Colorado Sixth Grader's Beer Making Experiment to Head to Space

An 11-year-old boy from Colorado, Michal Bodzianowski, has come up with an unusual concept - brewing beer in space.

The proposal by Michal to test beer brewing in microgravity won him the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education competition and his prize winning entry will be launched into space in December.

Michal got the idea of brewing beer in space from the books he got for Christmas that contained weird facts. One amazing fact he discovered was that people in Middle Ages drank beer instead of water as it was safer to drink. With this proposal, Michal doesn't intend to get the astronauts drunk but plans to create beer facilities as an option other than water.

"I really didn't expect this from the start. I just designed this experiment to get a good grade in my class," Michal, a student at Douglas County's STEM School and Academy, told KDVR.com. 

Beating 4,000 competitors, Michal's proposal is one among the 11 experiments chosen to be sent to space. The experiment involves a six inch long silicon tube with clasps, segregating hops, malted barley, yeast and water, all of which are necessary for brewing beer.  The equipment will be sent to space and tested by astronauts aboard ISS.  As the experiment will be conducted hundreds of miles away from Earth, Michal himself will do the same on Earth to match the results, Fox reports.

NASA has invited Michal and his teacher in December to witness the launch of his experiment titled "What are the Effects of Creation of Beer in Microgravity and Is it Possible?"

"It was so much more impactful than just studying something in the classroom, then writing a report on it, and moving on to the next thing," Sharon Combs, a teacher who worked with students on their projects told the Denver Post. "It was an opportunity for them to experience science as real life, doing lab experiments with the intricacies demanded by NASA."

All the chosen experiments will be launched from Cape Canaveral.