Space yeast beer ready for lift off

A beer brewed with yeast that has travelled into space and back is set to hit the shelves after two years in the making.

There might be a beer brewed with the yeast of a man’s beard, another made from whale testicles and one made with smoked goat’s brains, but Ninkasi Brewing Company’s space beer could well beat the lot in terms of its scale and ambition.

Last year the Oregon-based independent craft brewery embarked on a mission to send brewer’s yeast into space, return it to earth and produce a craft beer – a project dubbed the Ninkasi Space Program.

In July, 2014, a rocket carrying 16 vials of brewer’s yeast was launched into to space, however complications meant that after re-entry the yeast was lost in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for 27 days, leaving the yeast not viable for brewing.

A second opportunity arose in October, 2014, which saw six vials launched into the stratosphere by private spaceflight corporation, UP Aerospace Inc.

This time the vials successfully travelled 77.3 miles in altitude aboard a rocket, and returning to Earth “healthy, hungry and viable yeast, ready for brewing”.

“After almost two years of research, development, lab time, and two separate rocket launches to garner space yeast, we have finally completed our mission,” said Nikos Ridge, Ninkasi CEO and co-founder. “It was a project born out of passionate people coming together to try something new and we can’t wait to share it with the world.”

The yeast was cold-transported back to Ninkasi’s lab in Eugene, Oregon, where it was propagated and tested before being used to ferment its first beer, Ground Control – a 10% abv Imperial Stout brewed with hazelnuts, star anise and cocoa nibs and fermented with space yeast.

“This is all about exploring the future of brewing,” added Jamie Floyd, Ninkasi founding-brewer and co-founder. “While these groups are working to push the boundaries of access to space, we are hoping that our missions will help propel the brewing industry forward – well into the future.”

Ground Control will be available April 13, 2015, in limited edition 22-ounce bottles at select retailers across the US.