SpaceX and Budweiser Aim to Craft the First Beer on Mars

Budweiser wants to be the first beer on Mars and is sending barley into space to study how to brew beer in microgravity.

Beer has always been central to the development and growth human society. Many historians now believe that our agricultural revolution did not occur merely due to the need for reliable crops but also due to early humanity’s desire for a plentiful source of alcohol. Now, as we stand on the verge of our species’ first step towards interplanetary colonization, it seems that beer will join us on the long journey towards this goal.

Lockheed Martin aims to have built a base camp on Mars by 2028, and if we take Elon Musk’s word for it, first settlers would get to the Red Planet four years before that, with the first cargo missions launching as soon as 2022.

Whenever we do eventually get to Mars, there will be a serious need for supplies; and Budweiser believes that beer should be on that list of essentials.

The owner of Budweiser, Anheuser-Busch, wants their brand to be the first beer on Mars. To make it happen, the company is relying on its Fort Collins research center to produce the barley seeds and for SpaceX to send them out of our atmosphere.

They are also calling on several experts from different organizations in order to develop the project further.

Budweiser to be the First Beer Brewed on Mars

During Austin’s SXSW festival in March 2017, Budweiser announced that it was looking for ways to be the first beer in space. Since then, however, no further announcements were made as to the development of the project.

Then, out of the blue on November 21, the company released a new statement indicating the program is well underway.

“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 of Budweiser. “We are excited to begin our research to brew beer for the red planet.”

Budweiser doesn’t want to produce beer here on Earth and send it to Mars but instead wants to brew it on the Red Planet itself.

However, before getting to brew beer on Mars, tests will need to be done in order to understand how microgravity affects barley seeds, the main ingredient of beer.

For that goal, the company has partnered with the non-profit Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) that manages the ISS U.S. National Laboratory, and Space Tango, a payload development company that operates two research facilities in the National Lab.

Move Aside Bud Light, Here Comes Bud Zero Gravity!

As a stepping stone toward its goal, Budweiser has sent twenty barley seeds aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that departed to the International Space Station, where they will remain for a month.

Once back, the seeds will be analyzed to understand how they have reacted in a microgravity environment and how that will affect malting barley and the brewing process as a whole.

Would you drink a beer brewed on Mars?

A survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports tried to answer that question after Budweiser’s announcement. The survey found that while for 45% of participants a beer’s origin has no impact on their beer-buying decision, only 11% of American adults say they are more likely to buy a Martian beer. 33% of respondents said they are less likely to buy a beer brewed in space while 11% remain unsure.

Would you drink a space-beer? Do you see these advancements in the fermentation process in space having any other benefits? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.