXPERIMENT TOWARDS TURNING MARTIAN REGOLITH INTO SOIL LAUNCHING TO ISS THIS THURSDAY

Ninkasi Brewing Company

Ninkasi Brewing Company page at Factories in Space

After scraping together enough funds from friends and family, the two founders produced their first batch of beer in June, 2006.

The collaboration first led to an unsuccessful attempt to launch yeast on a July 2014 mission at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, an attempt that Ninkasi dubbed Mission One.

Co-led by two amateur rocket groups, the Civilian Space eXploration Team (CSXT) and Team Hybriddyne, the launch was executed well. However, it took 27 days to locate the rocket because two of the three tracking devices failed at ignition, Floyd said. Also, the rocket fell more than 2 miles (3.2 km) off course, in a region already heavily pockmarked by missile testing. By the time the yeast was retrieved, only a handful of cells were living.

After the minor misadventure, three variants of yeast successfully launched on the so-called Mission Two on Oct. 23, 2014. The launch was carried out by private aerospace company UP Aerospace for NASA's Flight Opportunities Program. Ninkasi's contribution included six vials stored just below the rocket's nose cone. Of those vials, four survived: two with an ale yeast used as the basis for the new beer and two other vials with a southern German lager strait and an alt yeast strain.

Sapporo

Sapporo page at Factories in Space

Russian and Japanese scientists took some barley seeds to the orbit and planted them there for five months. Upon returning to Earth they fermented the barley they brought back into Sapporo’s Space Barley.

“SAPPORO Space Barley” Beer Is Launched Onto The Market For The First Time In The World In Limited Quantities For Charity

In 2009, Sapporo launched sales of the world’s first beer produced using malt made 100% from “space barley,” the progenies of spaceflight barley seeds, This limited offer is exclusive to the Internet and proceeds will go to charity. Applications to purchase the beer, which is dubbed “SAPPORO Space Barley,” can be made from December 3 (Thu), 2009 on the dedicated web page set up on our company’s website. Two hundred and fifty successful customers will be selected from among the applicants by lottery.

The “space barley” used to make this beer is the fourth generation descendant of the Haruna Nijo malting barley that was developed by Sapporo Breweries and kept in space for five months during 2006 as part of our collaborative research with the Russian Academy of Sciences and Okayama University with the purpose of achieving self-sufficiency in food in the space environment. Since Sapporo Breweries was founded, we have continued to create excellent varieties for raw materials, and we are the only company in the world that operates breeding/research organizations for both barley and hops. This, the world’s first sale of this “space beer,” is the result of our extended nurturing/development of the required technologies.

We have hosted a range of promotional events that capitalize on “space barley” since 2008 in an effort to foster children’s interest in space and science. We also want SAPPORO Space Barley to contribute to the promotion of science education for children and the development of space science research in Japan and Russia by donating all of the proceeds to Okayama University.

April 2006 - Haruna Nijo malting barley developed by Sapporo Breweries through collaborative research with Okayama University and the Russian Academy of Sciences was kept aboard the Zvezda Service Module, a component of the International Space Station (ISS), for five months (first-generation “space barley”).
April 2007 - Seeded the first-generation “space barley”.
November 2007 - Harvested the second-generation “space barley”; seeded the second-generation “space barley”.
May 2008 - Harvested the third-generation “space barley”.
October 2008 - Trial brewing of the world’s first beer made from the third-generation “space barley”.
November 2008 - Seeded the third-generation “space barley”.
January 2009 - Tasting events held at breweries nationwide for beer made from the third-generation “space barley”.
May 2009 - Harvested the fourth-generation “space barley”.
August 2009 - Hop seeds from Furano, Hokkaido launched into space.
September 2009 Tasting events held at five breweries nationwide for barley tea made from “space barley”.
November 2009 - Seeded the fourth-generation “space barley”.
December 2009 - Applications accepted to buy SAPPORO Space Barley-the beer brewed from the fourth-generation “space barley”.