In “Deep Space Homer”, Barney Gumble gave up beer to train as an astronaut. He was supposed to fly with Buzz Aldrin, who is possibly one of the first men to drink in space when he took communion (including a little bit of wine) on the moon.
Duff beer would probably make a better first beer in space than the supposed “official” first beer in space.
The internet world was atwitter with news of the first beer in space over the last few weeks. According to the news stories, two fans of Natural Light (Natty Light; Nasty Light) approached Anheuser-Busch about sending the horse swill beer into space. Anheuser-Busch, not afraid to get their name out there no matter how, gave them the green light. What resulted can be seen in the video below.
This sparked a discussion amongst some of us lovers of the barley and hops about whether this is true and what the f*ck is wrong with the world that would allow this flavored water to be the first official “beer” in space?
Well, fear not, my fellow connoisseurs of the suds. I have found evidence that Natty Light is not the first beer in space. First, and foremost, they reached an altitude of 90,000 feet according to the video. This is well short of the international definition of space, which is 100 km. In fact, it’s still short of the US Air Force definition, which is 50 miles. Therefore, while it reached the upper levels of the atmosphere, it did not meet an internationally recognizable altitude for spaceflight.
Secondly, back around the year 2000, Kirsten Sterrett, University of Colorado grad student, devised an experiment that was carried aboard the space shuttle. That experiment was to brew a small amount of beer in space. The scientific justification was to find out how the yeast would perform in a zero gravity environment. Obviously, the real reason is the astronauts aboard the shuttle and space station should not be denied the deliciousness that is beer while hurtling at 17,000 mph across the sky.
Ms. Sterrett’s experiment yielded a small amount of beer which, it turns out, did not taste all that great. It was, however, the first beer in space. And, as the “official” first beer in space proves, tasting good is not a pre-requisite.
The biggest problem with drinking beer (or any carbonated beverage) in space is wet burps. Because of the lack of gravity, the liquid would not properly settle in the astronaut’s stomach, and when they burp from the carbonation they could bring up liquid with it. Yuck.
Don’t worry. Us beer drinkers are an industrious lot, as proven by 4-Pines Brewing Company from Australia. They have teamed up with Saber Astronautics to create a beer that can be consumed in a weightless environment without that nasty consequence. Called Vostok Space Beer, it has a lower amount of carbonation than most beers.
What’s even cooler is they have actually tested it in a zero g flight, without any sign of puking.
So the question must be asked. If we were to build a rocket to launch a can or bottle of alcoholic goodness above 100 km, what would you suggest? Maybe a Bell’s Oberon? Or a Founder’s Dirty Bastard? How about we do the world a favor and launch all the Natty Light towards the sun and kill it with fire?
[Ed. A tip of the hat to everyone on the Facebook discussion that led me on this weird, drunken path of space beer. Included in the discussion were aptly named reader tenbeers as well as name_too_long, lilwillie and SeanKHotay. "Like" us on Facebook, and maybe you can be sucked into our drunken conversations!]
Yeah, the 'beer' on the balloon trip is a bust – not nearly high enough to count as 'in space'. A one way trip to the sun for that swill sounds like an excellent idea.
I don't know about the idea of having astronauts drinking beer while on a mission. I keep thinking of the "Hey! Watch this!" moments that could result.
You would think. I know they had vodka on Mir, and I believe they have had wine and/or vodka on ISS from time to time to commemorate various milestones. Obviously, any alcohol has to be treated with respect up there since they can't just run to the corner market for more and they can't get too hammered and open an air lock.
In addition to having the first drink on the moon, Aldrin was also the first man to pee there. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/0…
Afterwhich he stated "You may have been first on the moon Neil, but I just went #1 on the moon"
"That's one small leak for man, one giant piss for mankind."
He talked about it at a lecture I attended. He said as he climbed out the door of the module and he started moving around after having been strapped into his chair for so long, that's when he noticed he had to go. If you watch footage of the landing, he pauses on the ladder on the way down, and that pause was when he said first jettisoned his liquid cargo, so it did take place very close in time and location to the One Small Step speech.
Imagine if it was Neil who said it. "That's one small step for ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh man, one giant leap for mankind".
"You only brought Natty Light? Fuck that shit, I'm outta here!"
<img src="http://mb-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/post_images/assets/000/002/976/thumbnail_kittinger_pic_large.jpg" width="500" />
What beer to send to space? U.F.O.! It's become my summer beer of choice. Best hefe I've had thus far.
<img src="http://s7.thisnext.com/media/230×230/UFO-Unfiltered-Wheat-Beer_16678149.jpg">
Clearly, it should be New Glarus Brewing's Moon Man.
Speaking of flavoured water, I tried some O'Douls at a party the other day. It was surprisingly terrible. I thought it might be interesting, since I have a biological thing that makes alcohol taste bad, but it was almost the same (as far as I can remember) as Stella Artois. Only waterier and less like a stagnant ditch.
I assume this means I don't like beer because of my enhanced bitterness perception, not because of the alcohol. For further experimentation I will need to find some non-alcoholic scotch.
Try Buckler if you want N/A beer. I've tried a few and it's the best of the worst…
<img src="http://noleofantastico.com/storage/2009_07_23-buckler.jpg">
I only tried the O'Douls because my friend had it sitting around and no one wanted it. If it's remotely similar to beer, (and I think it is), then it's not the alcohol. I just hate beer.
I will keep Buckler in mind though. I'm not averse to making sure I don't like something. It gives my complaints more veracity.
bitterness = hops
Try dark beer. Clausthauler has had good reviews but is difficult to find. I haven't tried this yet though.
<img src="http://wa.worldclassbeverages.com/wp-content/beer_spy/images/prodimages/Binding/lClausthalerSixPack.jpg">
I think it was a great stunt who's only fault was that it was overbilled. Clearly it didn't go into space by any definition. I'm torn on the idea of beer in space anyway. They say refrigeration was invented so they could brew and keep beer, perhaps practical artificial gravity will be invented so we can drink beer in space. Until then, my beverage of choice while in space will remain Brefass Scotch.
Not to quibble but was it confirmed Aldrin actually drank wine on the Moon? I don't recall a confirmation*…
Yeah, he took communion but that only infrequently includes "The Blood" which itself can be just grape juice…
* of fact, not religion. No Bishop required.
Aldrin said so in many interviews and in his book. He brought a tiny bit of wine in a sealed bag that he drank from a small chalice.
Here's the Snopes on it: http://www.snopes.com/glurge/communion.asp