Two Japanese companies have teamed up to see if they could cultivate brewer’s yeast where no one has cultivated brewer’s yeast before–the Derailleur Brew Works in Osaka’s Nishinari area. Since 2018, Derailleur has created over 100 types of craft beer, but are now preparing to create varieties that the world has never seen.

Given its role in converting sugar into alcohol, it’s fair to say that yeast is a significant factor in the overall flavor of a beer. Although the effect of gravity is unknown, Derailleur is going to find out with the help of DigitalBlast.

DigitalBlast is the Tokyo-based company that created the AMAZ gravity generator. This machine can be set to simulate a desired gravitational pull using its own centrifugal force. To do this it must first be installed in the microgravity environment of the ISS, a step scheduled for 2024.

DigitalBlast’s AMAZ gravity generator

It is hoped that AMAZ will be used by research organizations to test the effects of different gravities on plant life to determine their potential as crops when colonizing locations such as the lunar and Martian surface, but also as a tool for private companies as a way to create revenue for the space industry as a whole.

Derailleur is to be the first such private company to make use of AMAZ, and brewing yeast will be cultivated inside it under gravity equal to that of the Moon and Mars. The yeast will then be sent back to the base AREA 2470 for brewing the first batch of what is tentatively named “Uchu Beer” (Space Beer).

Unfortunately, due to the huge technical steps involved, it’ll be some time before Uchu Beer hits the market.