The sake business is reaching new heights.
A Japanese sake maker wants to make an alcoholic drink in space. Asahi Shuzo, the company behind the popular Dassai brand, plans to deliver ingredients to the International Space Station (ISS) in order to produce a special drink.
If all goes according to plan, the price of one bottle could be astronomical – just one 100ml bottle would sell on Earth for $653,000.
To put that into perspective, a standard serving of sake – which consists of Japanese rice, water, yeast and koji (a type of mold) – is 80ml.
However, Souya Uetsuki, the brewer in charge of the project at Asahi Shuzo, told CNN that “there is no guarantee of 100% success for fermentation tests.”
The change in gravity can affect how heat is transferred to the liquid, making the fermentation process in space different from that on Earth.
Sake traditionally takes two months to brew, going through a process of evaporation, mixing and fermentation.
Asahi Shuzo paid the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for access to a Japanese-developed part of the ISS, the Kibo experiment module, so they could conduct tests in a “special microgravity environment.”
The brand is known for producing expensive premium products that collectors demand and spend thousands of dollars on – but their space adventure is more than just a way to make a super rare bottle for collectors.
Uetsuki said the company hopes to understand how fermentation works in space in hopes of one day brewing sake on the moon.
“In a future where people can travel freely between the Moon and Earth, some will visit the Moon as tourists. This project aims to create sake that can be enjoyed on the moon, allowing visitors to spend pleasant moments there,” he said.
He added that perhaps this could lead to the production of fermented foods in space as well.
“Many Japanese foods, such as natto and miso, are fermented, and this technology can be expanded to these areas,” Uetsuki said.
The company is now developing equipment for manufacturing in space and is planning a launch date for late 2025.
This isn’t the first space-related alcoholic beverage to hit the market. Shooting Star Vodka gave new meaning to the word “on the rocks” by infusing its production with a meteorite discovered in 1977.
Shooting Star Vodka is the first Ultra-Premium Vodka to be infused with space rock, giving it a unique taste and texture.
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