“Space Barley” Used in Japanese Beer Going for $150 a Six Pack

12/10/09  Print This Post Print This Post    2 Comments   Popular   Written by Kate Sedgwick
    Share

Image and Feature Image CC licensed byKate Sedgwick with images courtesy of Sarai♥WoaH Photography♥ and elliottbledsoe

It may sound like Unknown Hinson’s latest single, but Space Barley is a new beer by Sapporo.

The barley that makes the beer is “related to [barley] that spent five months aboard the International Space Station,” according to Newser who (I think jokingly) suggest you bite the bullet and pay the $110 it costs to buy a six pack, further competing in a lottery for the privilege, and which you must live in Japan to enter.

International Space Station courtesy of NASA via Kowh

According to Gizmodo,only 100 liters of Space Barley are to hit this very exclusive market which is said by the Telegraph to be the first purely barley beer.

If, in what may be the 11,000 years of beer making the world has seen, brewing a purely barley beer is a proposition that has been overlooked, I can only surmise that the flavor must leave something to be desired. Add that this is not actual barley from the space station, but barley spawned from space station barley and what you have is something akin to Mackenzie Phillips charging a million dollars Indecent Proposal style for a night of bliss with the daughter of the famous John Phillips of Mamas and Papas fame – that is to say an unappetizing prospect, sweetened by novelty and press, but probably not worth the price.

Still, if you care to peruse the Sapporo R & D report on the new product, be my guest. And if you do get a taste of the first all barley beer of extraterrestrial origin, please share your opinion of the experience in the comments field below!

Community Connection

Space. Is it the final frontier? Die hard travelers might want to know How to Travel to Outer Space.


    Share

About the Author

Matador ID: K_Crimini

Kate Sedgwick co-edits Matador Nights from Buenos Aires where she teaches English, learns Spanish and thoroughly enjoys herself. Her art and writing have appeared in print and on-line publications and her novel in progress will be received with prurient glee by critics of American culture if it ever gets into their grubby little hands. Find out more about her than you ever wanted to know here. (Author photo by Sebastian Santana).

2 Comments... join the discussion!

  • Turner replied on December 10, 2009

    Only in Japan…

    (Report comment)

    ↵ Reply
  • coozies replied on December 12, 2009

    Cool. I love rauch/smoke beers. This could be an actual rauchbier, as its a lager. The smoke aspect seems to vary a good bit from the times I have had it. Sometimes I think its way smokey, while other times I could barely detect any hint of smoke.

    (Report comment)

    ↵ Reply

Leave a Comment

Get Matador in your inbox and around the web.

Sign up for our FREE weekly newsletter.


View full list of RSS feeds

Jump To Category:



Explore the Community



Popular Stories on Matador

Bariloche Juxtaposition

"I think about how Nazis³ used to live here and probab... 

Kaffir Lime, Candy Canes & Almond Joy: 10 Alternative Martinis

The martini might be the most loosely defined drink in ... 

Grow Some Moss in Your Bathroom

A soft grass carpet that thrives from the few drops of ... 

Photo Essay: Route 66, The Western Way

Scott Spoleder takes us through Seligman, Peach Springs... 

How To Reconnect With Your Friends After The Journey

Life isn't on pause when you leave town. ... 

How to Discern Fallacious Arguments

Writers working in nonfiction, including travel

Travel Blogging Tips: Adding Social Media Buttons

Using social buttons to share your content is essential... 

How to Read Your Writing Out Loud

JoshyWashington says: stop dreading reading your writin... 

50 Things to Do Before You Die

Whether single events or processes that take weeks, mon... 

10 Quirkiest Travel Gear

... 



Focus





Editor Blogs