“More people have booked recreational space flights than there have been astronauts in space over the past 57 years. And just like we saw in commercial aviation history, space travellers are going to want to enjoy certain creature comforts, like good beer, while enjoying their suborbital experience.” J. Mitchell.

Hi! We’re 4 Pines Brewing Company (beer lovers) and Saber Astronautics (space gurus) from Manly, Australia on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. We’ve joined forces and we’re on a mission of galactic proportions. We are destined to go where humanity never has before and create the world’s first beer for space!

Every worthwhile space voyage needs a mission name, and ours is ‘Vostok’. Back in 1961, humanity’s first ever manned space flight was aboard the vessel ‘Vostok’. Yuri Gagarin returned safely home after 90 minutes of flight and became a global legend.

Whilst looking down on Earth, the only thing that was missing to toast the occasion was space beer.

So why Space Beer you ask? 

More recreational space flights have been booked than there have been astronauts in space in the last 57 years. With space tourism a burgeoning reality and hundreds of rejoicing, happy space fans booked on suborbital flights, we wanted to be well prepared. 

Imagine if you were one of these future tourists…

From the dawn of civilisation, humanity brewed beer and wherever we venture, beer follows. Fast forward to today and off the back of those hefty space travel ticket prices, you’d want to be drinking the good beer you drink at home – and if it’s tasting good down here, imagine how it’d be up there, with views of our big blue globe!

We initially set out to create a beer that could be drunk in space and with that achieved, the next step was to develop technology that would allow people to drink the stout, or any liquid for that matter, from a bottle like their fellow land-dwellers.

There were two major challenges we needed to solve to be successful:

Alcohol absorption by the human body is different. The tongue swells, the senses dull – altering the way food and drink tastes and wet burps (belching both liquid & gas) are a real thing - so we had to re-imagine beer from scratch.

The biggest challenge is liquid’s inability to pour in zero gravity. This means that to drink beer from a bottle the same way that you do on Earth, a special space beer bottle needed to be created. "It’s basically like making a fuel tank for your beer".​

We have been working on Vostok Space Beer for the past six years and we’ve come a long way. But now we want you to join the journey. Your support will allow us to initiate tooling and manufacturing so we can make Vostok Space Beer available to. With your backing, you can play a small role in sending the comforts from home with those who venture beyond our planet. You can know the impact you’ll have on not just us, the beer and space community, but beyond even our own planet, and the future of space travel and research.

For the love of beer, and on to space!

• To do and own something that no human on the planet has ever done before
• Be the first to get your hands on the world’s first beer for space.
• You’ve got a ticket to ride and you think it’d be awesome to drink beer on your space flight.
• You love beer.
• You love space.
• You want to support fun innovations like this so we can do more fun stuff that just makes the whole world a bit more fun.

JUNE 2010. Vostok is Born!

JULY 2010. First batch of 500 cases of Stout are bottled. Four small 5L kegs are prepped for testing and experimentation.

SEPTEMBER 2010: Astronauts4Hire (A4H) selected from a short-list of over 50 applicants to be the official Vostok in-flight beer taster and Zero gravity researcher.

NOVEMBER 2010: To understand the physical and chemical responses of beer in zero gravity we dropped the beer off a 23m drop tower (to simulate the effect of zero gravity).

DECEMBER 2010: A tester from A4H undergoes measurements of his body’s normal terrestrial responses to drinking.

FEBRUARY 2011: Microgravity test complete and history is made! This hits two milestones. It was humanity’s first look at alcohol absorption effects in zero gravity. It is also the first beer in aviation history to be formally tested on a commercial microgravity flight.

MAY 2011: Distribution of the stout (baseline Earth version) goes National in Australia.

SEPTEMBER 2011: Set the R&D plan for the Space Beer Bottle. With a literature review, concept to full spec design, engineering, test phases; it’s like making a fuel tank for your beer.

MAY 2012:  GOLD MEDAL and trophy winner at the Australian International Beer Awards. This beer is now officially the #1 Stout amongst a competitive set of beers from all over the world

JUNE 2012: Saber Astronautics completed the first phase on the Space Beer Bottle. The design passes simulation analysis to include vibration, fluid flows and surface tension.

SEPTEMBER 2012: Fresh off the press is the 3D printed Space Beer prototype. We took it to the 4 Pines filler machine to test the fittings.

DECEMBER 2012: We’ve narrowed down several concept CAD sketches for the Space Beer Bottle Insert.

NOVEMBER 2013: Saber Astronautics flies two prototypes with a highly successful ZERO-G test flight. One prototype 3D printed, one out of medical grade stainless steel.

FEBRUARY 2015: Industrial Design of the Space Beer Bottle begins, with the help of our pals at AUXILIARY and a design is selected. This then leads to concept refinement and down-selection to two bottle design options.

SEPTEMBER 2017: Scoured the planet for over a year on a journey to find manufacturers that were capable to build the world’s first beer for space.

JANUARY 2018: Industrial Design Engineering completed for two viable build configurations ready for high fidelity prototype testing in Zero Gravity

Off the back of those hefty space travel ticket prices, you’d want to be drinking the good beer you drink at home – and if it’s tasting good down here, imagine how it’d be up there, with views of our big blue globe.

It’s been a labour of love, a fine art – making a beer that can be enjoyed on earth as it is in the heavens. Human biology changes in zero gravity conditions. The tongue swells, the senses dull – altering the way food and drink tastes.

So what does the beer taste like? Well…out of this world! But seriously the baseline recipe is a dry Irish style Stout made with a seven-strong malt line-up. We picked a high flavoured beer as the baseline recipe to ensure that space travellers could enjoy the full flavour of the smoky Irish style Stout, no matter how long the flight duration. The aroma profile is of coffee, chocolate and caramel malts. These are matched on the palette with a full bodies, smooth finish and a balancing bitterness.

5.1% Alc/Vol | 40 IBU

"A dry Irish style stout, presenting almost black & bearing a generous tan head. Aromas of coffee, chocolate and caramel are matched with a full bodied mouthfeel, a smooth finish and rounding bitterness"

We're pretty stoked with our recipe for space, and it seems others' are too! We're humbled to have received many Beer Industry Awards:

• 2012| GOLD CHAMPION | Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA)
• 2013 | SILVER | Australian International Beer Awards 
• 2014 | SILVER | Australian International Beer Awards 
• 2015 | SILVER | Australian International Beer Awards 
• 2015 | SILVER | Craft Beer Industry Awards (CBIA)

Engineered and designed especially for drinking beer in space, the Vostok Space Beer bottle uses modified technology based on fuel tanks to defy the challenges of drinking in zero gravity​.

Once we validated the beer recipe, the next step was to develop technology that would allow people to drink the stout, or any liquid for that matter, from a bottle like their fellow land-dwellers. Because those hard-working astronautics shouldn’t have to drink their award winning beer from a ‘squeeze’ bag. They deserve a real bottle to let them kick back and feel at home.

And here is the challenge - liquid needs gravity to pour, so how do you get the beer out of the bottle, with it feeling like a normal bottle?  Squeegies, plungers, and springs only take away from that home feeling we want the astronauts to have.  And they also add pressure to the beer in ways we don’t want.

So to answer this question, the space ninjas, our partners at Saber Astronautics decided to use the forces available to us.  And that means surface tension, that mysterious elf who causes beer to cling to glasses on Earth, is a force to recon with in space.  Saber made an insert that can wick the beer from the bottom of the bottle to the neck, turning any normal bottle into a fuel tank for your beer.

*Please note that current images and footage here of Vostok Space Beer are prototypes and as such, the end product may slightly differ.

After successfully creating a flavourful, award-winning beer for space, we’re now in the final stages of testing and developing the technology that will allow space travellers to drink the beer in the same way as we do on Earth. We’re on a mission to make the World’s First Beer for Space become a reality!

8 years of Brewers and Space Engineers time to develop, test and approve:

• Space Beer recipe
• Wicking insert for bottle
• Bottle design

We currently have a working prototype and we're now focused on:

• Finalising the engineering schematics for final bottle production
• Designing packaging
• Developing the beer filling process
• Tooling
• Materials procurement
• Bottle production

• Filling the bottle with beer!
• Sending some lucky punters into space, to drink the first space beer!

We are doing something that has never been done before: beer in space. While there may be manufacturing and production delays outside of our control, we promise timely and transparent communication throughout the process.

In exchange for your contributions, we're offering some wicked perks including your very own zero gravity flight, with fresh space beer in hand, owning one of the first ever batch of Vostok Space Beers, limited editions tees and stickers, status as a Space Beer Co-Pioneers and a personal legacy in space beer development and research.

• You’ll be emailed a magical digital Space Beer high-five from our Co-founders
• You could also do a high-six if you are from another planet or perhaps you use some form of advanced telepathy for this?

• Limited edition Vostok Space Beer sticker, designed by 4 Pines beer label designer.
• Never to be seen again.

• Limited edition Vostok Space Beer tee, designed by 4 Pines beer label designer.
• Never to be seen again.

• Become a part of a brave new world, with your very own space beer bottle from humanity’s first ever commercial production run!
• Specifically designed for drinking liquid in zero gravity.
• Includes a Certificate of Authentication.
• Ships worldwide.
• Note this is the bottle only; no beer inside.

• A voucher, redeemable for one of the world’s very first beers ever created for space, produced in the first custom production run. Includes the beer and the beer bottle.
• Specifically designed for drinking in zero gravity conditions.
• Signed and serial numbered as the World’s first batch of Space Beer ever made.
• Includes serial numbers 101 – 5000.
• Includes a personalised, signed letter from our Co-founders with their hand-written seal of approval and thanks; to infinity and beyond.
• Only available for pick-up from various location in Australia, US and the UK.
• 18+ (21+ in US). Subject to local laws.

• A voucher, redeemable for one of the world’s very first 100 beers ever created for space, produced in the first custom production run.
• Specifically designed for drinking in zero gravity conditions.
• Signed and serial numbered as the World’s first batch of Space Beer ever made.
• Includes serial numbers 10-100
• Personalised, with your name etched on the bottle.
• Your name will feature on our Gold 100 Digital Honour Roll as one of the owners (and contributors) of the first 100 Space Beers ever made in human history.
• Personalised Members Golden Record with you and your fellow first 100 Space Beer owners etched on a golden record (Name and City) with a personal message of thanks on the record from Dr. Jason Held & Jaron Mitchell.  One sent to you and a copy will feature at 4 Pines, the home of Space Beer (and probably in Museums of the future!)
• 4 Pines VIP Experience: personalised tour at 4 Pines Brewery at the home of Space Beer and lunch with one of our Co-founders (travel to 4 Pines Brewery not included)
• Beer available for pick-up from various location in Australia, US and the UK.
• 18+ (21+ in US). Subject to local laws.

• Return economy class travel from anywhere in Australia, UK or US to Cape Canaveral, Florida (flights may not be included if the winner resides within a reasonable driving distance to Cape Canaveral, and if so, we'll organise a luxury travel option to and from the accommodation, let us know where you are from and we can let you know exact).
• 4-star accommodation for 3 nights.
• Zero gravity parabolic flight with ZERO-G Corporation where you will test the world’s first beer for space alongside our Co-founder.
• A voucher, redeemable for one of the world’s very first 100 beers ever created for space, produced in the first custom production run.
  • Specifically designed for drinking in zero gravity conditions.
  • Signed and serial numbered as the World’s first batch of Space Beer ever made.
  • Serial Numbers from 10-100.
  • Personalised, with your name etched on the bottle.
• Your name will feature on our Gold 100 Digital Honour Roll as one of the owners (and contributors) of the first 100 Space Beers ever made in human history.
• Personalised Members Golden Record with you and your fellow first 100 Space Beer owners etched on a golden record (Name and City) with a personal message of thanks on the record from Dr. Jason Held & Jaron Mitchell.  One sent to you and a copy will feature at 4 Pines, the home of Space Beer (and probably in Museums of the future!)
• Tour of NASA
• Your name as a Co-Pioneer in the credits of our Vostok Space Beer video journey.
• 4 Pines VIP Experience: personalised tour at 4 Pines Brewery at the home of Space Beer and lunch with one of our Co-founders (travel to 4 Pines Brewery not included)
• Beer only available for pick-up from various location in Australia, US and the UK.
• 18+ (21+ in US). Subject to local laws. Additional T&C's**

• Return luxury travel from anywhere in Australia, UK or US to Cape Canaveral, Florida. (for example if you live close by, we'll get you there in a private helicopter, if you live far, far away, we guarantee that travel will be premium economy as a minimum - price depending we are shooting for business class travel, let us know where you are from and we can let you know exact).
• 5-star accommodation for 3 nights.
• Zero gravity parabolic flight with ZERO-G Corporation where you will test the world’s first beer for space alongside our Co-founders.
• A voucher, redeemable for one of the world’s very first 100 beers ever created for space, produced in the first custom production run.
  • Specifically designed for drinking in zero gravity conditions.
  • Signed and serial numbered as the World’s first batch of Space Beer ever made.
  • Serial numbers 4-9 are reserved for this perk and you can even request your favourite number (first in, best dressed!)
  • Personalised, with your name etched on the bottle.
• Your name will feature on our Gold 100 Digital Honour Roll as one of the owners (and contributors) of the first 100 Space Beers ever made in human history.
• Personalised Members Golden Record with you and your fellow first 100 Space Beer owners etched on a golden record (Name and City) with a personal message of thanks on the record from Dr. Jason Held & Jaron Mitchell.  One sent to you and a copy will feature at 4 Pines, the home of Space Beer (and probably in Museums of the future!)
• Tour of NASA
• Dinner with our Co-Founders Jaron Mitchell & Dr. Jason Held.
• Your name in the lead credits as a Space Beer Pioneer of our Vostok Space Beer video journey.
• 4 Pines VIP Experience: personalised tour at 4 Pines Brewery at the home of Space Beer and lunch with one of our Co-founders (travel to 4 Pines Brewery not included)
• Beer only available for pick-up from various location in Australia, US and the UK
• 18+ (21+ in US). Subject to local laws. Additional T&C's**

**Space Beer Weekender and 1^st Class Weekender additional T&C's

You must be able to take the perk on on mutually agreed dates and must have a current passport with at least 6 months validity at the time of taking the perk and be able to obtain a visa in the United States in accordance with the laws of the United States.

All costs associated with the prize that are not expressly stated in the Prize Details, including but not limited to any additional transfer costs, meals/beverages, passport and visa costs, additional taxes, insurance, baggage costs, in-room/mini bar charges, and all other ancillary costs are the responsibility of the contributor.

For shipping of Perks with beer, the following applies: 

• Beer will only be available to the following countries: Australia, UK and the US. 
• For Australia and the UK there will be various pick-up options at no additional cost. With appropriate I.D there will also be mail options with additional cost.
• For the US, there will only be pick-up options, there are yet to be determined, however our aim for US residents in major cities is that these pick-up locations will be within 150 miles and often far closer.

The joint venture between 4 Pines & Saber Astronautics started over a few innocent beers at the 4 Pines Brewpub in Manly.

We would talk about space, we would talk about beer, we would talk about other things as well. Luckily the head of Saber is a PhD and has about 15 degrees otherwise we may have never have got to this point. One day he asks the 4 Pines founder “so how would you like to put your beer into space?” Pure Genius.

In addition to our core Space Beer team, we've assembled an incredible group of engineers, designers, and industry experts who are collaborating with us to bring Space Beer to infinity and beyond!

      Jaron Mitchell: Chief of Beer Chiefs at 4 Pines Brewing Co.

     Dr. Jason Held: Chief Executive Officer at Saber Astronautics

Pines was born over a decade ago from a casual conversation between a father and son, post surf, who simply wanted an exceptional beer and options were limited. Built on throwing convention out the window, using alternative methods to measure success and having fun while we did it, this innocent conversation that evolved into a brewpub became the foundation of a lifelong journey with family, friends and the community to restore the fun in people’s lives and forever challenge what the world imagines business should be. Our quest to send beer into space is just one example of this.

The specially brewed 4 Pines Dry Irish Stout needed to balance both a rich flavour with low levels of carbonation to avoid a ‘wet burp’ in space. Burping both gas and liquid isn’t ideal for space tourists, so a rigorous amount of zero gravity testing was conducted to achieve the perfect beer. The beer has been commercially available in Australia since 2011 as 4 Pines Dry Irish Stout and won a gold medal at the 2012 Australian International Beer Awards.

*4 Pines Brewing Co. is backed by ZX Ventures, the disruptive growth organisation of Ab InBev.

4 Pines Brewing Co. Australian Liquor Licence No: 8585

Saber Astronautics is a space engineering company conducting cutting edge R&D in the fields of operations and logistics. We design tools for emerging commercial space industry and apply them to everyday challenges on Earth. Our partners have engineered legacy projects such as the Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station. We have senior operators from US Army and Air Force Space Command and two PhD graduates from a world class field robotics laboratory in Sydney.

"From the dawn of civilisation, people brewed beer and wherever people went, beer followed".

Since the start of our journey our research and development has featured in many publications.
See below or click here for more.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1388228/Australian-brewers-aim-tackle-final-frontier-space-age-beer-Vostok-4-Pines-Stout.html

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2016/06/14/boldly-go-where-no-beer-has-gone

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/space-beer-2011-5?r=US&IR=T

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/beam-me-up-shhhcotty--the-aussie-space-beer-with-zero-gravity-20101001-15zzh.html

http://www.news.com.au/technology/vostok-beer-is-a-sturdy-stout-you-can-swig-in-space/story-e6frfro0-1226013624363

http://www.geek.com/geek-cetera/vostok-4-pines-stout-space-beer-brewed-for-zero-gravity-1380379/

http://www.beerandbrewer.com/4-pines-brings-bottled-beer-in-space-one-step-closer/

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/02/16/3140547.htm

http://www.space.com/11706-space-beer-microgravity.html

http://www.executivestyle.com.au/space-beer-brewed-for-zerogravity-thirst-1es94

https://foodmag.com.au/space-beer-one-giant-leap-for-mankind/

https://www.cnet.com/au/news/space-beer-a-step-closer-to-coming-right-up/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/8518633/Australians-create-space-beer-for-intergalactic-tourists.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/space-beer-will-refresh-parts-others-cannot-reach-2285523.html

http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/drink/beer-space-tours-could-be-possible-2013-104258/