Ninkasi Brewing Ground Control Imperial Stout

With the craft beer sector becoming increasingly competitive, breweries are pushing the creative boundaries to develop new concoctions for beer consumers. The Oregon-based team at Ninkasi Brewing Company has taken things to the next level, creating a beer that uses yeast from space.

The brand established the Ninkasi Space Program (NSP) to launch six vials of the brewer’s yeast 77.3 miles up into space. After a botched attempt led to lost vials in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert last summer, the brand once again launch another batch of yeast from Spaceport America back in October 2014. This time around was a success. Ninkasi then blended the space-traveled yeast with Oregon hazelnuts, star anise and coca nibs to create a stellar Imperial Stout. The brew will be sold in limited quantities starting April 13th. [Purchase]