Sapporo uses 'space' barley in beer

In the first undertaking of its kind, Sapporo Breweries Ltd. on Thursday began producing beer with barley that traces its roots to outer space.

In 2006, barley seeds were carried to the International Space Station to test the effects of radiation on them. The barley used by Sapporo is two generations down the line from the plants grown from the seeds when they were returned to Earth.

The brew, a 100-liter batch being made at its Nasu plant in Tochigi Prefecture, will be ready by early November. The beer will not be sold to the public, but the knowledge gained will be used for space science projects and educational programs for children, Sapporo said.

Barley can be cultivated in outer space without much difficulty, according to Sapporo, which intends to compare the nutritive constituents of malt and beer made from space barley with those made from the Earth-grown kind. Sapporo's space beer is part of a project undertaken by Okayama University, which is participating in the Russian Academy of Science's research on the adaptability and life cycles of plants in outer space.