Japanese whiskey distillery Suntory is planning on sending ten samples of their wares into space to track the effects of aging in a zero-gravity setting.
In a press statement released by Suntory, the aim of the experiment is to monitor the "development of mellowness in alcoholic beverage through the use of a microgravity environment." The "mellowness" of the malt occurs when the alcoholic drink is left sealed over time.
Split into two groups, the first sample cluster will be observed for one year, while the second will be studied for at least two years.
The alchoholic beverages are set to be launched up to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Tanegashima Space Center on August 16.
This isn't the first time a barrel of booze has been sent into the ether: Scottish distillery Ardbeg teamed up with NanoRacks, a Texan space research firm, to send up 20 vials of whiskey microbes – each with slivers of charred oak which with they were distilled – to the International Space Station in 2011. That same year, the Australian microbrewery 4 Pines Brewing Co. created a low-carbonated stout for intergalactic consumption to be enjoyed on future privatized flights. They were working to circumvent the issues inherent to drinking in a zero-gravity environment — namely tongue swelling and loss of taste.
No matter what the effect that drinking can have on a body in a no-gravity environment, it's safe to assume that an outer-space hangover is probably the worst.
Watch 4 Pines Brewing Co. study participants attempt to get wasted in a zero-G chamber in the video below. Party on, Wayne!
