You may have heard of a beer with helium in it, but can you really drink it? While it would create a very smooth mouthfeel, it wouldn’t change the taste of your beer. Plus, it wouldn’t affect your voice in any way. And, besides, liquid helium isn’t soluble in water.
Adding liquid helium to beer isn’t possible
While the concept of adding liquid helium to beer is intriguing, it’s not feasible to create a beer with this gas. Helium is not soluble in water and would simply leave the beer without any fizz. Liquid helium turns to gas at -220 degrees Fahrenheit, so adding it to beer would cause the beer to get frozen. In addition, adding liquid helium to beer would cause the beer to become hard. There is no way to brew beer with helium, even in a controlled lab.
The idea of adding liquid helium to beer was teased in an April Fool’s prank video. The man in the video sipped the beer and offered it to others. Many people believed that this beer was real, but it was not. As it turns out, the beer he served wasn’t infused with liquid helium at all.
Beer is a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The carbon dioxide in the beer creates bubbles, and the nitrogen helps the solution form more bubbles. The nitrogen in the liquid helps the solution form smaller bubbles, which creates a smoother mouthfeel. A typical nitrogenated beer has a smooth mouthfeel and is bubbly and aromatic. It also tastes creamy and isn’t acidic. While adding liquid helium to beer isn’t possible, the nitrogen used in a beer cannot alter the voice.
Adding helium to beer creates a smooth mouthfeel
Helium is a gas lighter than air and cannot be added to beer naturally. The presence of this gas creates a smooth mouthfeel for beer and has been added to commercial brews such as Guinness and Samuel Adams. Beers with this gas can be described as smooth and creamy and have a softer voice than beer that does not have helium.
Adding helium to beer is a growing trend. This trend has begun with the production of a helium-infused beer by Samuel Adams and Stone Brewing Company. The videos claiming to sell the beer went viral. The YouTubers rated the helium-infused beer. In another video, Jim Koch claims that he has created an “extreme new beer” infused with helium.
Helium is 700 times less soluble than carbon dioxide and is thus one of the least soluble gases. This means that it would not dissolve in water and would only be released as a fizzy bubble. Without a proper seal, the helium would come out and cause a mess.
It doesn’t change your voice
The craze for helium-infused beer started when a YouTube video from Stone Brewing Company appeared. The video said that the beer was infused with helium and had a better mouthfeel. However, we’re not so sure that beer with helium will change your voice.
Helium dissipates quickly, and therefore, would not stay in the wine bubbles for long. As the helium gas does not penetrate the larynx, where the vocal cords are located, it would have a minimal effect on voice timbre. It would, however, change the voice for a couple of seconds after consumption.
While helium can’t be naturally present in beer, it can be added manually. It is lighter than air, which is one of the reasons why beer with helium can have an unnaturally high pitch. Interestingly, several commercial breweries made videos demonstrating this effect on beer. However, the videos are not actually true. Instead, they are just pranks.
It isn’t soluble in water
Beers made from helium are not soluble in water, but they have small bubbles that form the top of the drink. However, they wouldn’t last long if helium were added to the beverage. A 2015 experiment published in Chemical & Engineering News attempted to make a beer made from helium. The experiment was conducted by Kevin Wepasnick, a chemist and surface scientist at Anderson Materials Evaluation. In order to make the beer, he used a cream stout style and added hops. He then fermented the mixture for two weeks with standard equipment.
At the end of the second week, the beer had a stable density because the yeast had converted sugars into alcohol. Since the experiment is relatively new, it is difficult to verify its authenticity. However, many users have jumped on the hype about helium beer. The internet is an excellent platform for spreading myths and misinformation. The brewers of Stone Brewing Co. posted videos of the beer and it went viral. The videos received millions of views and many shares. However, it’s important to note that the videos filmed using helium beer are simply pranks.
