Budweiser To Malt Barley On The International Space Station

Following pledge to be the first beer on Mars, Budweiser plans to deploy a third experiment for microgravity beer research.

The brewer, in partnership with the ISS U.S. National Laboratory, announced its newest experiment, malting barley, as part of its ambitious goal to create a microgravity beer for Mars. Budweiser's payload of barley seeds is scheduled to depart for the ISS next Tuesday (December 4) as part of SpaceX's 16th Mission to the Space Station.

The "King of Beers" is aiming to malt barley in zero-gravity and will plan to examine strains of barley seeds as they go through the processes of steeping (rapid hydration), germination, and kilning (drying) associated with malting barley. Results from this research could help Budweiser develop new malt barley varieties that are more tolerant to extreme stress environments and could also provide valuable insight for the general agricultural community.

The SpaceX mission is scheduled for Tuesday, December 4 at 1:38 p.m. EST. This will mark the 16th commercial resupply mission (awarded by NASA) to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and it will be Budweiser's third experiment in partnership with the ISS U.S. National Laboratory.

(Image provided with Budweiser news release)

FMI: www.budweiser.com