Consuming beer is the norm at most beer events, says MoSH special events coordinator John Wesley Mullikin. “People go to drink beer.”
But, he adds, “That’s not what I am.”
Guests at Science of Beer, which was held January 12th at Memphis Science & History (MoSH) Museum, drank beer — and learned about it at the same time.
“The thing that makes me different is I’ve got the education component. Where people are actually learning things. I try to get everybody to talk about what’s different about your beer. What makes your beer special.”
They usually say, “We’re in Memphis because of the water. The aquifer. Memphis makes the best beer.”
Rhodes College was back this year. They made and offered a fact sheet about how to make “liquid nitrogen ice cream.” With beer.
People might not be thinking about ice cream on a January evening with temperatures dropping from the lower 30s to the upper 20s, but summer will be rolling around before long.
The recipe begins about like most ice cream recipes with one quart of half and half and one quart of whipping cream as well as granulated sugar.
Then weird science takes over. According to the recipe, “Add about two to three liters of liquid nitrogen slowly and in small portions into the mix and stir with a wooden spoon. Pour a little at a time and stir; then continue adding small amounts of liquid nitrogen until you have the desired consistency. One person should be stirring while another pours in the LN2.”
Makers of regular ice cream might drip some half and half on their clothes, which is no biggie. But, liquid nitrogen ice cream makers shouldn’t drip anything on what they’re wearing. According to the fact sheet, liquid nitrogen is “extremely cold” — as in more than 320 degrees below Fahrenheit. “Pouring some on unprotected skin is actually less dangerous than on clothing in contact with skin.”
As opposed to vanilla extract or some other ingredient people use making conventional ice cream, the fact sheet goes on to say, “There is an initial shielding effect called the Liedenfrost Barrier that offers short-term protection against the freezing effects of LN2.”
But, it continues, “Keeping it in contact with LN2 for more than a few seconds, however, will cause enough heat to be drained away from your skin to minimize the Liedenfrost Barrier effect and allow the LN2 to come in contact and cause serious frostbite burns.
“Pouring it on clothing is potentially more dangerous since it ‘soaks’ into cloth and if the cloth is right against the skin that can cause quicker frostbite burns.”
So, don’t get burned when you’re trying to get chilled. And don’t forget to add the beer.
Manning the Rhodes booth this year were Sam Lippe, Lauren Boughter, Keith Hoffmeister, and Dr. Gregory Vieira.
In addition to the Rhodes physics department, Protect our Aquifer, The University of Memphis’ Center for Applied Earth Sciences and Engineering Research (CAESER), and Wolf River Conservancy featured demonstrations. Board to Beers had four stations of games for guests to play. Guests also could pay Giant Jenga and mini golf while wearing beer goggles. And they could win prizes by giving the right answers to trivia questions about Memphis, science, and beer.
Eighteen beer vendors, local and regional, as well as several local eateries took part in this year’s Science of Beer.
About 550 people attended, Mullikin says. “It was perfect. It was a sellout. I had 200 tickets for the VIP room. And then I had 350 in the general area. The VIP sold out weeks ago. And then it was just like maybe a week before when all the general tickets sold out. I got so many phone calls from people trying to buy tickets.
“The reason I can’t go over that is everything is donated. And that’s one of the reasons everybody just comes on board. They know it [money raised] goes to community engagement and the outreach we do.”
Guests voted for their favorite beer and eats. Hampline Brewing won first place. MFS Brewing came in second, and Cooper House Project, third. Crave Sweets won first place in food, Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken came in second place, and Vanelli’s Deli, third place.
