Budweiser's future for beer: sending barley to space next month
Beer with Budweiser space patch (beer image courtesy Quinn Dombrowski via Flickr)
OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - Budweiser is making out-of-this-world moves.
They reportedly had a commitment to be the first beer on Mars and a date has been selected to mobilize their vision. The announcement came at this year’s South by Southwest conference with the goal of offering a colonized Mars the same enjoyments offered on Earth.
According to a press release, Budweiser sending shipments of barley seeds to the International Space Station that will accompany SpaceX’s upcoming cargo supply mission that’s scheduled to launch on Dec. 4 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
“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, Budweiser in a statement. “We are excited to begin our research to brew beer for the red planet.”
The barley will remain in orbit for a month. Once back on Earth, the barley will undergo a series of tests to determine how the grain handles microgravity environments. The seedlings will be analyzed by the “innovation team.”
Additionally, Budweiser’s will experiment with germinating the barley seeds. And beyond attempting to cement themselves as the official supplier of beer on Mars, the company believes the efforts will illuminate valuable information related to “the larger agricultural community here on earth.”