Helium Beer: Legal In The Us?

Helium beer is a hoax that first surfaced in April 2014 when Stone Brewing and Sam Adams (Boston Beer Company) released videos announcing their own versions of the product. The videos were professionally made and featured the founders taking sips of helium-infused beer and speaking in high-pitched voices. The videos were released on April 1st, but this detail was often missed, and the prank was so believable that it even caught the eye of fact-checking website Snopes. Since then, the hoax has resurfaced several times, with other companies and internet pranksters creating similar videos and content. Despite this, helium beer is not only impossible to brew but also impossible to consume, as helium is not soluble in water and would not stay in the beer long enough for anyone to drink it.

Helium beer is a hoax

The videos quickly went viral, with people eager to get their hands on this unique brew. However, it didn't take long for articles to start circulating, debunking the very idea of a helium infusion. The main problem with the concept is that helium is not soluble in water, so it cannot be used to carbonate beer like carbon dioxide or nitrogen. Additionally, helium turns into a gas at -220°F, so adding liquid helium to beer would result in frozen beer.

Despite the hoax being debunked, the public's fascination with helium beer has persisted, with people continuing to search for it online and ask craft beer experts about it. The prank is so believable that it even caught the eye of the urban legend website Snopes, which concluded that helium beer is just a hoax.

While it is technically possible to create a beer with helium in it, it won't have the desired effect of making you sound like you've inhaled the gas from a balloon. In 2015, scientists at Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) created a helium-infused beer, but while it had a smooth mouthfeel and a stable head, it did not affect the drinkers' voices. So, while you may be able to buy a beer with helium in it, it won't give you a squeaky voice.

It's impossible to brew

Secondly, helium turns from a liquid to a gas at an extremely low temperature of -220°Fahrenheit. Therefore, if you tried to add liquid helium to beer, you would end up freezing the beer.

Finally, even if you could somehow add helium to beer, it would cause gushing due to its insolubility in the beverage. This would result in the beer quickly losing its carbonation and becoming flat.

These scientific facts make it clear that brewing helium-infused beer is simply not possible, despite the creative pranks and viral videos that have circulated over the years.

It's not for sale in the US

Helium beer is not for sale in the US. In fact, it is not possible to make helium beer. The idea of helium beer is based on the novelty of drinking beer and then speaking with a high-pitched voice, much like the effect of sucking helium from a balloon. However, the reality is that helium beer is nothing but a hoax.

The concept behind helium beer is to replace the carbon dioxide used to carbonate beer with helium. This is a crucial part of the brewing process, but it is not possible with helium due to its insolubility with water. Helium would immediately rise out of the beer, and attempts to add liquid helium would also fail as it requires freezing temperatures of -220 degrees Fahrenheit, which would result in frozen beer.

Despite these scientific facts, the idea of helium beer continues to capture the imagination of many. This fascination can be traced back to April 1st, 2014, when Stone Brewing and Sam Adams (Boston Beer Company) released satirical videos announcing the release of their own helium beers. These videos were elaborate pranks, taking advantage of April Fool's Day to create a believable hoax. Stone Brewing's video, in particular, was very convincing, with a long and scientific-sounding explanation of how they brewed their "Stone Stochasticity Project Cr(He)am Ale".

The videos sparked widespread interest, with people eagerly searching for this unique brew. Craft beer websites and breweries were inundated with inquiries from curious customers. The prank was so successful that it has since been replicated by numerous copycats, keeping the hoax alive and continuing to dupe people even years later.

While it is technically possible to force "heliumnate" a beer by subjecting it to helium pressure, this process does not result in a change in the drinker's voice pitch. The beer may have a creamy head and a smooth mouthfeel, but it will lack the bubbles and flavour of standard carbonation.

It was an April Fool's joke

It was an April Fools' joke.

In April 2014, Stone Brewing Co. released a video announcing the launch of their new beer, Cr(He)am Ale, a cream ale with helium. The video, posted on April 1, featured two men drinking the beer and their voices changing in the same way as if they had inhaled helium. The video was an instant hit, with over 30 million views on Facebook. Stone Brewing Co.'s owners created a long, scientific-sounding video describing how they had managed to produce "helium beer". They named the project "Stone Stochasticity Project Cr(He)am Ale", a scientific-sounding name that added to the prank's credibility.

On the same day, Sam Adams, or the Boston Beer Company, also released a satirical video announcing the release of HeliYum, a "radical, extreme new beer that leverages the wonderful properties of helium". The video showed founder Jim Koch taking a sip of the helium-infused brew and then describing its taste in a high-pitched voice. The professional quality of the video and Koch's commitment to the joke made it easy to believe that helium beer was real.

The following year, in March 2015, Die BierProbierer posted a German-language "review" of the Sam Adams product, which also went viral. This was followed by a wave of similar videos and articles, with many people attempting to debunk the hoax. The hoax was so widespread that Snopes even fact-checked the claims made by Sam Adams and Stone Brewing Co.

Despite the amount of attention the prank received, it is impossible to brew helium beer. This is because helium is not soluble in water, and it turns from liquid to gas at -220°F, which would freeze the beer. Additionally, helium would immediately rise out of the beer as soon as it is aerated.

So, while the pranksters behind these videos may have fooled a lot of people, the science behind beer-making means that helium-infused beer will never be a reality.

It's not soluble in water

Helium beer is a hoax that has gained a lot of attention over the years, especially on April Fool's Day. The concept behind it is simple: drinking beer infused with helium will make your voice sound high-pitched, just like sucking the gas from a balloon. However, the science behind the hoax is that helium is not soluble in water.

Helium is a noble gas that occurs as separate atoms and does not react with other particles. It has the second-highest prevalence in the universe but only accounts for 5 ppm volume of the atmosphere. Helium concentrations in seawater are typically no higher than 4-7 ppt. This low concentration is due to helium's lack of reactivity with other substances.

The solubility of helium in water is extremely low. At a temperature of 20°C and pressure of 1 bar, only 1.5 mg of helium dissolves in water. This means that if you try to aerate the beer, the helium will escape from the liquid, rendering the beer flat and flavourless.

Liquid helium only exists at extremely low temperatures, below -269°C. Therefore, adding liquid helium to beer would result in a frozen beverage. The hoax videos that have circulated on the internet showing people drinking helium-infused beer and experiencing voice changes are clever editing tricks.

While the idea of helium beer is amusing, it is essential to understand that it is scientifically impossible. The hoax has been perpetuated by various companies and individuals, but it is based on false claims and unrealistic expectations.

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