NASA Technology in Beer Bubbles

Cool! Thanks for the link.

BTW, my point of view is that if anyone thinks NASA and the space program didn't do anything for them, at least indirectly, they hasn't bothered to look at the spinoffs that have taken place over the years.

 

And don't forget:



Given the current popularity of craft breweries brewing with grapefruit, orange, tangerine,... it is only a matter of time where Tang is used to brew a beer!!!

Cheers!

P.S. Tang was not specifically 'invented' by NASA but the fact that Astronauts drank it....

 

Ever had TropiCannon?

 

Nope. I never even heard of it so I looked it up; from the Heavy Seas website:

"Our brand new citrus IPA is exploding with bright citrus aroma and flavor. Creating an exciting new variation on our flagship Loose Cannon, TropiCannon clocks in at the same 7.25%ABV as it's cousin, but packs a full blast of blood orange, grapefruit, mango and lemon flavor. We've downplayed some of Loose Cannon's piney-ness and amped up the citrus by swapping Centennial and Palisade hops for Amarillo and even more Simcoe. We've introduced dried grapefruit, orange and lemon peel in the brewing process and added mango, blood orange and more grapefruit post-fermentation."

Lots of fruit stuff in that beer!!

How does it taste?

Cheers!

 

Tastes like Tang, i.e. it's terrible for a beer, at least to me. My review

 

Some snippets from your review:

“Tastes like an intentionally bittered Tang--just weird as hell.”

And:

“TropiCannon seems absolutely, 100% artificial. Unless they were seriously trying to make SpaceDrink.2, this is just ridiculous. I seriously doubt there are any real world food ingredients used to create these flavor and aroma profiles.”

Well according to the Heavy Seas website this beer was brewed using natural ingredients.

Maybe if some brewery brewed a Tang-beer it will taste natural to you!?!

Cheers!

 

Haha jack got eemmmmm!!!

 

lol really? I would prefer breweries stay away from artificial ingredients. Even if Heavy Seas says it's "natural," I'd hope there is a law to force them to use natural and actual crops, but I bet there isn't, and I frankly don't believe them considering the extremely odd and powerful aroma/flavor profiles.

Upon second look, I'm not the only one to knock this beer, per other recent reviews:

"the taste is very medicinal...Drain pour for me sorry."

"the aftertaste is too medicinal and the orange tastes like some type of cough syrup"

"It smells of stale orange juice and pennies...Taste is about the same. A cloying orangey pixie stick. Oily like that found in fragrance oils. Has a horrible astringency like biting into an Advil liquigel. Makes me squint."

 

There is a law. They are following it. They can not say "natural flavors" when using artificial ingredients.

I suspect that what you are meaning to say is that for something like, say, grapefuit flavor you want them to use real grapefruit rather than natural ingredients that taste like grapefruit. But then you'd also have to want them to not use any hops that create flavors like grapefruit.

 

I've never had a beer label that said "this is a grapefruit beer," yet the grapefruit notes were actually derived from hops. They may say it smells/tastes like grapefruit, and that's totally cool.

I don't want the craft beer industry to turn into another soda industry where we're all just supporting chemical companies recognized as "flavored drink" companies. I get Heavy Seas says this is "natural," but to me it tastes totally fake. Even if it is natural, (and their description leaves a lot of wiggle room), I just hope this sort of thing in the craft beer industry doesn't catch fire with the public, it's a slippery slope into a landscape I don't want anything to do with.

 

That's exactly why there is a law in place that requires "artificial" if such ingredients are used. When the label says "natural" the ingredients must be natural regardless of whether it tastes that way to you or me. Its totally fine if you say the beer tastes artificial to you but that doesn't mean the ingredients are artificial. But so far as "wiggle" room they only wiggle room they have is choosing how to get the grapefruit flavors in the beer using natural ingredients.

BTW, just because you've not seen on the label that there is grapefruit in the beer doesn't mean such beers don't exist. In the last few months I've had one or two that made a point of mentioning on the label or adverts that they used grapefruit in the brewing.

Edit: left for a bit to confirm something. Sam Adams Rebel Grapefruit IPA ad/description makes a point of mentioning that grapefruit are used in the brewing. (So that's at least part of where they get their natural ingredients that provide grapefruit flavor.)

 

See, to me, where the problem begins is when a company starts trying to achieve a flavor through means other than using the actual crop that is the inspiration.

Using a recent experience as a point of contrast, Waldos is amazing because it's going for loads of fresh hops and does it well. We all might perceive tons of tropical fruits or cannabis or whatever your experience with it is, but the goal isn't to make a fruit-like beer, it's more like providing the experience of tripping into a dew covered unharvested crop of hops, by using hops. There just happens to be all these other added positive side effects and aromas and flavors those hops produce.

But if you're going to pursue specific flavors through means other than the actual crop that contains those flavors, and that becomes acceptable and even valued by consumers, then where does it end? Okay sure, first we use "natural" ingredients to achieve grapefruit flavor in our grapefruit flavored beer. But at what point will we be buying IPAs that have "natural hop flavoring" derived from insect carapace, instead of actual hops? Is that acceptable to you?

Also, that's neither what I said nor what I meant regarding your "grapefruit in the beer" response.

 

Look, I really do understand your concerns about the slippery slope. But that slope is the reason the labeling laws are in place and it doesn't matter if it's acceptable to me. If it's natural it's natural.

If the label says something is made with real grapefruit then it damn well better be. If the label says it's made with "natural" ingredients it can be derived from anything that is natural, but it is not "artificial" whether I like it or not. I probably will choose not to drink "natural" flavored beers after having at least tried them once, but I've also eaten enough weird things in my life to only really care about the difference between "natural" and "artificial."

Enjoy your evening!

 

great...even more gov't involvement in one of my passions in life :/

 

Maple Bacon Coffee Porter would be a good example. Per the label its, "Malt beverage brewed with maple syrup, coffee and natural flavors" but contains no bacon as that 'natural' flavor comes from the roasted malt used. This is very very common in beer and other food products.

 

Or get in a car and drive on the road

 

And the name will undoubtedly be "Wang Dang Sweet ...'Tang Ale "