Helium Beer: Where To Buy In Michigan?

Helium beer is a hoax that has gained popularity due to viral videos and pranks. While the concept of beer that changes your voice to a high pitch is intriguing, it is scientifically impossible. Helium does not dissolve in liquids like carbon dioxide or nitrogen, which are used in traditional carbonation. Therefore, you will not find true helium-infused beer for sale anywhere in Michigan or any other part of the United States. The videos and claims about helium beer are staged for entertainment, and the product itself is a myth.

Helium beer is a hoax

The hoax typically involves replacing the carbon dioxide used for beer carbonation with helium. This idea faces several significant challenges. Firstly, helium is not water-soluble. It will immediately rise and escape from the beer, making it impossible to aerate the beverage with helium. Moreover, helium only turns from gas to liquid at an extremely low temperature of -220 degrees Fahrenheit or 452°F, which is far below the freezing point of beer. Attempting to add liquid helium to beer would result in the beer freezing solid.

The hoax gained widespread attention in 2014 when co-founder of The Boston Beer Company, Jim Koch, and quality assurance manager at Stone Brewing Co., Rick Blankemeier, released viral videos on April Fool's Day. Koch featured a beer called "HeliYum," while Blankemeier showcased "Cr(He)am Ale," both falsely claiming to give drinkers a high-pitched voice. These videos sparked a wave of similar pranks and illusions, with people creating fake videos of themselves drinking non-existent helium beers and editing their voices to sound squeaky.

While the concept of helium beer is entertaining, it is important to understand that it is nothing more than a hoax. The laws of physics and chemistry dictate that helium beer is a scientific impossibility. Additionally, inhaling helium can be dangerous, as it replaces oxygen in the body. Prolonged exposure to concentrated levels of helium can even pose a risk of suffocation in very rare cases.

So, despite the persistent myth and intriguing idea, helium beer remains a hoax and cannot be purchased in Michigan or anywhere else.

It's scientifically impossible to infuse beer with helium

It is scientifically impossible to infuse beer with helium. This is because helium is not water-soluble, so it will not dissolve in liquid in the same way that carbon dioxide or nitrogen does for traditional carbonation. Therefore, as soon as you try to aerate the beer, all the helium will escape from the top.

Even if you were to add liquid helium to beer, it would freeze the beer solid. This is because helium only turns from gas to liquid at extremely low temperatures of -220°F or 452°F, depending on the source.

The idea of helium beer is a hoax that resurfaces a few times a year, often around April Fool's Day. Several major breweries have contributed to the prank, including Stone Brewing Co., Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Company), and Berkshire Brewing Company. These companies have released videos pretending to have crafted helium beer, with some even demonstrating how their voices have changed after drinking it. However, these videos are staged for entertainment and are scientifically impossible.

While you cannot buy helium-infused beer, there are plenty of unique and novelty beers available at local craft breweries, specialty liquor stores, or beer festivals. These include beers with unusual ingredients, such as spices, fruits, or chili peppers, as well as beers aged in different types of barrels for unique flavors.

Helium does not dissolve in liquid

Helium is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is the lowest among all the elements, and it does not have a melting point at standard pressures.

Helium is present at about 24% of the total elemental mass, which is more than 12 times the mass of all the heavier elements combined. Its abundance is similar in both the Sun and Jupiter. The most common isotope of helium in the universe is helium-4, formed during the Big Bang.

Liquid helium is a physical state of helium at very low temperatures and standard atmospheric pressures. At standard pressure, helium exists in a liquid form only at an extremely low temperature of −269 °C (−452.20 °F; 4.15 K). Its boiling point and critical point depend on the isotope of helium present: the common isotope helium-4 or the rare isotope helium-3. These are the only two stable isotopes of helium.

Helium was first liquefied on July 10, 1908, by the Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. In recent decades, liquid helium has been used as a cryogenic refrigerant and is produced commercially for use in superconducting magnets such as those used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).

Helium's inertness, high thermal conductivity, and other unique properties make it useful in various applications, including gas chromatography, welding, leak detection, and controlled atmospheres for growing silicon and germanium crystals. However, despite its widespread use, helium does not dissolve in liquids.

Helium beer videos are staged

It's understandable if you've seen the videos of people drinking helium beer and believed them. After all, they're very convincing, and it seems like a fun idea. However, it's important to know that these videos are staged and helium beer doesn't actually exist.

The first and most famous video was released on April 1, 2014, by Stone Brewing Co. The video, just under four minutes long, features Rick Blankemeier and Mitch Steele of Stone Brewing Co. going into "deep science talk" about their Stochasticity Project Cr(He)am Ale. The video is very convincing, and the pair sound like they know what they're talking about when they discuss how they've managed to produce "helium beer". However, it's all an elaborate prank. The video was released on April Fool's Day, and the beer doesn't actually exist.

Following the release of this video, dozens of copycat videos started appearing online, with people pretending to drink helium beer and showing off their high-pitched voices. These videos are also staged, and the people in them are just pretending to have drunk helium beer. The original video and its copies are so convincing that they've fooled thousands of people into believing that helium beer is real.

It's not just the videos that are fake; it's the entire concept of helium beer. Helium beer is scientifically impossible to create. Helium is not soluble in water or beer, so you can't carbonate beer with it like you can with carbon dioxide or nitrogen. Even if you could somehow add helium to beer, it would cause gushing because helium is not soluble. Additionally, liquid helium turns into gas at -220°F, so trying to add it to beer would just result in a frozen beverage.

So, while the videos of people drinking helium beer and speaking in high-pitched voices are entertaining, it's important to know that they're all staged and that helium beer is nothing more than an elaborate prank.

There are novelty beers with unusual ingredients

While helium beer is not a real product, there are plenty of novelty beers with unusual ingredients to explore. These unique beers can be found at local craft breweries, specialty liquor stores, or beer festivals. Here are some examples of beers with unconventional ingredients:

Spices, Fruits, and Chili Peppers

Some brewers experiment with adding spices, fruits, or even chili peppers to their beers, creating complex and unexpected flavors. These ingredients can add a kick of heat, a touch of sweetness, or a subtle spice note to the brew.

Sour Beers

If you're looking for something truly unusual, sour beers offer a tart and tangy flavor profile that is sure to pucker your palate. This style of beer often undergoes a secondary fermentation with wild yeast or bacteria, resulting in a delightfully acidic and refreshing beverage.

Rauchbier

For a smoky taste, try a Rauchbier, a German specialty. The name translates to "smoke beer," and it gets its distinctive character from malt that has been dried over an open flame, imparting a unique, bacony flavor.

Barrel-Aged Beers

Aging beer in different types of barrels can impart complex flavors to the brew. Bourbon barrels, for instance, can lend hints of vanilla and oak, while wine barrels may contribute fruity or tannic notes, creating a truly unique drinking experience.

Extreme Brewing

Some brewers take things to the next level with extreme brewing, pushing the boundaries of strength, flavor, and ingredients. An example of this is BrewDog's "The End of History," which has a whopping 55% alcohol content and comes packaged with a taxidermized squirrel koozie.

Unconventional Yeast Sources

Yeast is a crucial ingredient in beer, and some brewers have gotten creative with their sources. For instance, 40FT Brewery's "Odious Ale" uses yeast cultured from Roald Dahl's writing chair, while Rogue Ales' "Beard Beer" is made with yeast grown in the beard of their retired head brewer, John Maier.

Prehistoric Yeast

Taking it a step further back in time, Fossil Fuels' "Jurassic Saison" is brewed with yeast DNA extracted from a 45-million-year-old piece of fossilized amber. This ancient yeast gives the beer a truly primitive character.

Local Delicacies

Some brewers incorporate local delicacies into their beers, like Stedji Brewery's "Hvalur," an Icelandic beer made with sheep dung-smoked whale testicles. Another example is Wynkoop Brewing's "Rocky Mountain Oysters Stout," brewed with bison testicles, a local delicacy in the Mountain West.

Sustainable Innovations

Some breweries are getting innovative with sustainability. Pisner by Nørrebro Bryghus is made with malted barley fertilized by human urine collected from Denmark's Roskilde music festival. Meanwhile, Saint James Brewery's "Sea King: Sunken Ship Beer" is made with yeast salvaged from bottles found in the wreck of the SS Oregon, which sank in 1886!

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