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Beer In Space

Saint Aardvark writes: "Check it out...NASA recently sent up an experiment to see how well beer could be brewed in space. The result? One millilitre of space brew. Can orbital microbrew be far behind?" They've been making great strides since our first Beer in Space article.

149 comments

  1. Mmmmmm... orbital brew.....

    --
    sudo eat my shorts
  2. Just don't let it go to their head. by bleckywelcky · · Score: 1

    You can imagine what the ISS would be like with a couple of tipsy astronauts/cosmonauts, etc.

    1. Re:Just don't let it go to their head. by dsplat · · Score: 3, Funny
      You can imagine what the ISS would be like with a couple of tipsy astronauts/cosmonauts, etc.


      When you get drunk on a space station, does the room stop spinning?
      --
      The net will not be what we demand, but what we make it. Build it well.
  3. Drinking and driving by luugi · · Score: 1

    No drinking and driving a space shuttle.

    --
    Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.
    1. Re:Drinking and driving by Alien54 · · Score: 2
      I recall a classic bit from way back about other discoveries of beer and/or alchohol and other organics found floating free in space.

      Imagine pictures of Spock as the designated driver while Kirk and McCoy are out on the ship hull sucking in as much alchohol as possible.

      Heck, it might even be in the Slashdot archives someplace

      --
      "It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
  4. Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Sounds like they've already got an orbital microbrew.

    They need to start thinking about macrobrewing, if you ask me.

  5. Choke by cyberbob2010 · · Score: 1

    If you got drunk and puked, and the puke wouldn't fall because of gravity than you could choke on it.

    --
    We seldom regret saying too little but often regret saying too much.
    1. Re:Choke by lxadu99 · · Score: 1

      Actually, you wouldn't choke.

      In Space, since there is no gravity, the vomit will continue in the direction that you puked at the velocity of which it exited your body (ignoring friction with the air).

      So, you couldn't choke because it will glide in midair until it hits something.

    2. Re:Choke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even better, since yer throwning mass out, it'd thrust you backward... kinda like a puke rocket. Admittedly, the effect will be tiny, but it'd be interesting... at least for the people watching :)

      ...btw, you also won't choke because the constriction of all the muscles involved will 'expunge' anything going either direction.

    3. Re:Choke by JesseL · · Score: 2

      At last man can fianlly realize true projectile vomiting!

      --
      "Prefiero morir de pie que vivir siempre arrodillado!"
    4. Re:Choke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When your stomach crunches it would probably make you do a flip if you don't hold onto anything, heh that would be kinda funny to see.

    5. Re:Choke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Imagine the acrobatic display presented by the relative forces of an astronaut "tossing his cookies" as he starts doing backflips, all the while painting the insides of the ISS with his/hers aeromatic abstract scratch and sniff renditions of such a great experience.

      And to think, for missions to come they'd revel in reliving such an escapade, just trying to clean up such a mess.

      -yuk-

    6. Re:Choke by ljagged · · Score: 1

      I'm picturing something like David Starr (Space Ranger)'s CO2 space propellant guns, except with vomitus instead of carbon dioxide. Imagine the space duels!

      --
      Ceci n'est pas une .signature
  6. Watch out for that Curb!!!! by tenman · · Score: 1

    I can't wait for thye first beer related accedent. We can start a chapter for
    M - others
    A - gainst
    D - runk
    D - Driveing -and-
    A - sternaut
    S - afety
    S - tandards

    1. Re:Watch out for that Curb!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Take away the Ds and you get:
      M - others
      A - gainst
      A - stronaut
      S - afety
      S - tandards

  7. First step to space colonization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Free beer has made it to space


    Soon we will have to go there to get free speach.

  8. It's just math... by Joe+Decker · · Score: 1
    One millilitre of space brew. Can orbital microbrew be far behind?"

    Sounds like they've got 1000 microbrews already.

  9. As James Hetfield would say by cyroth · · Score: 2, Funny

    Beer gooood!!!

  10. HEY! by part!cle · · Score: 0

    My tax dollars are paying for WHAT???

    --
    If voting could really change things, it would be illegal.
    1. Re:HEY! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah, but think of all the cool applications that could arise as a result of this study!

      Headless beer
      HAC beer
      Tasty NAC beer
      Lame astronaut humor (that and 50&cent will buy you a tube of Coke)
      Space beer
      Space beer goggles
      Space chicks
      Space yeast
      Space Ale (Spale?)
      Airlock lager
      Mission Control Stout

      The possiblities are endless!

    2. Re:HEY! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I forgot one:

      ISS IPA

    3. Re:HEY! by part!cle · · Score: 0

      yeah your right :P

      --
      If voting could really change things, it would be illegal.
    4. Re:HEY! by darkonc · · Score: 3, Informative

      My tax dollars are paying for WHAT???
      Your tax dollars may be subsidizing it, but the experiment was apparently paid for by a grant from Coors. It went up in one of NASA's commercial experiment packs.

      --
      Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
    5. Re:HEY! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is actually a very important experiment... how organisms grow in zero G environments is not fully understood as yet. Experiments so far have discovered that the reproductive process in complex organisms are badly affected by zero gravity environments, a study on simpler organisms such as that used in the brewing of beer could yield valuable information.

  11. But can they only brew light beer? by pherris · · Score: 1

    I mean that would kinda suck. Although light is better than nothing I guess ...

    pherris

    --
    "And a voice was screaming: 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'" - HST
    1. Re:But can they only brew light beer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What are you talkinbg about. Guiness already has a brewery on the "Darkside of the Moon"

  12. Bill Shepard! by redcliffe · · Score: 0

    They better not send him up to the ISS again! Otherwise instead of a DIY table, it will be a DIY beer brewing laboratory!!! I wonder if NASA would notice the missing supplies.... :-P

  13. BISS by bozo42 · · Score: 1

    You may be too young to remember this beer commercial

    It don't get no better than BISS!

    Brewski of International Space Station.

    When you need to piss,
    Think BISS!!


    --
    If you're not on somebody's shit list, you're not doing anything worthwhile.....
  14. 5:15pm by tenman · · Score: 1

    Everybody meet me at that new microbrewery... Meet me at the elevators at 5:25, and we will take my plane

  15. Oh great by Nick+Number · · Score: 2

    As if Coors wasn't light enough already

    --
    Promote proofreading. Don't mod up sloppy posts.
  16. Perhaps carbonation is a bad idea... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is a zero G environment the place you want to induce burping? Foamy masses are a lot less adorable when chunks are floating in them...

  17. Rotating Cola by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As i read it, the problem with soft drinks and beer is the lack of a downward force to keep the elements of the drinks in proper alignment. What if a small, personal, rotational bed type apparatus could be used to provide centripetal acceleration to the fluids. (They same kind they are experimenting with to give Astronauts proper exercise in space) So the beer could be brewed while rotating and soft drinks could be enjoyed at a familiar 9.81 m/s^2. Very much a hassle, but worth it for a quick fix.

    1. Re:Rotating Cola by Nick+Number · · Score: 2

      What if a small, personal, rotational bed type apparatus could be used to provide centripetal acceleration to the fluids.

      Say, they could test it by giving beer to their mice. After all, they're used to the room spinning when they wake up.

      --
      Promote proofreading. Don't mod up sloppy posts.
  18. Great by part!cle · · Score: 0

    We bring up yeast and whatnot all the way up there to do an experiment that is essentially the same as doing the experiment in my garage, only more legal, and hellishly more expensive. Would you expect less? This is neat but it also pisses away money (and credibility) that NASA sorely needs.

    --
    If voting could really change things, it would be illegal.
  19. Its a start by gad_zuki! · · Score: 2

    Now a good second step would be to grow weed and later test it on a willing subject. Now that's an astronaut's diary I'd like to read.

    1. Re:Its a start by tenman · · Score: 1

      Star date 09212001,

      Today I was the first subject to ever get stoned in space. It took an abnomally short amount of time for the cotton mouth to kick in. Note that I bumped my helmet on the floor of the station, and just laughed for hours. during the 4 hour experiment, my recordings show that I sat laughing, farting, and pissing myself for 3.98 hours. Tomarrow, I will lend my body to the betterment of man kind by being the first person to inject tar in space...

      god I love this job...

      Hi MOM!!!!

    2. Re:Its a start by The+Mayor · · Score: 2

      Fires snuff themselves out in space. You need gravity to allow heat to rise sufficiently enough to cause convection, which brings fresh oxygen to the fire. I think you'd need to look at alternative methods of ingestion.

      I might suggest a vaporizer. These things heat up the weed to the point of vaporization, and are often sourced by an electric heating element. That should work in space.

      --
      --Be human.
    3. Re:Its a start by gad_zuki! · · Score: 2

      Almost as fun as baking brownies in the microwave.

      Image how much those would go for.

    4. Re:Its a start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Works a lot better with hashish. The simplest version involves heating two butter knives to glowing (the stovetop will work for this.) and pressing a piece of hash between them. Poof. Hold a two-liter soda bottle with the bottom cut off over it to capture the smoke and inhale. Don't burn yourself on the knife handles, and don't use your parents' knives, as they will be permanently blackened.

  20. Drunk Astronauts by INicheI · · Score: 0

    Do we really want some drunk astronaut destroying the bijillion dollare Internation space station. This wouldnt be cool.

    1. Re:Drunk Astronauts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are SOOOOOOOO wrong... it would be the coolest!!!!

  21. Uh yeah... by Dancin_Santa · · Score: 1

    Fools...

    Dancin Santa

    Your comment violated the postercomment compression filter. Comment aborted

  22. RMS will be pissed... by mackman · · Score: 2

    because at $1400 for a glass of SpaceAle, I'm voting for "Free Beer" over "Free Speech".

  23. So that's what by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So that's what my tax dollars are paying for...
    I'm all for space exploration, but damn, can't they do something useful? I know that growing food in zero-g is important, but can't they at least try something like wheat or hydroponic tomatoes instead of beer...
    I remember the Russians just shipped bottles of Vodka with the Progress supply ship.

  24. Wow. by nougatmachine · · Score: 2
    NASA has once again spared us no expense in improving the quality of life through researching...well...something that is entirely possible on our own planet, without having to pay for a huge, fuel-draining rocket.

    Ah, how I love the human race ; )

    1. Re:Wow. by Joe+Decker · · Score: 1

      Wait until you see their next joint-venture with Starbucks...

    2. Re:Wow. by JabberWokky · · Score: 2
      Obviously you didn't read the article about how they make microbes that produce antibiotics and exotic enzymes through fermentation, and this experiment is useful for medical purposes.

      At the same time, if Coors and Coca-Cola want to subsidize our space program, then I'm all for it. They paid their way, and that got dozens of other experiments into orbit.

      And, quite frankly, if not now, then when? If the final objective is to live and work in space, then these questions *do* have to be asked. Your ancestors were explorers - they traveled from one place to another. It's part of human expansion, and a damn sight better than killing each other for finite resources here on earth.

      --
      Evan

      --
      "$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
  25. I know I picked the right university by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where else but the University of Colorado would students be figuring out how to brew beer in space?

    Of course, we're also figuring out how to make mice breed in Mars gravity...I can see some kind of experiment crossover...
    "Hey Bob, the mice aren't breedin'! Time to get 'em drunk!"

  26. Party Pig by fishbonez · · Score: 1
    Question: "How do you dispense a beverage and keep the carbonation in solution until the person is ready to drink?" Stodieck asks. "That's the challenge."

    Answer: Party Pig

    The Party Pig uses a self-expanding pouch to maintain pressure in a 2.25 gallon beer keg. Because it doesn't rely on adding carbon dioxide to maintain pressure, it is well suited for use in space.

    BTW, I currently own 4 Party Pigs and a 20 gallon oak barrel, currently filled with a Belgian Lambic Ale.

    A word of advice to all the /.ers under the drinking age. Don't take up home brewing Freshman year in college like me just because you can buy the supplies to make beer. Oops, did I just give you information? Please ignore the power of that information.

    --
    Frylock: That's not a toy!
    Master Shake: You say that about everything you own. You should own toys. They're fun.
    1. Re:Party Pig by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess now all we need to do is find out if beer bongs work in zero-G....

    2. Re:Party Pig by 3waygeek · · Score: 1

      A word of advice to all the /.ers under the drinking age. Don't take up home brewing Freshman year in college like me just because you can buy the supplies to make beer.

      Well, I can do one better -- 20 years ago, when I was a freshman, my roommate and I built a still with equipment we bought from the chem department. It made something rather like Everclear, albeit with a slight rubber taste from the surgical tubing we used to join all the glass bits. What we didn't drink, we'd pour under the doors of neighboring dorm rooms & light on fire -- we got to meet lots of people that way.

  27. My kind of girl by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gotta love someone who will only do a thesis involving something she can eat or drink in the end. I like that attitude, I think I'm in love...

  28. ello patna by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    osoma bin stallman wants free as in speech not as in...

    oh i don't give a fuck. i just wnated to say osoma bin stallman..

    cuase he's a fanatic...you know like...feh...

    *yawn*

  29. Song. by Crusty+Oldman · · Score: 1


    In heaven there is no beer,

    that's why we drink it here...

  30. It's preparation for a trip to mars by joshtimmons · · Score: 1

    I mean, how could they get anyone to sign up for a three year trip if there wasn't going to be beer on board?

  31. Boy is that cool by thejake316 · · Score: 1

    Damn, and here I was thinking that space wasn't good for anything except satellites and satellite accessories. Just think, this potentially has applications for everything from homebrewing to commercial zymurgy! Boy, keep on funding the space program, it's paying for itself EVERY GoDDAMNED DAY!

    It's like the ants and tiny screws, that had applications for everything from watchmaking to watch repair!

    Remember kids, Simpsons references == karma!

    --
    AC's cheerfully ignored
  32. German Astronauts say: by ZeroConcept · · Score: 1

    "Amerrican asstonaut beerr is bad" When interviewed by an international news agency.

  33. Woohoo! by dkoyanagi · · Score: 1

    Mmmmm... beer.
    Now if they could only somehow smuggle potato chips on board. As long as they're not ruffled, and they don't clog the instruments.

    Let's see... IIRC 1000 ml = 1 liter and 1 liter of water = 1 kg. There's 2.2 lb per kg and it costs $10,000 to lift 1 lb into orbit. It costs $22,000 to lift 1 kg or 1 liter into orbit or $22.00 per ml. Add to that the cost of hauling up the homebrew equipment that is one expensive brew.

    "This beer better be the best tastin' beer in the world." - Barny Gumble

  34. NASA == Dead Agency Walking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's stories like these that convince me that NASA is past it's prime. Very past it's prime.

    The billions of dollars we waste on these absurd programs would be MUCH better spent on developing...say...reliable
    broadband service in every home, or nanotechnology.

    Guess we're stuck with this mess until the Star Trek generation dies off.

    1. Re:NASA == Dead Agency Walking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We're just holding out until we can get the good stuff in space. You know, Romulan Ale.

  35. piss by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As long as they dont piss where they r not supposed to

  36. And to think we had an astronaut named Buzz! by ackthpt · · Score: 2
    Seriously, this could be a good thing, cuz after a long hard day of fixing solar panels, aligning antennas and getting in and out of a space suit, I can imagine how good it would be to unwind with a brew. Problem is, a sixpack, at a total of 6 ml just ain't what I'd have in mind. Still, can't have slap-happy astronauts (tho ya gotta wonder if any cosmonauts smuggled a little vodka up to Mir :)


    As a home brewer, though, I expect they'd have to go straight DME, as doing an all grain job would be quite a mess, sparging and all. Now there's something for NASA engineers to work out!

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:And to think we had an astronaut named Buzz! by AnalogBoy · · Score: 1

      The vodka-on-mir thing would certainly explain the fires, crashes, etc. Don't drink and drive supply ships.

    2. Re:And to think we had an astronaut named Buzz! by Telek · · Score: 2

      They didn't need to smuggle, they were sent some!

      my favorite:

      When the Mir crew ran out of alcohol reserves, they would often go on "treasure-seeking" expeditions for more, tearing down interior panels to find bottles hidden by previous crews, said Alexander Poleshchuk, who spent six months on board Mir in 1993.

      --

      If God gave us curiosity
    3. Re:And to think we had an astronaut named Buzz! by Arandir · · Score: 2

      I think they would have more problem than just sparging and trying to open a bag of DME in zero Gee. (Ever open a bag of DME in ZG? Believe me, you don't want to do it!)

      Eventually you get a suitable wort somehow. Then you add some yeast. These yeasties start fermenting away and giving off CO2. Where does this CO2 go? Nowhere! Your big globule of wort will soon end up looking like a floating sponge. Then if you manage that problem, you might wind up with a naturally carbonated bottle of ESB. Then you crack open that bottle and you wind up with nothing but foam everywhere but in the bottle.

      --
      A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
  37. oh boy.. by unred · · Score: 1
    NASA recently sent up an experiment to see how well beer could be brewed in space.

    ..government funding hard at work!

    --
    can't fight against the youth.
  38. Next step ... by kuiken · · Score: 1

    If this was done by belgium people I could see the headlines :
    Drunk pilot crashes Shulte in Atlantic, 5000L beer spilled in ocean!! Nasa will install breathezizers on shutle

    --

    42
  39. man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    man i'm so bored. Why can't they start the war already.

    Fucking bunch of neo-hippy fucktards are already protesting. Shut up you little bitches you don't have to fight, there are plenty of men willing to defend america, you bitches can stay home and cook dinner.

  40. I hope.... by humblecoder · · Score: 1
    I hope that stuff is better than that Tang crap NASA came up with during the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo days.

    Well, I guess it's beer so who cares who good it tastes as long as it's cheap and potent, right?

    1. Re:I hope.... by iamblades · · Score: 1

      I volunteer to be the first person to smoke a J in space... Much better than alocohol...

      --
      Shit adds up at the bottom...
  41. yes this is offtopic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know it's off topic, but...

    If I wanted to block all afghanistan internet
    connections, would this work?

    $IPTABLES -A INPUT -s *.af -j DROP


    Oh, and here is something interesting, there is only 1 person in Afghanistan who uses Linux. Don't believe me? here's proof

    1. Re:yes this is offtopic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      No. The -s flag requires an IP address or range, not domain names.

      Besides, you wouldn't have to block connections from Afghanistan either, as they've already banned the Internet.

      Also, since there is no access to the Internet legally in Afghanistan, what would be the odds of Afghanistani Linux users registering on a web site for that purpose?

  42. Microbrew... by ackthpt · · Score: 1
    Actually, it's a millibrew!


    Now it's just a matter of time before they have the first *moonshine* still in space. Better watch out for revenooers! ;-)

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Microbrew... by Dyolf+Knip · · Score: 2

      No, no, no! In space, you call it 'earthshine'.

      --
      Dyolf Knip
  43. Only one mililiter? by Decimal · · Score: 1

    Beer must be considered very precious on the ISS.

    "Alright, who drank the sample?!"

    --

    Remember "Bring 'em on"? *sigh
  44. Hmmm... by DoomHaven · · Score: 1

    This post-graduate is a woman who has experience brewing beer...in space. If that isn't Mrs. Right, then I'll never meet her.

    --
    "Don't mind me cutting myself on Occam's Razor"
  45. Actual Uses by 1DeepThought · · Score: 1

    So can anyone come up with an actual use for this? I am no expert on brewing or space travel and was wondering if there could be a practical use for this. Anyone?

    --

    "Patience is a virtue, afforded those with nothing better to do." - I don't remember

    1. Re:Actual Uses by ThatComputerGuy · · Score: 1

      Good luck. Do you really think you'll be able to get a straight answer out of anyone that's a brewing expert?

      --
      XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
  46. microbrew by counterfeitfake · · Score: 1

    Can orbital microbrew be far behind? If one millilitre isn't a microbrew, I don't know what is.

  47. Brew on fine gents! by vulg4r_m0nk · · Score: 1

    As a raging alcoholic, I firmly advocate the utilization of multi-billion dollar technology to create an orbital version of a substance only slightly less common than water.

  48. How about a... mascot? by ThatComputerGuy · · Score: 1

    Duffman thinks the ISS needs a mascot! Hoh yeah! *thrust*

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
  49. Ale vs. Lager by Malc · · Score: 2

    It sounds like they used a bottom fermenting yeast... how would that have compared with a top fermenter? I personally don't drink heavily carbonated beers, prefering ales and *Guinness*. It's hardly a surprise that they used a bottom fermenting yeast consider Coors sponsored the event: they make a beer that uses carbonation as one of the mechanisms for hiding the flavour. (The other mechanism is of course refridgeration). I wonder if a top-fermenting yeast used in space would give a more carbonated ale? But, at the end of the day, this being Coors, they're looking at ways of increasing alcohol content without regard to taste (which is why brewers in Coor's league freeze their beers).

    1. Re:Ale vs. Lager by KingBozo · · Score: 1

      It is not hard to increase the alcohol content of beer above the crap they sell at stores, the problem is that by adding more fermentables they might actually add some flavor to the beer, and then they wouldn't be selling piss water anymore.

    2. Re:Ale vs. Lager by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Frozen beer? An uncle of mine used to drive a semi truck for Coors. He had a story about another driver that went off the road into a ravine during the winter. The trailer had broken open and cases of beer was scattered everywhere. Of course by the time the highway patrol made it out there, other people heard about it via their CB radios and already helped themselves to some of it. Because of some of the beer had been buried in the snow, when it was finally found days later, it had been frozen. At that time [before Coors was available nationwide], if you froze Coors, thawed it out, and then drank it, there was a good chance that you would end up getting diarrhea. So instead of running the rist of customers claiming they got the shits from drinking Coors, the company offered a free trade in policy for anyone who found beer in the ravine.

    3. Re:Ale vs. Lager by Malc · · Score: 2, Informative

      A pissy lager with 5% alcohol content is not natural. This can only be achieved by freezing the beer and removing the ice, thus artificially raising the alcohol content. Beer brewed naturally with high alcohol content is much harder to produce. In my opinion/experience, anything above 7% is not nice: either sickly sweet (try Roger and Out @12.5% at the Frog and Parrott in Sheffied, England) or just nasty like Carlsberg Special Brew or Tenents Super. Most beers with a lot of flavour that are popular don't have high alcohol content, e.g. Guinness is at 4.2%. It's so sad, beer is sold on alcohol content as computers are sold on CPU MHz. Oh well, each to their own.

    4. Re:Ale vs. Lager by MtViewGuy · · Score: 2

      If you read my posting here, it will be a MAJOR challenge to make alcoholic beverages in the microgravity of Earth orbit, given that most alcoholic beverages by nature requires gravity to control the fermenting process.

      We'll have to completely reinvent the fermenting process by using a totally new type of yeast, for starters. Who knows how will we try to make a hard liquor like Scotch, vodka, sake or Japanese shochu in space.

  50. A chemical process to behold by vandelais · · Score: 1

    All you need is a giant space stomach for all that space beer in the evening and you can get some great propulsion in the morning.

    --
    Game: Player 'Donald J Trump' now has AI skill level 'experimental'.
  51. The debate is settled by vandelais · · Score: 1
    One millilitre, huh?

    With proper respects to John Madden, I guess it's settled.


    Less filling!

    --
    Game: Player 'Donald J Trump' now has AI skill level 'experimental'.
  52. Clouds by jedwards · · Score: 1

    There is already plenty of alcohol in space.



    Problems regarding accounts or comment posting should be sent to CowboyNeal.

  53. Really... by ghack · · Score: 1

    we all know that alcohol as astronauts don't mix...this gives ``drunk driving'' a whole new meaning ;)

  54. Priorities.... by NoWhere+Man · · Score: 2

    Nice to know that NASA has thier priorities straight. I wonder what napkin they dreampt this little venture on and when it is going on ebay?

    Forget trying to build the IIS, I want to focus on getting beer up there. The really important stuff.

    And I laughed when Jerry Sienfeld joked about bring a car to the moon; how it was the ultimate male idea. Brining a car to the moon so we coule drive around.
    Now we have beer...guess they'll have to make it illegal to drive drunk on the moon aswell, before we have an accident.

    --

    "Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality." -Jules de Gautier
  55. Re:Fonts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Konquerer's fonts are anti-aliased - but their not free scalable. It doesn't use True type fonts (which are scalable - and are what is used in windows). Instead the QT library just takes the crappy fonts it already has and blurs the edges - kinda cheating if you ask me.

    I am using a true type font in netscape right now using Slackware 8.0 and Enlightenment. You have to add in True Type font support to XFree86 in order to get it - then you just tell netscape to use those fonts - looks just like windows :-)

    (Yes, I am going to post anonymously because I don't want any karma stolen for answering a technical question that is completely off topic)

    Enjoy!

    Fried

  56. what about VODKA! by laymil · · Score: 1

    i'm sure some of those naughty cosmonauts have been brewing the good stuff up there for years! share the wealth man...share the wealth. maybe they've found the best shot at making space profitable (read: sell us space beer. we pay money.)

  57. Coors? by brer_rabbit · · Score: 1
    Kirsten Sterrett, recently a University of Colorado graduate student, first became interested in how beer would brew in space while working at the Coors Brewing Company.

    Considering she worked for Coors, maybe she should first become interested in how beer is brewed on Earth.

    If you're interested in beer on Earth, check out the Fremont Oktoberfest this weekend in Seattle!

  58. Next it'll be rock'n'roll... by Subcarrier · · Score: 1

    Sex (been there), beer (done that), ...

    Space rocks, man!

    --
    "I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them." -- George H. W. Bush
  59. Concern by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This concerns me on what NASA is spending my tax money on, can't they do something cool like find out if there really is LIFE ON MARS!

  60. As long as... by pointwood · · Score: 2

    you can't get beers in space, I will refuse to leave earth! :p

  61. Space drinker's song by Salsaman · · Score: 2
    We'll be singing


    When we're winning


    We'll be singing


    I get knocked down


    But I dont give a shit


    Cos in space there ain't no up or down


    Pissing the night away


    Pissing the night away


    He drinks a whisky drink


    He drinks a vodka drink


    He drinks a lager drink


    He drinks a cider drink


    He sings the songs that remind him


    Of the good times


    He sings the songs that remind him


    Of the better times:


    "We could walk for ever


    walking on


    walking on the moon..."


    I get knocked down


    But I don't give a shit


    Cos in space there ain't no up or down


    Pissing the night away


    Pissing the night away


    He drinks a whisky drink


    He drinks a vodka drink


    He drinks a lager drink


    He drinks a cider drink


    He sings the songs that remind him


    Of the good times


    He sings the songs that remind him


    Of the better times:


    "This is ground control to Major Tom


    Take your protein pill and put your helmet on..."



    I get knocked down


    But I don't give a shit


    Cos in space there ain't no up or down


    We'll be singing


    When we're winning


    We'll be singing

  62. only 1 ml? What about the taste tests? by anticypher · · Score: 2

    Time to send up some master brewers with a few tons of hops and malt. Let them play with various batches and send the "space brew" back to earth.

    Hell, I'd pay about $100 for a drink of space brew if it had orbited the earth a few thousand times. NASA could send up the raw materials on cheap(er) rockets, and sell the brew for a good profit. A few thousand litres could pay for a shuttle flight.

    the AC

    --
    Hemos is like...sci-fi fans;he thinks technology is cool, but he hasn't bothered to understand the science it's based on
    1. Re:only 1 ml? What about the taste tests? by PMan88 · · Score: 0

      i'm still waiting for moonrocks to use instead of charcoal

  63. New Funding! by sigsegv · · Score: 1

    It's NASA's new funding model. With Congressional support going down and other monies being directed to the "war", they thught they needed some other source of funds.... Soooo.... Next month the brewery module is being attached to the ISS. =;]

    -sig

  64. Re:Offtopic, but....... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    if you do the same thing with Word on a Mac you get I love New York (eye, heart, skyline)

    weirdness, kind like of like the bavarian evil grey alien CIA versus the good, pleades alien naval intelligence duality of the MJ12... oh... i wasnt suppost to talk about that...

  65. Brewing will be tough in microgravity by MtViewGuy · · Score: 2

    Folks,

    I think it's going to be one heck of a challenge to make alcoholic beverages in the microgravity environment of space.

    The reason is simple: just about every alcoholic beverage requires the use of gravity to control the fermenting process. There will be no such thing as top-fermented (British-style) beer or bottom-fermented (Central European-style) beer, for starters.

    I wouldn't be surprised that a major Germany brewery or a British brewery will sponsor a major test of how beer brews in space that will be run on the Columbus module on the International Space Station.

  66. Space as in... by nycdewd · · Score: 1

    Space as in "beer", or space as in "between your ears"?

  67. Beer and Space! Two geek super-powers collide! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Finally, Slashdot's two favorite pasttimes, space travel and beer, have been combined in a glorious science experiment!

    I know that this catch-phrase has been overused as of late, but...

    GOD BLESS AMERICA! :)

  68. Black & Tans by oh+shoot · · Score: 1

    I guess it must be pretty easy to pour a black & tan in zero-grav, no?

  69. Mutating Yeast by _J_ · · Score: 1

    The further someone is from the protection of Earth's atmosphere the more they are exposed to Solar radiation. One of the big problems with brewing beer is to keep the yeast the same - not have it mutating on you.

    It seems to me that brewing in space without complete shielding would leave the process defenceless against producing a truly vile beer.

    I'd be more impressed if they did some distilling. Moon moonshine would be an accomplishment and the process is dangerous/more daring.:)

    IMHO, as per

    J:)

  70. A real pay-per-view event by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sign me up!

  71. bubbles by tijnbraun · · Score: 1

    Does anyone know how beer bubbels in zero gravity?
    Does it bubble at all? In if so... what will they do? Will the bubbles just float around at random, increasing in size by collision?

  72. Delta-9 Tetra Hydro Cannabinol by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Eat it.

    lasts longer + stronger, tho takes a while to kick in, as opposed to the instant effect of smoking/vapourising.

    As for growing your own: http://members.nbci.com/_XMCM/dopefiend420/marijua na.html [not my site, but useful]

    And its bloody easy... 2 X 8 watt florescent inspection lights [probly $10-15, i paid £9.99 each @ maplin] across the top of a 12"w x 18"D plastic tub [painted brilliant white, not silver or lined with foil!] Your initial grow chamber.

    Why? Cos I dont wanna fund organised crime, including child prostitution [12 year old girls sellin their bodys kinda gets me tense!], extortion, gun importa, heroin + crack pushing, etc.....

    Oh and ever wondered what is in/on that shit/weed?

    Ali

    www.ali-d.abel.co.uk

  73. I love wasting my hard earned money on this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't know about all of you, but I am ecstatic about the fact that we spend billions on the space program just to make sure that we can brew beer when we pollute this planet so much we have to leave. I can rest easy now.

  74. Houston we have a problem... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dude where's my space shuttle...

  75. Oh My God by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Oh My God.

    Could they possibly waste our tax dollars more blatently. Don't they ever do anything USEFULL in the space program??

  76. NASA data: "Fat Slobs in Space" by jonathanpost · · Score: 1

    Check out my weird-but-true article
    "Fat Slobs in Space."

    I've worked with the Space program many years...

    "... First of all, being seriously overweight might just be the best way to avoid the motion sickness that plagues a third of astronauts in orbit.... if you are grossly obese, we cannot get you sick."

  77. URL for "Fat Slobs in Space" by jonathanpost · · Score: 1

    Check out my weird-but-true article
    "Fat Slobs in Space."

    URL is:
    http://magicdragon.com/ComputerFutures/
    SpacePublications/Food.html

    I've worked with the Space program many years...

    "... First of all, being seriously overweight might just be the best way to avoid the motion sickness that plagues a third of astronauts in orbit.... if you are grossly obese, we cannot get you sick."

  78. Um... Special Bottle? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unfortunately it doesn't lend itself to the traditional frosty glass mug! Instead, beverages are dispensed into a special bottle (pictured above) that screws onto the dispenser.

    Looks like a powerade bottle to me, but I could be wrong.