Why beer brewed in space could taste better revealed by boffins
LAGER brewed in space could taste out of this world, scientists say.
They found that creating brews in microgravity — like conditions away from Earth’s pull — put a rocket under the whole process.
As well as speeding up fermentation, it cut down on unwanted fruity by-products called esters and promised “a higher quality product”.
Lead researcher Andrew MacIntosh said: “We are absolutely going to be conducting fermentations under microgravity in the future, as we continue space exploration.
“It’s essential that we look at what some of those outcomes may be now so we can decide which processes are going to be the first ones we perform under microgravity, how we adapt them, and how we can take advantage of the changes we see.”
His team at the University of Florida in the US started off batches in a machine called a clinostat, which uses rotation to negate the effects of gravity on plant development.
They believe improvements were down to cells being kept in constant suspension — preventing settling and maximising nutrient availability.
They told the journal Beverages that microgravity “may provide benefits not realised terrestrially”.
It could also boost products ranging from bread and yoghurt to biofuels and pharmaceuticals.