I have read that the beer called “4 pine vostok”, from the 4 pine brewery, has been specifically created to be used in space to be safe for astronauts.
Why is is not safe for astronauts to drink regular beer?
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Carbonated drinks in space are bad.
The reason the drink is fizzy is because there’s a lot of CO2 in the drink — more than it could typically hold. When it’s in the can or bottle, it’s under pressure and being held in there. When you open the drink up, the CO2 suddenly has a release path, although it isn’t all instantaneous. A lot of it still remains in the liquid as you drink it (or if you wait long enough, the drink loses all its dissolved CO2 and becomes *flat*).
If you or I drink a soda, the liquid settles in the bottom of our stomach, and as the CO2 escapes, it floats to the top of our stomach. Once there’s enough CO2 released, the pressure in our stomachs becomes so high our body realizes it needs to release a little and burps.
If you were in space though, the liquid doesn’t settle in the bottom and the gas doesn’t rise to the top. Instead, the pressure just builds up everywhere in your stomach, and when you go to burp, some liquid is also pushed out.
So basically every burp from a can of soda or a beer would be a little bit of throwup instead.
Beyond that, you also have to consider that you can’t “pour” liquids in space. If you somehow had a glass of water, turning it upside down doesn’t pour the water out to drink. Everything astronauts drink is in pouches and uses a straw. That can have a big impact on the way you perceive a drink. Vostok actually made some sort of pressurized container that can be used to drink beer more accustomed to a normal bottle rather than like a capri sun.
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