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Anheuser-Busch InBev, the parent company of Budweiser, just launched its barley seeds into space. It's the fourth in a series of experiments meant to test how the seeds germinate in microgravity.
The seeds flew aboard SpaceX’s Dragon Cargo capsule, which launched today and will eventually return to Earth for genetic testing.
The company aims to be the first to brew beer on Mars.
Think your basement brewing project is tough? Try brewing beer in space.

Among the many experiments aboard Commercial Resupply Ship-19, which launched for the International Space Station today, is a Budweiser-sponsored brewing project. This is the fourth experiment that the massive brewery has sent into space.

In 2017, Budweiser’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, announced an initiative at the South by Southwest conference to become the first brewery on Mars. To get this experiment off the ground, it partnered with Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which helps facilitate science experiments on the ISS.

In December of that year, the macrobrewery sent the first two experiments to the ISS aboard CRS-13 to test germination and see how 20 barley seeds would withstand gravity. The third experiment, launched last November tested how well the seeds would steep, germinate, and kiln, according to Food and Wine.

The goal for this latest mission, the company wrote in its proposal, is to “compare malt to controls produced on the ground to identify morphological and genetic alterations caused by microgravity.”

Here’s how the experiment will work: The seeds are set to arrive at the ISS today completely dry. Soon after they show up, they’ll be steeped in water for a period of time to increase their moisture content, and then left to air dry and hopefully germinate. After the seeds begin to germinate, the astronauts will begin the kilning process, where they apply heat to the germinated seeds in order to coax out their malty flavors.

Eventually, the seeds will be stowed and shipped back to Earth, where scientists on the ground will examine the seeds and evaluate whether the germination process was successful in microgravity. They’ll analyze the genetic profile of the seeds and compare them to control seeds that were germinating the good ‘ol fashion way—back here on Earth.

Brewing beer on Mars will be a difficult venture. The soils are dense and contain a type of chemical compound called perchlorates, which can actually induce thyroid problems in humans. Barley requires a lot of water and land to grow—try 100 to 200 square feet of land in order to produce just 20 liters of beer, according to Time.

The other wrinkle here is that extra-terrestrial beer probably won’t even taste that good. It’ll likely be frothier, but all those bubbles will coagulate into unsightly clumps, per Time.

Budweiser has a long way to go, but the brewery is hoping to work out the kinks now, so that we can enjoy a tasty brew once we finally touch down on the Red Planet. Thankfully, there are scientists who are also tackling this increasingly important space conundrum. Edward Guinan, a researcher at Villanova University, has been working with students to replicate farming in Mars-like conditions, according to Smithsonian. Turns out hops grew pretty well in faux-Martian soils.

Budweiser isn’t the only brewery—micro and macro, alike—that has jumped in on this space race.
In 1994, Coors sponsored a space shuttle experiment to test the effects of microgravity on fermentation. The experiment resulted in a small sample of beer, according to Smithsonian. Japanese and Russian researchers also sent barley to the ISS in 2006. Sapporo produced a $110 six-pack called Space Barley using the fourth generation of those seeds' descendants.

These days, Bell’s Brewery in Michigan sells a double IPA called Mars (Bringer of War), while Nikansi Brewing Company of Oregon sent yeast into space and brewed a batch of its Ground Control Imperial Ale with that yeast upon its return.

Last year, a joint venture between 4 Pines Brewery and Saber Astronautics kicked off a campaign to fund its Vostock Space Beer, a low-carbonation dry Irish stout, which the team claims is perfect for consuming in zero gravity.